Matt
5:10-12
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.
The
eighth beatitude seems to be out of place until we see the logical
order of the Beatitudes:
- Recognition of need: the poor in spirit, they who mourn, and the meek.
- Satisfaction of need: they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Indications of satisfaction: the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers.
- The poor in spirit are the most likely to be merciful, they who mourn become pure in heart, and the meek are the peacemakers.
- Outcome: living the Christian life without compromise, and therefore being persecuted.
The
first seven beatitudes describe the Christian directly, and the
eighth describes the
Christian indirectly. The
eighth indicates what is sure to happen to the Christian in whose
life the other seven are
evident. The same promise is given for the first and the last
beatitude: “for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.” From the first to the last, they describe the
kingdom citizen.
I. Only persecution for
righteousness is blessed.
A. Different kinds of
persecution that are not blessed. Some suffer persecution
because
they are difficult. They are, so to speak, born with “a
chip on their shoulder and an
I dare
you to knock it off,” attitude.
Some are persecuted
because they are foolish. They lack the ability to manage, and they
have poor judgment.
Others
are persecuted because of self-righteousness. “Praise God! I
haven’t sinned in fifty years,” cried the self-righteous saint in
testimony meeting. No wonder she suffered persecution! There is a
vast difference between being offensive by self-righteousness
and causing an offense because of righteousness.
Some
are persecuted for wrongdoing. Peter admonished us not to suffer
persecution “as
a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in
other men’s matters” (1
Peter 4:15).
Many dedicated Christians suffer persecution because they are
“busybodies.” No one suffers more than the person who
cannot seem to keep his or her nose out of other
people’s business. The person from whose mouth the venom of
criticism flows freely is usually persecuted by the world.
Persecution
for righteousness. But
what kind of persecution is blessed?
When a person is
persecuted for being like Christ Jesus.
“If they have persecuted me, they
will also persecute
you,” said
Jesus to his followers (John
15:20).
Paul said, “All
that will live
godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution”
(2 Tim.
3:12).
Christ Jesus was reviled.
Some said He was mad (John
8:48; 10:20).
He was mocked on
the cross, but He did not
retaliate (1 Peter 2:23). Christ Jesus was persecuted. Even as a
child He suffered persecution
from Herod. Throughout His public ministry, the Pharisees,
scribes, Herodians, and Sadducees
persecuted Him. At His crucifixion they scourged Him,
spit on Him, slapped Him, and
cursed Him.
All manner of evil was
said against Christ Jesus falsely. Throughout Christ Jesus’
ministry
the Pharisees accused Him
falsely, even to the point of claiming that He had cast out
demons by the prince of the demons.
Before
His crucifixion He endured illegal trials by both Jews and Romans.
False witnesses testified against Him.
When
a person is persecuted because they are willing to live by faith.
Paul spoke of the apostles’ persecution in these terms: “we
are made a spectacle unto the world. . . . We are fools for
Christ . . . despised. . . . we both hunger, and thirst,
and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place
. . . being reviled. . . . we are made as the filth of the
world, and are the off scouring of all things”
(1 Cor.
4:9 – 13).
When reading the early
accounts of persecution, we are prone to ask, “Does the modern
Christian suffer
persecution at all?” In the first century, Christians were flung to
the lions or
burned at the stake.
Nero wrapped some Christians in pitch and set them afire to use as
living torches to light
his gardens. Hot melted lead was poured hissing down the backs of
some. Others had their
eyes torn out. Hands and feet were burned while cold water was
poured over their
bodies.
When
a person is persecuted because they are willing to die for their
faith. It is no accident that the Greek word for martyr is also
translated “witness.” When one is willing to live their faith
even to the point of death, they are persecuted for righteousness’
sake. Again the early Christians challenge us at this point. Accounts
reveal that some were shut up in sacks of snakes and thrown into the
river, some were tied to huge stones and thrown into the river, some
were hanged from trees and beaten with rods, others were tied to
catapults or wild horses and wrenched limb from limb, still others
were tied to the horns of wild beasts or tied up in nets and charged
by bulls. They were not only willing to live by their faith, but also
to die for their faith.
II. Why persecution is
blessed.
Because
it tells the Christian who they are. “Sacrifice
to Caesar or die,” the Roman judge told
Polycarp, the aged bishop
of Smyrna. His
reply was classic: “Eighty and six
years have I served
Christ, and he has done me no wrong. How can I
blaspheme my King
who saved me?” When
Christian suffer persecution, they are
assured that the same
treatment was given to Christians of other ages. Persecution is a
painful reminder to the
persecuted that they are numbered with the saints of all ages who
have suffered because of
their righteousness in Christ.
Because
it tells the Christian where they are going.
Their dwelling place is “in
heaven.”
Such a realization brings
joy in persecution and makes it blessed (1
Peter 3:14 – 17).
Because
it tells the Christian what is waiting for them in heaven; their
reward will be great.
Conclusion:
During
the Depression years, a lonely Christian who had lost his job, his
fortune, his wife, and his home was aimlessly walking the streets. He
had continued to live the Christian life even in the face of
persecution by his friends. He happened upon some masons who were
working on a large church. He was particularly interested in one man
who was chiseling on a triangular piece of stone that just did not
seem to fit anywhere in the building. When asked about it, the
workman replied, “See that little opening way up there near the
spire? Well, I’m shaping this down here so that it will fit up
there.” Tears filled his eyes as he walked away, realizing that his
persecution on earth was shaping him for heaven.
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