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.
This phrase doesn’t come close to what Jesus was talking about.
Jesus wants us to understand there’s a great joy in being persecuted because of Him. A very literal translation of this statement by Jesus about rejoicing and being glad would be to say we rejoice exceedingly and leap exceedingly.
The word be glad literally means getting so glad one jumps in celebration.
Can you imagine this? Jesus is talking about the kind of joy that gets a person to jump up and down, super excited. So, when you’re persecuted for His sake, you should jump up and down and shout WOO - WHO!!! That’s what Jesus means.
This ecstatic joy isn’t simply because you’re being persecuted; it’s about being persecuted for the right reason. It’s persecution that comes because we’re truly committed to Jesus Christ.
In the 3rd century, the theologian Tertullian wrote of the Romans who were killing the Christians, he said - - - - “The more ye mow us down, the more we grow. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
Jesus wants us to understand if we really live the Christian life He’s talking about, we’ll experience amazing blessings, but, we’ll also suffer as well. Isn’t that what the beatitudes have been all about? They’re these crazy ways to get blessed . . .
Be meek,
be mourning
Be pure in heart
hunger and thirst for righteousness
Be filled with mercy.
Be a peacemaker
Those aren’t necessarily easy ways to be blessed, yet that’s what Jesus says.
Jesus gives 3 times more space for this beatitude. And He also personalizes it. In all the others, Jesus refers to us in the 3rd person, but in this one, He uses the 2nd person. He wants us to see that this is personal. And Jesus commands us to have joy and gladness when persecuted. Persecution’s going to happen.
The book of 1 Peter talks at length about our suffering and trials. As he starts his letter, Peter wrote - - -
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. - 1 Peter 4:12-14
Peter’s echoing the words of Jesus. Don’t be surprised when it happens. If you’re being faithful to Christ, it’s going to happen. Still, it catches us off guard when we go through some trial because of our faith. We need to remember that people who don’t follow Christ, will not necessarily respond like Christ followers.
But also we need to be aware that not all Christians act like Christians. Some Christians are ostracized because they are rude and obnoxious. Some believers are ridiculed because they’re as self-righteous and holier-than-thou as the Pharisees were in Jesus’ day. It’s a reality that we have Christians who are persecuted not for their Christianity but for their LACK of it.
Peter adds in verse 13, the exact same words of Jesus to rejoice and be glad. In other words, celebrate, jump up and down that you had a difficult trial. AND if you’re insulted for the name of Jesus, you’re blessed!
It means you’re doing something for the kingdom. Basically, I’ve always looked at it in this way, if you’re not doing anything for the kingdom, life will be pretty boring. satan doesn’t have to worry about you, you’re no threat, because you’re not speaking out, you’re not living and demonstrating the Gospel.
But when you suffer persecution and are insulted, it’s because you’ve stepped out in the name of Jesus.
Jesus warned us that we would face persecution for following Him.
20 If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you. - John 15:20
23 If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow Me. - Luke 9:23
27 Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple. - Luke 14:27
33 In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. - John 16:33
Paul told Timothy - - -
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, - 2 Timothy 3:12
So, we can see we’ve been forewarned.
When we live the life Jesus is talking about, it’s not easy. It’s difficult. We have temptations, trials, tribulations, times we want to give up. The way of the cross bumps up against the ways of the world. Just read about the prophets and many of the struggles of the disciples.
One of the greatest Christian books is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer was a pastor in Nazi Germany and came to the USA, but he felt he couldn’t stay here and sit out the war, so he returned to Germany, fought against Hitler and ultimately was hanged 3 weeks before the end of the war for his fight against Hitler. In one of my favorite passages, he wrote,
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in a field; for the sake of it, a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives man the only true life. Above all it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son. {Bonhoeffer. The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan Co., 1959), 45-47.}
So, what does all of this mean? What makes this suffering different?
When we follow Jesus we will lose some friends, because when they want to drink or smoke or do something we know shouldn’t happen; we say no.
When we are asked to do something on the job that is unethical, we know what our answer should be, and we may get fired for it.
The list of possible reasons could be endless. Maybe it is talking to someone about Jesus that needs to experience the transforming power of His love, but you know they will not like it.
We could list people, including missionaries who have been tortured, killed, shunned and have lost loved ones, income, homes and more; yet they were always filled with the fire and excitement and passion to serve God.
What is the blessing in suffering for the name of our Lord?
To begin with, look at the company you keep. At the end of verse 12, Jesus said, “In the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” When you’re persecuted for doing what Christ calls you to do, for being an upright, committed Christ follower, you become part of the aristocracy of divine history.
Hebrews 11 is a great picture of the company of saints whom you join when you firmly stand in faith in Christ. Hebrews 11 lists many of the persons of faith, then adds there are others who should be mentioned, persons of “whom the world was not worthy.” Our world is full of these great souls. Maybe you are one of them.
If you and I merit a spot with these saints, we have reason to rejoice.
But this is only an incidental reason for happiness. The fantastic reason Jesus gives is this - - - GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN!
This is the only Beatitude that promises a reward in heaven. Another Beatitude promises we will possess the kingdom of heaven, another says we will see God; but these blessings occur in this world, not the next world. This Beatitude guarantees a reward in heaven.
And maybe this actually helps set us straight. Too often we think we should get all of our rewards on earth. We complain and tell others, “I’ve done my best, I tried hard; and where has it gotten me? People who don’t give a rip about God have it far better than I do.”
And you know what, if we were to be really honest, we could be shaking our heads in agreement. But we need to understand in our heart, spirit and brain that while some accounts will be settled here on earth . . . Jesus said there will be rewards in heaven.
And here is the ultimate declaration of justice. Not all accounts are settled on this earth. We should hardly expect them to be; you and I are eternal creatures, so it’s logical that some of our business will be settled in heaven. We all know wonderfully good people who don’t seem to get a proper return on their life’s investments on this planet, but this is not the end of the story.
We must be a people with a different view of life and the future, because of the faith we have in Christ. We do what we believe is right, not because we will get an increase in salary or because we will win the next ball game, but because we believe it is what God is calling us to do and it will advance His kingdom on earth.
We’re willing to wait for the reward, even if it means waiting until the world to come. We believe God will reward our faithfulness and goodness, and we’re confident, that God is generous. So generous in fact, that we can leap with joy at the prospect of persecution for the Lord’s sake.
