“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against youfalsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” —Matthew 5:10-12
In its inception Christianity came with a high price tag. Those who considered a “decision for Christ” had to decide whether they were willing, if necessary, to suffer for His name’s sake. It does not come easy to see a “blessing” in being persecuted, reviled, lied about as a direct result of identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ. A “paper Christ” will never suffice for that. Those who will accept Him with this prospect confronting them must be convinced in heart that “He is, and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Yet, this is the crowning beatitude, and the most elaborately developed. And, many of the early believers, including some of the apostles, experienced such hostility even to the point of death. Paul counseled, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution [II Tim. 3:12].” Peter instructed his readers, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing [I Pet. 3:14-17].” And Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, “…we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer [II Thess. 1:4-5].”
It is not persecution in general that assures divine favor, but that which is unjustified and specifically connected with faith in Christ. We are not encouraged to seek it, or to behave ourselves in such a way as to justify it, but to experience it as a result of a life springing from faith in Christ and bringing with it the virtues set forth in the preceding beatitudes. The Spirit of God referred to it again through the apostle Peter when he said, “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God [I Pet. 2:20 and context].”
Perhaps the most striking thing in this text is the attitude that is commended when suffering for Christ’s sake: “Rejoice and be exceeding glad.” It is not grim endurance of suffering for the faith of Christ that is here encouraged, but an exultant spirit. We are afforded a real life illustration in the experience of the apostles who were arrested and imprisoned, supernaturally released, then re-apprehended for continuing to publicly preach the testimony of Christ in Jerusalem. Charged, admonished and threatened, they affirmed their faith in the presence of the council and were beaten. Nevertheless, “… they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ [Acts 5:41-42].” These are among those who “esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches” than the transient treasures and pleasures of this present evil world. No earth bound faith will enable for this.
There is little such persecution in our country today, so our blessedness in this respect is little evident. However, as it was in the beginning, so it may be more and more as we near the end of the church age. May God give us the grace to stand should the day require it.
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Someone has likened these beatitudes to the Decalogue; the Ten Commandments. They are more than that. They are not qualities to be pursued to obtain salvation, but as a result of having received eternal life as a gift of God’s grace and so “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Cf. Rom. 13:14) They are vibrant threads in the fabric of the “robe of righteousness” that distinguishes the true Christian from the world. May our love for Christ enable the Spirit of God to make them more and more evident in our daily walk with Him.
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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