Matthew 5:10-12

Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake

by James Lincoln on Sunday, May 7, 2006

 

Is This for Today?

Let me start with a question. Does this text have anything to do with us today? Has the world become so loving, tolerant and accepting of Christians that all this talk about persecution of Christians just a thing of the past? I want to answer that in two ways. First, consider a global perspective.

"There have been more Christians killed in the 20th century than in the previous nineteen centuries combined." -U.S. House Resolution. Scripps-Howard News Service, September 28, 1996

".. parts of Sudan... where Christians have lived since the 6th century, are now covered with mass graves... . Nuba women are systematically raped by Arab soldiers .. Catholic bishops have reported crucifixions of Christians by the army. Muslim troops from northern Sudan have kidnapped and sold tens of thousands of Christian children and women from the south into slavery. Many have been branded or mutilated to prevent escape; many more have been tortured or starved until they converted to Islam.'

Pakistan and North Korea have witnessed similar kinds of persecutions of Christians. Pakistan's 1986 blasphemy law makes it a capital crime to insult the Prophet Mohammed 'by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation.' The law has been used repeatedly to justify a reign of terror against Pakistani Christians.

"This has been a century of unmatched Christian martyrdom. It began with the massacre of Armenian Christians by the old Ottoman Empire; it's ending with the mass murder of Christians in Sudan."--Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, December 4, 1996.¹

From a global standpoint the words of Jesus are very meaningful and dear for millions of Christians around the world. The idea that the world is now tolerant and loving toward Christians and that they aren't persecuted as they once were is just indefensible. And the religious motivation is getting harder and harder to ignore.

In Heb.13:3 we're told to, "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." I know the scope can be overwhelming but at the minimum God calls us to remember our brothers and sister as if we were suffering as they are. So, let's ask "If you were suffering as believers are in Sudan what would we want Christians around the world to do, to say or to pray? But there is a second reason why this beatitude is meaningful to us and that is that Jesus and the other apostles speak of persecution as a normal expectation for followers of Christ; not as the exception. In Matt 10:16-19,

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. (What do wolves do?) Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles."

Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 3:12, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Jesus said in John 15:20, "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."

Why? Well, they were both convinced that the tension between the message of Christianity and the way Christians live (on the one hand) and the message/worldview and way of life of the world will make conflict inevitable. And because this conflict is rooted in the nature of a non-believer and the nature of one who is a new creation in Christ, it remains today. Sooner or later a sincere God-centered Christian will be mistreated for the things he or she believes or the righteous life they live. Now, persecution doesn't have to be overt to be real. Sometimes covert or subtle persecution is harder to bear than the physical suffering. The psychological price of being ignored, rejected, or passed over, treated as if you were invisible and even shunned in sophisticated ways can leave its mark on the soul if not the body. Physical persecution at least clarifies the combatants.

So these words of Jesus about persecution are meaningful today not only because millions of Christians in the world are being persecuted for their faith this very day but also because opposition to Christ is inevitable in a world that rejects Christ. But how can the prospect or the reality of persecution be a cause of joy? Isn't a person who rejoices over pain and suffering just a bit off balance or psychologically unstable? Yet, there was no one saner than Jesus and sober minded than Paul. Something sane and glorious motivated this call to suffer with joy.

In Acts 5:40, the Apostles went about preaching the resurrection of Jesus in fulfillment of the promises of God. And the religious rulers in Israel who had Jesus crucified didn't like this at all. They were furious with the apostles. They arrested them, flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Notice the reaction of the apostles in verse 41.

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

Are these people emotionally well? Are they thinking straight? Let's look at what Jesus said more closely and see if we get what He's calling us to. Or why this happens.

The Beatitude and Righteousness

First, notice that Jesus said that the kind of persecution that brings a blessing is the kind of persecution that comes for the sake of righteousness. So, just note that it's not persecution that comes from being rude, inconsiderate or insensitive or obnoxious. I wonder how many times we've suffered a negative reaction not at all because we were standing up for righteousness - but instead - because we were just behaving boorishly. In our first church a couple was so proud of their witness because each Sunday after church they would roll up gospel tracts and throw them on the neighbors' lawns. I spoke to them about the complaints neighbors were making. They were mad because not only were they be persecuted for their faithfulness but the minister was joining in on the persecution.

