Taxi Driver Survives Knife Attack After Sharing Gospel with Passenger
Knifed for sharing the gospel!
Imagine telling another person about the good news of Jesus and their response comes with a dagger.
For those of us Christians who live in relative safety, witnessing to someone about our faith comes with the risk of being rejected, misunderstood, or disliked. In many parts of the world, however, the risks are far greater.
An article in The Christian Post details what happened to Pastor Sukhdev Mark, 47, a Christian pastor in Northern India. He drives a taxi for a living and one night, after picking a man up from a gurdwara, or Sikh place of worship, the pastor gave him a gospel tract, “which the Sikh politely accepted, he said.”
The next day, the man requested to be picked up from his hotel and transported to the airport. He asked Pastor Mark if he was a pastor and he confirmed that he is.
During the drive, the man worked quietly on his laptop and iPhone. The pastor assumed the man was well-educated, and had no reason to suspect anything, even when the Sikh passenger asked for a slight detour down a by-lane.
Suddenly, three men on a scooter blocked their way. The pastor asked his passenger if he knew the men and he replied that they were friends.
“‘I parked the taxi on the other side of the road and stood there,’ he said. ‘He asked me to take his bags out of the trunk, and when I went to the rear side of the taxi to take the bags out, the three men pounced on me with knives. They had cutters and knives and started slashing me as the Sardarji [title used for Sikh men] looked on.'”
“The assailants cut his hands and caused internal injuries in his abdomen, he said.”
Pastor Mark told Morning Star News, “I was bleeding profusely, and I started shouting for help.”
With a great deal of effort and delay, Pastor Mark was finally able to receive treatment for his wounds and by God’s grace, he survived, following a surgery that reportedly resulted in 30 stitches to his abdomen.
“The Punjab and Haryana states’ legal coordinator for ADF India said Amritsar police apprehended and charged the three assailants with attempted murder under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code.”
“Sikhism, which originated in the Punjab area of India at the end of the 15th century, emphasizes faith in the name of the one creator, divine unity and equality of all humankind, selfless service, striving for justice and honesty.”
Pastor Mark credits “God’s grace” with his missionary work that he’s doing despite the persecution and threats.
His attack, along with several others, were the subject of an article by News Click regarding a rise in attacks on Punjab Christians.
If one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer, so we should keep persecuted Christians in prayer and be their voice at every opportunity.
