Persecuted On Behalf Of Jesus Series

Blessed are the Persecuted

Matthew 5:1-12

We’ve been looking at the Beatitudes of Jesus from Matthew 5 and today’s the culmination of what we’ve been talking about. I want to read the scripture, and then, we’ll watch a video. Jesus went on the mountainside and said - - -

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Today’s passage comes in 3 verses - - -

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:1-12

VIDEO - - - - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KOBSu_A4LU&t=171s

Wasn’t that powerful? Most of us will never know that depth of persecution, yet it persists in so many regions of the world. In some ways it’s more prevalent today than it was 1000 years ago. People in regions of the world fear for their lives, some cannot work, some live under daily threats for themselves and their families.

All because of their faith in Jesus.

Maybe you’ve felt persecuted in some way because of your faith. Maybe you said something that upset someone when trying to tell them about Jesus. But more often than not, we tend to avoid conflict and confrontation, which is pretty normal for normal people.

I’m not even going to get into the social media beat downs and politics of religion. That’s an entirely different worship topic.

Nobody wants to be persecuted. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, not ourselves, our spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends, we don’t want people we love to be persecuted, period.

Nobody volunteers for persecution. It’s not like a bunch of kids raising their hands to be picked for a special prize, yelling, “PICK ME! PICK ME!” If we were to ask who wants a brownie, lots of hands would shoot up, but how many of us would raise our hands when asked, “who wants to be persecuted?”

I like the way The Living Bible translates this passage, Matthew 5:10-12 (TLB)

Happy are those who are persecuted because they are good, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers — wonderful! Be happy about it! Be very glad for a tremendous reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.

• Be happy because you’re persecuted.

• Be happy because you’re reviled and scorned and abused?

• Be happy because people are telling lies about you?

That’s a bit much. Finding happiness in persecution sounds like a form of masochism, the sort of attitude that leads people to stay away from you. Yet, Jesus calls this behavior . . . wonderful!

Let me offer a personal caveat. The only time I remember receiving any persecution because of my faith in Jesus, was when my father would not talk to me after I became a Christian; and my best friend from growing up did not want to be my friend after I became a Christian.

My father’s family suffered persecution for being Jewish. They lived in Chicago and were poor, and often had to move to a new apartment because of a lack of money. Landlords had signs in their apartment buildings stating - - - - NO DOGS OR JEWS ALLOWED! That’s persecution.

When I was growing up, I had a neighbor who had a tattoo on his arm. We generally tend to ignore nondescript tattoos, and this one was a bunch of numbers; and those numbers represented his former identity . . . in a concentration camp.

Persecution of this magnitude, and other forms of persecution are a disgrace. Let me just say, we should never persecute or discriminate against anyone because of color, sex, finances, religion or for any reason. Yet, Jesus was going deeper than this. This is an underlying theme of the Bible. . . .the call to love our neighbor, who is everyone and everywhere.

So, what is Jesus getting at with this statement? In Matthew 5:12, we read Jesus telling us - - -

REJOICE and BE GLAD for great is your reward in heaven.