Notice that righteousness is the major theme of the Sermon on the Mount (as the defining character of the kingdom of heaven). The Pharisees' idea of righteousness had more to do with the external rules rather than the inward motivations of the heart. For the Pharisees, righteousness was a way to justify your worthiness to be approved by God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that your righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees if we are to see the kingdom of God. Jesus went on to teach about that difference. But what does it mean to live righteously? The Beatitudes introduces us to this.

And why would persecution come to those who are pursuing righteousness especially the way it is described here? Why would someone poor in spirit, the meek, pure in heart, or peacemakers be persecuted? On the surface that seems strange. You would think all would value these things.

First look at the pattern of the Beatitudes. Notice that they can be divided in two groups of four each ending with a word about righteousness. The first group of four ends with verse 6 that says, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness." And the second group of four ends with v.10 that says, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness."

Notice that the first three beatitudes are descriptions of emptiness/deficit. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..Blessed are they who mourn (over their own sins and the sins of others or their lack of righteousness)...Blessed are the meek or those who empty themselves of defending themselves and instead hand themselves over to God to defend them, to protect them, take up their cause and to be their advocate. It follows that sense that this emptiness and neediness would be followed by a description of a hunger for a righteousness that is not of their own making and for a righteousness they could never generate on their own. And, of course, Jesus says that those who hunger for righteousness will be satisfied.

The next three (5, 6, 7) are descriptions of fullness. Hunger is beginning to be satisfied by the overflowing mercy of God, filled up with a new kind of purity both the purity that comes to us by faith as a gift to be received and the purity of a new heart God gives to those who look to Him. This hunger is being filled by the power to be at peace with God and to make peace with others through the peace that comes to us in Jesus.

So, the hunger for righteousness described in v. 6 is satisfied for us and comes to us in the form of God's mercy, forgiveness, God's purity and God's message of peacemaking. It doesn't come from self improvement and strikes a blow at a righteousness that's based on our own record and achievement. This is the kind of righteousness that can get people upset with you.

Jesus makes the reason for persecution for righteousness even more clear in v. 11.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me [or on My account]."

It's not so much the good things Christians do that brings persecution. It's their relationship with Jesus that's the real problem. Christians claim that everything that is good or righteous in them comes from Jesus. Christians say that cut off from Jesus there is nothing of any ultimate good anyone can do. Christians say that life, godliness, hope, peace, purity all of this comes from Jesus. Our message isn't about what we achieve and what others can achieve. Our message is that by nature we are all poor in spirit and by nature desperately need the Spirit of God. The Christian message is that we must come to see how grievous our sin is before God and then mourn for our sins and the sins of others. The Christian message is that by the grace and tender mercy of God in Jesus God forgives us and gives us a purity of His doing and His making. Our only claim of righteousness is that we are the planting of the Lord. And it's the peace we have in Jesus that now compels us to share that with others so that others can discover His peace as well.

The righteousness that surpasses that of the Scribes and the Pharisees is a righteousness that comes from a relationship with Jesus, His cause, His gospel, His kingdom and His claim to be the Savior of the world. It's prizing and treasuring up in your soul His mercy, His purity and the wonder of His peace. It's our relationship and attachment to Jesus that makes a Christian's righteousness what it is. OK, "Why then would anyone want to persecute that?" Why would someone reject or mistreat peacemakers? Well, God's terms of making peace with Him are unacceptable to those who reject Jesus' claims about Himself. God says that the only way to peace with God is through faith in Jesus as He is.

Look,

- If you love and worship Jesus and you pursue sexual purity, your life will be an attack or an indictment on those who reject Jesus' claim as Lord and who love sexual freedom.
- If you love the truth about Jesus as Immanuel and the Supreme manifestation of God and the exact representation or imprint of God's being..if you honor Him as He is.. as the way, the truth, and the life, and the only mediator between God and man your life will be an indictment on those who reject the truth of the gospel. As well as to those who believe that it's wrong and intolerant to even declare that there is such a thing as a single message of salvation for mankind.

This has created enormous obstacles in my relationships with family members who think I'm absolutely nuts for believing Jesus' claims to be the one and only Son of God. It's not that we make a claim of truth and they don't. It's that our claims about what is true are incompatible with each other. They put us at odds with each other about the most critical meaning of life. But the righteousness that comes from Jesus will reveal what people really thing about Jesus.

