Persecution is never to be sought or endured for its own sake; nor should we intentionally bring it on ourselves, supposedly for Christ's sake. We have no right to provoke animosity or ridicule. And Christ here urges escaping persecution when doing so is expedient and possible. We are not obligated to stay in a place of opposition and danger until we are killed, or even imprisoned.
Whenever they persecute you in this city, Jesus says,
flee to the next.
That is the pattern Paul followed throughout his ministry (see
Acts 12-14,
17). When persecution became so severe in one place that he could no longer minister effectively, he left and went to another. He was not afraid of persecution, and many times he was severely beaten before he left a city. At least once he was stoned and left for dead. But he did not try to test the limits of the opposition. He endured whatever ridicule, reviling, beatings, and imprisonment were necessary while he ministered. But he left a place when his effectiveness there ceased.
That is the pattern that every faithful minister and missionary is to follow until the Son of Man comes. Even during the Great Tribulation, Christ's faithful 144,000 Jewish people will preach all over the world and keep moving from place to place as they are persecuted and afflicted.
MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15.