The Gift Of Persecution Series

About 35 years ago, a Romanian pastor came to visit the church I belonged to, a nice white church in a rich western suburb of Minneapolis. He had gotten to know my pastor, who had been involved in a Bible-smuggling ministry when the Iron Curtain was still up. Pasor John asked him what he thought of our country, and of the church in this country. His friend was at first hesitant to speak, for fear of giving offense, but finally said that in his opinion the American church was rich in material things but poor in spiritual things. And by that he did NOT mean that we were the blessed “poor in spirit” whom Jesus commended. No, what he meant was that American Christians by and large had a flabby faith because it was rarely even exercised, much less tested. That is, fortunately, beginning to change.

For over 30 years, one Christian ministry in Lake City Florida provided food to the hungry without any problems. But all that changed when a state government worker showed up to negotiate a new contract. The official told them they would not be allowed to receive USDA food unless they removed portraits of Christ, the Ten Commandments, a banner that read “Jesus is Lord” and stopping giving Bibles to the needy. [Town Hall, John Hawkins Sep 17, 2013] And not too long ago Senator Bernie Sanders implied that a Christian who believes that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life is unfit to hold public office. Senator Diane Feinstein, interrogating a judicial nominee, implied something similar. A Christian, they implied, would necessarily be unfair to non-Christians. It’s no wonder that many Christians believe that religious liberty in the US is on the decline.

Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus in verse 9, his last observation before coming to the topic of persecution. And you know what? They’re two sides of the same coin. Persecution is the flip side of peace-making. If we live out the first 7 beatitudes, this one, the 8th, follows on their heels as surely as water flows downhill. Why? Why are Christians persecuted?

First of all, the gospel is “foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews.” [1 Cor 1:23] Of course it doesn’t make sense to most people. But that doesn’t explain the extreme reaction the message of the cross arouses. The word translated “stumbling block” is the Greek word skandalizo. It’s a noun, and it refers to something that prevents someone from believing, or causes them to fall away from believing. It’s something people can’t swallow. In the verb form it’s also translated “give offense." The gospel is offensive, because the cross is offensive. Why is that? Why is gospel offensive to so many?

It’s very simple. First, Jesus told his followers, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” [Luke 9:23] People don’t want to be told they have to deny themselves. They want to be told they’re okay, that whatever they want to do is okay. People - especially today - want to be affirmed, not confronted or corrected. Later on Jesus drove the lesson home when he said, “Everyone who does evil hates the light;” [Jn 3:20] he made it even clearer later on. “The world . . . hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” [Jn 7:7]

Let me set up a series of contrasts for you.

Where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” the world says: “Happy are the self-assured, for they never worry about their sins.” Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,” but the world says, “Happy are the hard boiled: for they never let life hurt them.” When Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,” the world responds, “Happy are they who complain: for they get their own way in the end.” Jesus announces: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. The world shouts back, “Happy are the ambitious, the go-getters, for they will succeed in the world.” Jesus teaches "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy,” but the world says, instead,“Happy are the slave drivers: for they get results.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” The world sneers in return, “Happy are the sophisticated, for they know their way around.” Jesus says “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” But the world says, “Happy are the aggressors, for they have power.”

To some extent it is the contrasts that invite persecution. There’s a classic experiment that some psychologists performed half a century or so ago, taking an ordinary brown monkey out of its cage, dying its fur pink, and putting it back in the cage. The other monkeys immediately attacked it. Difference alone is enough. But just being different isn’t all. This is persecution for righteousness’ sake: The righteous Christian, the one living out the preceding Beatitudes, is the world’s conscience. The Christian is a mirror to the world, showing them their true selves, and they have only two choices: to accept what they see as the truth, or throw rocks at the mirror so they won’t have to face it.