As we continue our study on THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, we will see tonight that the direction in which Jesus was teaching (in the first nine verses) takes a sharp turn in the highway. The verses we have already studied have been inspiring and uplifting for me, personally. But what we will read tonight (in the next few verses) will go beyond inspiration to that of caution.
As we will see, Jesus had a personal stake in the next three verses because they have to do with personal pain…both physical and emotional.
There are some who do not see the Christian life as one that involves physical or emotional pain. The popular message to preach nowadays is the “prosperity message.” That message satisfies a lot of people. Many people in our American culture expect their Christian walk to be filled with lots of positive things. I am not opposed to that thinking, but I also know that there are times when living for God can mean painful sacrifices.
Text: Matthew 5:10 (Key Verse);
Matthew 11:2 thru 9 (Study Verse)
Prayer:
At THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT there is no mention of John the Baptist, but I would think Jesus wanted to speak to anyone and everyone who would ever be -
“persecuted for righteousness sake.”
Jesus may have been thinking about what would happen to His very dear friend, John the Baptist, in the coming days. I am certain Jesus knows what might happen to any of us in the near/distant future…
John the Baptist is our example for Christian persecution. He was very different than most people.
1. He lived in the great outdoors and loved it.
2. Wearing the finest clothes was not his concern.
3. He didn’t mince his words…he always said what needed to be said, but what most people wouldn’t dare to say…
4. He was bold enough that rebuking King Herod was no skin off his teeth…
5. His primary message was for everyone to repent, and it didn’t matter who you were.
6. He had people who hated him and hated his message of repentance.
7. He was not treated fairly…
8. He is gruesomely executed for telling the truth by an evil king.
All of this may seem hard for us to imagine. We live in a country that stands by the innocent until proven guilty. In America, our judicial system for law and order is as fair as any other court system in the world.
Our lives are hard to compare with someone like John the Baptist. He was innocently executed by the highest court in the land. And nobody did a thing to come to his rescue. Nobody. Not even the Lord.
This is hard to swallow. An innocent man of God is murdered, while God goes about His business.
Is this how the anointed prophet is rewarded?
Is this how God honors those who are faithful to Him?
By the way, it’s okay to ask these questions. Because I am certain that John the Baptist did. He asked lots of questions of the Lord while sitting in a dungeon awaiting his execution. I’d have some questions too!
The question that is remembered for thousands of years is the one in which he asked Christ,
“Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Application:
That, my friend, is a profound question.
Have you ever asked a question of God like that one?
Have you ever been at a place in life when all you wanted to know was,
“God, are you going to save me?”
If there is ever a verse that causes the weak and shakey Christians to question Who God is, it has to be this verse. I am a little surprised that Matthew recorded it. Not many people understand what it means…
The way I understand it is that John asked this from his dungeon of doubt. I know that your particular circumstance is different than that of John the Baptist.
But the question is often the same…
Have you ever tried to do the right thing only to have the wrong done to you?
We ask ourselves questions like:
“If God is so good, why do I hurt so bad?”
“If God is really there, why am I here?”
“What did I do to deserve this?”
“Why are the righteous persecuted?”
Certainly it would only make sense for Jesus to go get John the Baptist out of that dungeon. Instead Jesus kept up what He was already doing. Jesus says -
The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
The fact is – there are lots of injustices taking place in this world everyday. Nonetheless, the Lord continues all of the other things He is doing.
Perhaps John’s Dungeon of Despair is turning into a Dungeon of Doubt and Disbelief.
Just when we think we can no longer hear God say or do anything for our situation, is when we need to hear Him the most…
Did you notice in this verse that Jesus was not surprised or angry with John’s questions. John is not scolded for his doubt or disbelief. Jesus was not surprised with John.
God was not surprised by the questions from Abraham, Moses, Job, Doubting Thomas, … or the even the questions that I have had to ask Him, …or any of the many questions you have had to ask Him.
Jesus is never surprised with how you and I may react to life’s disappointments. Jesus knows that we need Him.
Jesus simply said to John the Baptist,
“…blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
As you know, Jesus did not save John from being executed. But none of that prevented John from being a part of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is all that should ever really matter to us.
Those who find themselves persecuted for righteousness sake will find the Kingdom of Heaven. And really what else could be more important to any of us?
Illustration:
The year 1899 marked the deaths of two well-known men—Dwight L. Moody, the well known evangelist, and Robert Ingersoll, the famous lawyer, orator, and political leader.
The two men had many similarities. Both were raised in Christian homes. Both were skilled orators. Both traveled extensively and were widely respected. Both drew immense crowds when they spoke and attracted loyal followings. But there was one striking difference between them—their view of God.
Ingersoll was an agnostic and a follower of naturalism; he had no belief in the eternal, but stressed the importance of living only in the here and now. Ingersoll made light of the Bible, stating that “free thought will give us truth.” To him the Bible was “a fable, an obscenity, a humbug, a sham and a lie.” He was a bold spokesman against the Christian faith. He claimed that a Christian “creed [was] the ignorant past bullying the enlightened present.”
Ingersoll’s contemporary, Dwight L. Moody, had different convictions. He dedicated his life to presenting a resurrected King to a dying people. He embraced the Bible as the hope for humanity and the cross as the turning point of history. He left behind a legacy of written and spoken words, institutions of education, churches, and changed lives.
Two men. Both powerful speakers and influential leaders. One rejected God; the other embraced him. The impact of their decisions is seen most clearly in the way they died. Read how one biographer parallels the two deaths.
Ingersoll died suddenly. The news of his death stunned his family. His body was kept at home for several days because his wife was reluctant to part with it. It was eventually removed for the sake of the family’s health.
Ingersoll’s remains were cremated, and the public response to his passing was altogether dismal. For a man who put all his hopes on this world, death was tragic and came without the consolation of hope.
Moody’s legacy was different. On December 22, 1899, Moody awoke to his last winter dawn. Having grown increasingly weak during the night, he began to speak in slow measured words. “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me!” His son Will, who was nearby, hurried across the room to his father’s side.
“Father, you are dreaming,” he said.
“No. This is no dream, Will,” Moody said. “It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don’t call me back.”
At that point, the family gathered around, and moments later the great evangelist died. It was his coronation day—a day he had looked forward to for many years. He was with his Lord.
The funeral service of Dwight L. Moody reflected that same confidence. There was no despair. Loved ones gathered to sing praise to God at a triumphant home-going service. Many remembered the words the evangelist had spoken earlier that year in New York City: “Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it.
At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now …. I was born of the flesh in 1837, I was born of the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever.”
Jesus looked into the eyes of John’s followers and gave them this message. “Report to John … the dead are raised.” Jesus wasn’t blind/uncaring to John’s imprisonment. But Jesus was dealing with a greater dungeon than Herod’s; he was dealing with the dungeon of death. Persecution is not about the threat of death, but the promise of the Kingdom of God.
