The Persecuted are Blessed (Matthew 5:10)

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:10).

The Saviour concludes his list of eight beatitudes with a reference to persecution of his followers. Right away, we can see an obvious difference between the last beatitude and the previous seven in that the eighth is the only one that refers to how others will respond to his disciples. The spiritual qualities highlighted in the previous seven beatitudes will not always result in people thinking well of his disciples. Instead, there will be the opposite response.

Righteous living that offends

The particular detail that is going to arouse opposition and persecution is the righteous practices of the disciples. Those righteous practices are detailed in the Sermon on the Mount and they mean more that being very religious in one’s behaviour: ‘For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 5:20). 

Nor is it correct to assume that the greater righteousness here is the righteousness of Jesus that is reckoned to the account of a sinner when he or she believes in Jesus for the first time. Rather, the righteousness that will bring about persecution is one that flows from inner renewal and dedication. 

Jesus points out in the remainder of the chapter what it means to have a new heart. There will be inner obedience to all of his commandments, and Jesus explains in detail what that means. He refers to two of the ten commandments and says that the sixth commandment forbids wrong forms of anger and the seventh commandment forbids immoral thinking. Moreover, he says that the righteousness practiced by his followers would include using God’s name in a right manner, absence of retaliation and loving one’s enemies. 

Then in chapter 6, he shows that there will an awareness of God when a disciple engages in the devotional activities of almsgiving, prayer and fasting, and he will not engage in them in order to get the approval of humans. Moreover, they will not be overconcerned about material things and become anxious about them. 

In chapter 7, he says that his disciples will not be judgemental, they will handle the things of God with care, and they will be devoted to prayer. And they will treat others in the way that they would like others to treat them. In other words, they will love God and other people.

Why would other people oppose those who live in such a way? Sinclair Ferguson comments about what often happens when Christians live in a righteous manner: ‘In practice, that means absolute integrity, whether at home, in the work place, or even at play. But such integrity challenges the moral indifference of the world, especially in our age. Not to do the things “everybody does” stirs the world’s sleepy conscience. More than that, it irritates it, and causes annoyance and even anger.’ 

Call to realism

Why would Jesus teach the certainty of persecution of his followers? No doubt many answers could be given to that question by the Saviour, but all we have to go on is the principles concerning it that are recorded in his Word. Here are five such principles.

One answer to that question is that this has always been the way. If we go back to the Garden of Eden, God prophesied after the fall of Adam that there would be conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. How long did it take before that enmity showed itself? Not very long. The sad story of Cain and Abel answers that question. Hebrews 11, which describes the experiences of prominent believers, also contains numerous references to them being persecuted. There were frequent persecutions of Christians during the period of the Roman Empire. The same happened at the Reformation. Our own history tells us that was the case with the Covenanters. Those who claim to know say that the century with the most persecutions was the twentieth, and that it will be replaced by the twenty-first if current behaviour continues.

A second answer is found in the words of Jesus to his disciples when he said to them that when the world expresses its hatred to them they should remember that they hated him first. Listen to what he says in John 15:18-20: ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.’ This raises another question, which is, ‘Does the world like the real Jesus?’ No, it doesn’t.

A third answer to why there is persecution is provided by John Calvin when he writes, ‘We cannot be Christ’s soldiers on any other condition, than to have the greater part of the world rising in hostility against us, and pursuing us even to death. The state of the matter is this. Satan, the prince of the world, will never cease to fill his followers with rage, to carry on hostilities against the members of Christ.’ The devil knows that sometimes persecution seems to be effective from his point of view, but whether it is or not, he will use it because he hates Christians.

A fourth answer is that persecution often reveals whether or not a person is a genuine Christian. In his parable of the sower and the seed Jesus said this would happen. He describes one of the responses in this way: ‘As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away’ (Matt. 13:20-21). Sometimes, it does not take very much for a person to give it up. A little derision or some ostracising can do it.

