Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness
At the sermon on the mountain, Jesus Christ uttered this very unusual saying that persecution makes us blessed! When one is going through the persecution itself, it certainly doesn’t feel very blessed! To really understand it we need to look at the context, which is the blessedness of Kingdom belonging and Kingdom living, which enables us to enjoy Kingdom blessing in all kinds of circumstances. Look at what Jesus says (Matthew 5:3-12):
God blesses those who realize their need for him,for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.
God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.
God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too.
In this paragraph Christ pronounces a nine-fold blessing on the members of the Kingdom community. All these blessings are related to the Kingdom of God and the inner character qualities of the citizens of this Kingdom. None of these inner life qualities of the members of the Kingdom community are highly regarded by the powerful people of the world, yet this life of the Kingdom is the most blessed and influential life ever lived on this earth! The values of the Kingdom of God are obviously different from the values of the world. Christ’s words sound like a paradox, but are true wisdom!
When we are totally dependent on God, we are absolutely free. When we are discontented and mourn over the present situation, we will be comforted and see great changes take place! When we are meek and neither boast, nor contend, nor exult over others, the reign of God will come to our neighbourhood! When we not full of our own righteousness, but long for the righteousness of God to be seen in all our relationships with people and to have the upper hand all over the world, we will be filled by the victory of righteousness in the end time. When we are merciful, we will find mercy. When we forgive, we will find forgiveness. When we judge charitably, we will not be condemned. When we have a clean heart, we will enjoy the blessing of a true vision of God. When we actively and peacefully endeavour to end wars and contentions people will be struck by our likeness with our Father who prides himself in calling us his sons!
When we live in such a godly way that the only homage wickedness can pay to our righteous living is to persecute us, then we realise that suffering is a precious gift of God. Then we will appreciate that the persecution of the tongue is more common, but not less cruel that that of the hand. Under accusations of every kind we will be able to be more than ordinarily happy, because we are elevated to the rank of the prophets, upon whom the storms of falsehood beat with tremendous fury. The honour of suffering with the prophets makes us partakers in the prophetical succession of saints as we are ordained to glorify the Lord in fires. It is a high privilege to belong to this succession of persecuted prophets and our joy and gladness will exceed all ordinary bounds when we are honoured this way!
Jesus teaches us that in the Kingdom of God we have a new and far better value-system than anywhere else! He shows us that real blessing is more than comfort and material prosperity because it can even be found in physical and emotional maltreatment. Real blessing is more than health and wealth because it can be experienced in persecution and seizure of possessions, even in torture and death! Real blessedness is only found in becoming like Christ and knowing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Therefore persecution may be a wonderful sign and a great opportunity. It challenges our most basic understanding of blessing and reward in the Christian life. It helps us to see the true values in life and it sorts out the boys from the men and tests the genuineness of our commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Exercise:
What are the true values in life?
How are the Kingdom values different from worldly values?
How may suffering and persecution be a great opportunity for us?
Continue to memorise this portion of Scripture:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans (8:35-39)