The God Who Is Worth Suffering For - Matthew 5:10-12 Series

Matthew 5:1-12 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying: 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. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you

Introduction: The God who is worth suffering for

You have led a simple life, up until these last few years. You were a nondescript nobody minding your own business and no one bothered you. And never in your wildest dreams did you ever imagine you would end up in a situation like this. Seventy-one men seated in a semi-circle with all the intimidating regalia that goes along with such a high council. And there you stand, before the Israeli Supreme Court – the great Sanhedrin – on trial for your life. And as you look around at the angry faces of these men it brings back memories of the terrifying events of six weeks ago. These are the men who broke all their own laws to execute Jesus in their rabid, irrational, rage against Jesus a month and a half ago, and you can see that same crazed fury on their faces now. The hairs on your neck stand on end as you remember the horrors of what they did the Jesus.

And as the discussion goes on it quickly becomes obvious what the verdict is going to be. You are about to be put to death. But at the last moment Gamaliel stands up and persuades them to flog you instead. There is a flash of panic as images of Jesus’ flogging flash through your head, and your whole heart and soul cries out to God in a way you never have before. But as the guards tie you to the post and remove your clothing and prepare the whip, a sudden, inexplicable peace comes over you. And with it – courage. Your trembling stops, and suddenly your eyes are opened to what is really happening here. You are in the process of suffering the very sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ on His behalf. You think of the great heroes of the faith you have admired all your life – Daniel, Moses, David – men who were found worthy to suffer for the sake of the Almighty. There have already been several lashes now, and yeah – it hurts, but somehow that hardly matters right now. The peace and courage in your heart now well up into full-blown joy. This is greater than what Moses or Daniel experienced. You are experiencing the fellowship of sharing the very sufferings of the Messiah Himself!

The rush of joy in your heart is so amazing you wonder if you have lost your mind. But then you look around at the rest of the Apostles and they are just as happy. I do not know if those are the exact thoughts that went through their minds, but I know for sure this much –

Acts 5:40 [The Sanhedrin] called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

It is a true story. Worthiness has to do with honor and disgrace means dishonor. The Apostles rejoiced over being honored with dishonor.

As strange as it may sound they were doing the exact thing Jesus had told them to do a year or two earlier when He said this in a sermon:

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you

We have been studying the beatitudes and we come this morning to the last one. And of all the shocking things Jesus has said so far this one takes the cake. Blessed are the persecuted. Rejoice and be glad when they lie about you and slander and insult and persecute you.