The Beatitudes 8 continued

Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It is interesting to note that Jesus didn’t promise reward to only those who stand firm in the face of persecution, but to all of those who would experience it. Jesus obviously desires His followers to be steadfast when enduring persecution, but the promised reward carries no condition relative to how His followers would respond to persecution. It is therefore reasonable to say that this promise was meant more to inspire hope in the midst of persecution than it was to reward the successful enduring of persecution.

Jesus knew His followers would experience persecution both because of their faith in Him and because of their determination to live according to what He taught. He, therefore, wanted to inspire them with something that would give them enough strength to stand unwaveringly against opposition and enough hope to endure persecution.

Last week we spoke about how difficult it is at times to choose righteousness over unrighteousness—especially when the righteous way often involves persecution. The Greek root of the word translated as ‘persecution’ means to pursue. Therefore, persecution because of righteousness is to be identified, chased down and abused physically and/or verbally as a result of one’s stand against sin and evil.

The roots of persecution are hatred and fear. The goal of persecution is to eliminate any perceived threat to one’s belief system or way of life. No wonder that throughout history the world has persecuted God’s people!

Jesus said that the reward for suffering persecution because of righteousness is to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus went on to say that a great reward is waiting in heaven for those who suffer persecution for their belief in Him and determination to live as He taught. In his commentary on this passage of Scripture, Barnes stated, “Though God does not require us to seek persecution, yet all this shows that there is something in [Christianity] to sustain the soul which the world does not possess.”

So how are we to view persecution? First, we are not to seek it. Rest assured, if you continually stand for righteousness, persecution will find you! And second, when persecution does arise, persevere in the knowledge that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Today, let’s pray that…
· We will have the courage to stand against sin and evil.
· We will stand firm in the face of the resulting persecution.