- If you pursue self-control, your life will soon indict excess eating, drinking, speeding, excess gossip & passion.
- If you live modestly you'll reveal and indict the foolishness of luxury.
- If you walk humbly with your God, you will expose the foolishness of pride.
- If you are hard working you'll expose laziness and negligence.

When you follow Jesus and the righteousness that comes from Him for His glory—People will respond in one of two ways: These are described in John 3:20-21:

"For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God."

Jesus said that there's really no middle ground. People are either on their way to one conclusion or the other. And that's true because we've all been made to serve an authority of some sort. We have all been "authored" by God. Jesus said that you can't serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. And because your life as a Christian calls others to serve God and his Son, Jesus, as the ultimate authority of life some will turn against you and mistreat you and so also some will be drawn to glorify God.

We should ask ourselves if our light is shining bright enough in the way we live and the things we say to expose any darkness at all. Can we become successful at living under the radar where we successfully blend into the fabric of a culture that hates the idea that God calls them to submit His Son Jesus? If you're pursuing His righteousness and loving Jesus, at some point in your relationships you'll be mistreated for that love and loyalty. And the fundamental reason for this is that until we are converted we're at enmity with God and we hate the idea that we must submit our lives to Him. If you love Jesus and submit to Him your life will expose that natural darkness or enmity for God and His son Jesus. So we should all examine ourselves to see if we are hiding the light of Jesus under a basket. And if so, we should repent and be more sincere in bearing witness to who we really are.

Rejoice...
Jesus said in v. 11:

"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad..." Now this is a shocking piece of counsel. What can possibly justify the command to be glad when we are hated, and mocked and tortured and killed? This is what they did to the prophets (Matt 23:30; 1 Kings 18:13; 19:10; Neh. 9:26; Jer. 26:23). This is what they would do to the disciples. So he says in Matthew 24:9, "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake."

And they did and they still do. What can justify such counsel to people in pain?—"Rejoice and be glad!?" He can say it because he knows that the reward of heaven will more than make up for any suffering we endure in the service of Christ. "Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven." To the degree that you believe what Jesus promises us in heaven, to that degree you will be able to rejoice and be glad in suffering and mistreatment. "Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven."

What gave Ridley the impulse to kiss the stake on which he was burned? Why did Joseph Tzon of Romania who was beaten daily with rods for preaching Jesus apologize to the guard who beat him for harboring bitterness against him for what he had done? They knew Mtt. 19:29,

"..every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life",

And they knew 2 Co. 4:17-18,

"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen."

I think all of this strikes us as strange because in an effort to be immediate, relevant and pragmatic we think less and less about heaven. We think it has little to say to us about how to live now. Yet, Jesus calls his disciples to desire the reward of heaven more than we desire the rewards of earth. Jesus calls us to have our treasure in heaven not on earth (6:19-20). Jesus wants our hearts to be so set on heaven that leaving this earth becomes a cause of rejoicing. At Gethsemane in the face of his own pain, Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him in heaven.

Jesus tells us to put our hearts primarily in heaven, our hopes in heaven, and our joy in heaven. There's no other way that you can rejoice and be glad when things don't go well for us here and now.

What shall we do? Rejoice when persecuted for righteousness on account of Jesus. How? You do so considering the eternal weight of glory that is far more precious than anything you could ever enjoy on this earth. How? Well, do what Jesus says. Consider the prophets of old. In Hebrews 11 read how they suffered mocking, imprisonment, stoned, sawn in two, killed and went about in skins of sheep and goats destitute and afflicted—of whom the world was not worthy.

Go often to these great men and women of old and get inside their hearts. Remember Moses who considered "..the reproaches of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt for he was looking for a greater reward." Jesus says "Learn how to love heaven with them." Read the testimonies of those who have given their all for Christ. When you are snubbed or rejected or mistreated or passed over because you have been faithful to Jesus, remember this one verse. Revelation 2:10—"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." Look to the prophets! Look to the faithful! Look to the promises of Jesus. Whatever you must do to get your heart in heaven and off the world, do it! Otherwise you'll not be able to obey the command of our Lord, "Rejoice and be glad in persecution, for great is your reward in heaven."

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake...for theirs is the kingdom of God . Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven."