"Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted"
Scripture Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This beatitude has also been called the "bookend" beatitude. Why, the first and last beatitude end with the same promise, "for theirs is the kingdom of God". Could it be that this is the last beatitude and Jesus in the next verses describes His very life?
If you look at all of the previous beatitudes you begin to get a picture of the life of Jesus, the only truly righteous life. Jesus was "poor in spirit". He humbled himself before the Father and obeyed all. Philippians describes His emptying of Himself to be human.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Philippians 2:8
Giving up all the glories of heaven to be like us. Jesus was humble. He emptied himself for us. He suffered all things for us.
Jesus mourned over the destruction of sin. He would go to the mountain side overlooking Jerusalem and see His people rebelling against the Father.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matthew 23:37
I can only imagine the tears of sorrow flowing down His cheeks as He sorrowed over their loss. Jesus mourned over sin’s destruction and sin’s separation.
Jesus was the epitome of meek, strength under control. He could have called fire from heaven to deal with His enemies. He could have called 10,000 angels to take him off the cross. But His mission was the redemption of you and me. He was obedient unto death. Jesus was meek.
Jesus lived righteousness. He is our righteousness. As the risen Lord and Savior He is the living water and the bread of life.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35
Jesus was and is merciful. He is mercy personified. He brought the mercy of God to us by dying on the cross.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5
He is pure in heart. He is purity. There is nothing unclean or blemished in Jesus. Because of His sinless perfection He could die on the cross for our sins. He is our Lamb without blemish.
Jesus is our peacemaker. Through His death on the cross we can have peace with God. He is the only way to have peace with God. Not only does He give us peace with God, He is also our peace. In Him, we have peace. By sharing His life and being His witness we bring peace to a lost and dying world.
The beatitudes describe the life of Christ but they are to be our attitudes and actions as well. As believers we are to be an example of Christ to others. His life is to be our life in both word and deed.
Loving, forgiving, showing grace and mercy, and leading people to Him so we might enter the kingdom of heaven is to be our goal in life. To do otherwise risks eternity. Matthew 7:21-23 says,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Jesus gave us a very clear picture of those that will enter heaven. Entering the Kingdom entails a personal relationship with Him resulting in a life lived doing His will.
We are to live this life before God. How, by abiding in and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and living the commands He gave us. If we are truly living His commands of loving God, loving others, and telling about Jesus we will be living the life He has called us all to live.
The last beatitude, Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, often results when a person is exemplifying the life of Christ in their own life. Just as Jesus was persecuted so we will be persecuted for sharing Him with others and living rightly before God.
1. The Persecution
The word persecution has several different meanings all of which apply to the Life of Jesus. Persecution means to pursue as an enemy. Jesus was constantly hounded by His enemies. Satan, the scribes, and Pharisees pursued him throughout His ministry.
Persecution means to oppress because of one’s belief. Jesus teaching was constantly being questioned. The same enemies would try and question His teaching for the purpose of catching Him in a trap. On several occasions they even declared He spoke blasphemy and wanted him killed. Thankfully that was not God’s plan.
Persecution also means, to press in on. Jesus was pressured and even physically pressed on by the multitudes. He was pressed on from all sides. People wanted to be healed of their diseases; they wanted to hear the good news He had for them, one lady wanted to simply touch His cloak. On one occasion the roof was destroyed to lower a sick person to Him so he could heal Him.
Jesus led a life filled with people persecuting Him, pressing on and pressuring Him. His enemies were everywhere. Herod attempted to put Him to death after His birth. The teachers and rulers of the day sought to kill Him or at least label Him a blasphemer. Jesus was persecuted in everyway by the very same people He came to save.
Even when one of His disciples sought to defend Him and assure Him Jesus said, "Get thee behind me Satan". One of them eventually betrayed Him with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver. None of them truly understood why He was here and when it came to the cross, they ran away to hide.
2. The Principle
Why was He persecuted? He stood in opposition to a sinful and fallen world. Persecution, like Jesus experienced, would be hard to imagine because it was everywhere from everyone. He was the Lamb of God sent to save a world of lost sinners.
Jesus was persecuted for righteousness. He walked rightly before God the Father in a world that could do nothing less than to kill Him. He was perfect in everyway but He stood in the way of man’s gods and man’s evil intent.
Jesus didn’t seek persecution, it came to Him. If you are living the righteous life as Jesus you too will be persecuted in some way. Almost all of the original disciples were persecuted and killed. Persecution comes to those who live like Jesus. You will not have to look for it or cause it through obnoxious behavior. Persecution comes to those who are righteous.
Some say that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. He was crucified upside down because he declared, "I am not worthy to die as Jesus died" so, they turned him upside down. Paul was said to have been beheaded in Rome just as he thought he would be. But at each trial we know of he stood before the governors and kings and spoke the words of life to them by speaking of Jesus. Paul talked about the life he led that resulted in persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12 says,
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted....
Tacitus, a roman historian, writing of the early Christian martyrs said, "Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with animal skins of beasts, they were torn by wild dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burned, to serve as nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle."
We are also told of many who went to their deaths rejoicing. When Ignatius was about to die for his faith in Christ in A.D. 110 he cried out, "Nearer the sword, then nearer to God, in company with wild beasts, in company with God."
Each of these men, women, and children lived for God’s glory, not their own. They literally gave their life so others might know the one and only way to heaven. Their lives were lived like Jesus. There were no displays, no hostility on their part, no reason just as there was no reason for Christ to be crucified a die.
These are not isolated incidents of long ago; there are many modern day accounts of persecution ending with the same results, the death of Jesus followers. In many countries in our world today Christians will die if caught speaking the gospel or teaching others about Christ. They know they could expect nothing less than their Lord suffered. And yet they are willing to give their very lives for Him.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Jesus described several types of persecution we might face. Most of us think of the physical persecutions the martyrs faced. They faced the beatings, the arena, the wild beasts and the flames. But Jesus mentioned other types of persecution besides the physical. Jesus said we would suffer insults and false testimony.
Insults are words used to damage character. The word for insult means to throw abusive words in the face of an opponent, to mock viciously. Jesus was spit upon and taunted by both Jew and Roman as He stood trial. They mocked him viciously. Even those who praised His entrance to Jerusalem called for His crucifixion.
A story is told of a Jewish father and his son walking the road to town. Another man began to approach from the opposite direction. The father recognized the other man and placed his son behind him. The other man approached and upon recognizing the father and son began to spew forth verbal insults and curses at the father and son. The father threw his son to the ground and laid his own body on top of his son to protect him from the curses of the other man. Why, the ancients believed that spoken words had great power. Blessing and cursing held meaning and power.
He also said we would be persecuted with false testimony or lies. The key is "false" testimony. If something is said to damage your reputation it must be false to count as a blessing. If it’s true you just have bad character and a poor witness for Christ.
If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
3. The Point
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We live in a country that allows us to freely gather on Sunday and other days to worship and praise our Lord. Again, authorities have not recently shut a church down to stop the gospel, we are not arrested in the parking lot for being at worship, and none of us has been scourged or even caned for righteous behavior.
The point is, "We might never be called on to give our life for Jesus but would we be willing to give our life for Jesus?" I am sure all of us would give a resounding yes sitting in our comfortable seats. But really, how do we know? We need ask ourselves a few questions about what we are doing in our lives right now.
First, are we willing to give our time to worship and study about our Lord? We complain about having to give up our day off and go to church. We ought to have an attitude of thanksgiving we can go to church in a free country. We need to ask ourselves if we are willing to freely give up our time to worship the Lord and serve Him.
Second, are we giving our money to help reach out to others? If you really want to see the level of your commitment look at your checkbook. We are not only free but we are wealthy in this country. We have more than most and because of that we need to heed the words of Jesus about the rich.
The Bible speaks of the tithe, the tenth, as the beginning level of giving. Beyond the tithe are offerings for special needs and other occasions in the life of the church and its’ members.
Remember, it is not about the amount but the percentage. The reason Jesus praised the widow woman was because she gave all she had. Check your checkbook and see if you are committed with your finances.
Third, are we willing to tell others about Jesus no matter what the cost? A recent statistic said 3 out of 4 people had not heard the gospel. Are you committed enough to tell others about what Jesus has done for you? If not, why? Is it shame or are you focused on other things in life. Jesus Christ is our life if we are a believer and we know life is found in no one else but Him. Are you willing to risk being called a freak or worse because you tell others about Jesus?
As a sequel to his book Peace Child, Don Richardson has written Lords of the Earth (Glendale, Calif.: Regal, 1977). He tells the story of Stan Dale, another missionary to Irian Jaya, Indonesia, who ministered to the Yali tribe in the Snow Mountains. The Yali had one of the strictest known religions in the world. For a tribe member even to question, much less disobey, one of its tenets brought instant death. There could never be any change or modification. The Yali had many sacred spots scattered throughout their territory. If even a small child were to crawl onto one of those sacred pieces of ground, he was considered defiled and cursed. To keep the whole village from being involved in that curse, the child would he thrown into the rushing Heluk River to drown and be washed downstream.
When Stan Dale came with his wile and four children to that cannibalistic people he was not long tolerated. He was attacked one night and miraculously survived being shot with five arrows. After treatment in a hospital he immediately returned to the Yali. He worked unsuccessfully for several years, and the resentment and hatred of the tribal priests increased. One day as he, another missionary named Phil Masters, and a Dani tribesman named Yemu were facing what they knew was an imminent attack, the Yali suddenly came upon them. As the others ran for safety, Stan and Yemu remained back, hoping somehow to dissuade the Yali from their murderous plans. As Stan confronted his attackers, they shot him with dozens of arrows. As the arrows entered his flesh he would pull them out and break them in two. Eventually he no longer had the strength to pull the arrows out, but he remained standing.
Yemu ran back to where Phil was standing, and Phil persuaded him to keep running. With his eyes fixed on Stan, who was still standing with some fifty arrows in his body, Phil remained where he was and was himself soon surrounded by warriors. The attack had begun with hilarity, but it turned to fear and desperation when they saw that Stan did not fall. Their fear increased when it took nearly as many arrows to down Phil as it had Stan. They dismembered the bodies and scattered them about the forest in an attempt to prevent the resurrection of which they had heard the missionaries speak. But the back of their “unbreakable” pagan system was broken, and through the witness of the two men who were not afraid to die in order to bring the gospel to this lost and violent people, the Yali tribe and many others in the surrounding territory came to Jesus Christ. Even Stan’s fifth child, a baby at the time of this incident, was saved reading the book about his father.
4. The Promise
Stan and Phil were not rewarded in this life with the things of this life. But they seem to have been double-blessed with the comfort, strength, and joy of their indwelling Lord—and the absolute confidence that their sacrifice for Him would not be in vain. (Story from MacArthur’s Commentary on Matthew)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