A fifth answer is that God can use persecution in one locality to spread the faith into other places. It was through persecution that the important New Testament church in Antioch experienced growth. We are told in the Book of Acts that ‘those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus’ (Acts 11:18-20). It may have seemed a tragedy when those believers were forced to leave Jerusalem because of persecution, but the Lord had other plans for them. And the church in other places was blessed as a result.

Of course, we must remember that the persecution Jesus is describing is that which occurs to those who are righteous in their living. He is not referring to trouble that comes to Christians because they are lazy in their work, disagreeable to their neighbours, insulting in their words, found out to be gossiping, or similar unworthy habits. Peter, in his first letter, refers to the suffering of Christians and mentions this important difference: ‘If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler’ (1 Pet. 4:14-15).

What is persecution like? It can be fierce, it can be prolonged, it can be deadly, it can be haphazard. Who can be persecuted? Anyone who follows Jesus. When can it happen to them? It can happen to them immediately. I recall when I was in secondary school seeing a group of girls standing round another girl and shouting abuse at her. What had she done? She had become a Christian the day before, and there she was, experiencing opposition because she had just become a believer. No doubt we have all heard of Polycarp who was burned at the stake when he was almost a hundred. Persecution can happen at the beginning, at the end, and anytime in-between. 

When are Christians not persecuted?

This can be a difficult question to answer because there can be good reasons and bad reasons for the absence of persecution. Here are two bad reasons. Persecution will not take place if people don’t know that the Christian is a believer who has never mentioned his or her faith. Another obvious wrong reason can be deduced from Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12: ‘Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’ We have already thought about the importance of living in a righteous way. If the world sees no difference in the Christian’s way of life from their own, they will not persecute.

A good reason why Christians may not be persecuted is because Jesus in heaven decides to prevent it happening. We can see an example of that in the seven churches of Asia described in Revelation 2 and 3. Two of the seven churches were commended by Jesus – the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia. Yet to Smyrna he sent a letter saying that they would go through persecution for a specified time and to Philadelphia he sent a letter saying that he had given to them an open door that no one could close. Two faithful churches had two very different experiences arranged by the Lord of providence.

Persecution and the gospel

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well known for many reasons including being put to death for treason by the Nazis. His motive for getting involved in the opposition to Hitler was based on his Christian convictions. Another reason why he is well-known is because he defined the gospel invitation by the phrase, ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’

Perhaps we are startled by that way of putting it. Yet it is only saying what Jesus said in Luke 9:23: ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ The illustration that Jesus used was that of certain death. When a person took up a cross, he began a walk of shame that only ended at the place of execution. Jesus was saying that the Christian life is usually like that. The road where Christians will hear applause is not in this world, but in the heavenly city.

There are different ways of explaining faith in Jesus. We can look at it from the point of view of the gospel’s effect on the mind – we are enlightened as to Jesus is and concerning what he did in his life and death. Or we can look at it from the point of view of our affections – like John Wesley, our hearts can be strangely warmed by the story of Calvary, or we may have a strong sense of peace or joy. Or we can look at it from the point of view of our wills – what are we prepared to give up in order to follow Jesus. He likened faith in him as going through a narrow gate – there are some things that people cannot take with them when they become Christians. And they must be willing to follow Jesus, conscious of their weakness, but agreeable to identifying with him, even if no-one else does, on the road of life.

The blessing they possess

Jesus here repeats the reward that he mentioned in connection with the first beatitude – as with the poor in spirit, the persecuted possess the kingdom of heaven. Both these assertions seem absurd to a worldly person, but they are true. If we would speak to one who is poor in spirit or to one who is persecuted for righteousness’ sake we would find ourselves speaking to a person who possessed the benefits connected to great treasures. 

What heavenly treasures do they have? One way of answering the question would be to look at each of the blessings that Jesus mentioned in the Beatitudes. They have spiritual comfort, they have the prospect of an inheritance, they receive mercy constantly, they have access to God, they are going to receive a reward. The heavenly treasures are not really for listing one after the other because usually they don’t come one by one, but together. 

The promise of Jesus of them having the kingdom of heaven is an incentive to come to Jesus. It more than compensates for any loss that his followers have on their journey through this world, even if they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.