BEATITUDES (11) Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted (1)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:10-12)

​Review
We’ve been talking about the 8 beatitudes Jesus taught on the Mount. For the last two weeks, we talked about the 7th blessing.
 
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9)
 
Peace is one of the most important subjects in the Bible. The Bible says that Jesus came to the world to make peace. Every problem we experience in the world comes from broken relationships. And the Bible says that’s the result of sin.
 
When sin first came into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, it severed the close relationship they had with God because the essence of sin is to deny God as the King of our lives. And it naturally resulted in separation in all the other kinds of relationships we have.
 
We were created in the image of God to have loving relationships with one another, but because of sin, this image was distorted. Because we lost our relationship with God, who is the true source of love, we could no longer truly love, serve, and take care of one another and other creatures.
 
But the good news is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the world to solve the problem. Because every problem comes from broken relationships caused by sin, Jesus came to deliver us from sin. In order to do so, Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us.
 
By doing so He restored the bridge through which we can come to the Father. Now, we can recover peace with God through what Jesus achieved on the cross. As Paul said,
 
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rm 5:1)
 
This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But another truth that we find in the Bible is that God wants not only us but all people and all things to be reconciled with Him. Paul said in Colossians 1,
 
“God was pleased to … reconcile to himself all things… by making peace through his [Jesus’] blood, shed on the cross” (Col 1:19-20)
 
That’s God’s ultimate goal. In order to make this happen, God is sending out His people to deliver the message of peace to the ends of the earth. That’s the ministry of reconciliation Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians.
 
“God… reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2Co 5:18-19)
 
Now, this is the ministry that’s given to all those who enjoy peace with God through Jesus’ precious blood shed on the cross. The spiritual blessing of reconciliation is given to us with the responsibility of joining in Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation.
 
But that doesn’t mean that we need to do exactly what Jesus did on the cross. His atonement was so perfect that it doesn’t have to be repeated. Jesus died and shed blood ‘once for all’ to make atonement for all people’s sins, and the effect of His sacrifice lasts forever.
 
What we need to do is simply deliver the good news of peace to those who haven’t heard about it yet. That’s the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the message of reconciliation that we’re to proclaim as children of God.
 
Paul said in Romans 10:14, “... How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom 10:14)
 
Even now, God is seeking those who want to join in the ministry of reconciliation by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ with their words, actions, and lives. That’s what I want all of us to be. I want us to serve as peacemakers on earth who are committed to reconciling others with God.
 
The 8th Blessing: Those Who Are Persecuted
All right. Let’s move on to the last blessing out of the 8 beatitudes Jesus taught on the mount. Let’s read today’s verse one more time.
 
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:10).
 
Again, we are reminded that the 8 blessings Jesus taught are different from the worldly concept of blessings. The world never says that persecuted people are blessed. That’s true. It seems that persecution is far from a blessing.
 
But, Jesus said, “blessed are those who are persecuted.” Why did He say that? What kind of blessing can we find in the midst of persecution?  That’s what I want us to look at today and next Sunday.
 
Before we jump into the meaning of Christians’ persecution and how persecution is related to blessings, it would be helpful to be reminded of how Jesus brought us peace. As we have learned over the last two weeks, Jesus had to sacrifice Himself to reconcile us to God.
 
 Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5)
 
He came into the world as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In other words, without His sacrifice, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy peace with God. We can only have access to God through Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. That’s how Jesus brought us peace.
 
That’s what we also see throughout human history. The peace and freedom we have now were not freely given. Many people fought, were persecuted, shed blood, and died so that we could enjoy the peace and freedom that we have now. We should always remember their noble devotion and sacrifice and be thankful for them.
 
So, it seems that peace requires sacrifice, which means that in order to truly serve as peacemakers on earth, we’re to be ready to run the risk of persecution and suffering for Jesus’ name.
 
Just as Jesus sacrificed everything, including His own life, to reconcile us to God, we need to sacrifice what we have in order to carry out the ministry of reconciliation. And just as Jesus suffered, we may go through hardships as we proclaim the gospel.
 
That’s how our ancestors in faith lived. We read a lot of stories about many Christians, including Peter and Paul, who were beaten, imprisoned, and even killed when they gave witness to Jesus.
 
Frankly speaking, I don’t know why sacrifice is necessary, but it seems apparent that God uses persecution as an important tool for spreading the gospel. Becoming peacemakers means that we’re ready to be persecuted for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
When we talk about Jesus or the gospel with our friends who don’t believe in Him, they might look at us strangely. If we go out to the streets right now and shout about Jesus’ sacrifice and His resurrection, which the apostles in the book of Acts did, we may get some strange looks and even be insulted and cursed at.
 
In fact, we have no reason to be treated like that unless we proclaim His name. Nevertheless, we should always remind ourselves that we’re called to be peacemakers who connect people with God, and that without sacrifice, persecution, or suffering, we can’t carry out this very important mission God has entrusted us with. So I think the seventh blessing is closely related to the 8th blessing.
 
Jesus talks about the blessing of those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Here, righteousness refers to Jesus Himself because in the following verse Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Mt 5:11).
 
Therefore, being persecuted because of righteousness means that we actively join in Jesus’ ministry of connecting people to the righteousness He achieved on the cross on their behalf. So, being persecuted because of righteousness is no different from suffering for the name of Jesus Christ that we must proclaim as Christians.
 
Christians and Persecution
Now, let’s think about the relationship between being a Christian and persecution or suffering. Why should Christians be persecuted on earth? Is suffering necessary to maintain a Christian life?
 
No one likes suffering, but it is necessary to Christian life because the Bible presents persecution and suffering as strong fruits of our faith.
 
If we are really Christians, if we really want to follow Jesus Christ as His disciples, there’s no way not to experience any hardships at all. All genuine Christians who have true faith in Jesus have joined in His suffering to some extent.
 
That’s what we see from the New Testament and history of Christianity. There were no true Christians who didn’t experience any suffering or hardships at all in their lives.
 
That’s what the Bible testifies to. Let’s read Colossians 1:24 together.
 
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Col 1:24)
 
Paul said, “I rejoice in what I am suffering for you.” As we read from Acts and Paul’s letters, Paul went through many hardships as he went around many regions to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and build churches. He was frequently beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. He said that he was exposed to death again and again.
 
But we know that these suffering and hardships were not given to Him naturally. Rather, it was his choice. Even though he knew that there would be suffering and hardships as he preached the gospel of Jesus, he still willingly chose to face them because he knew that he couldn’t achieve the calling God had given him without being persecuted.
 
When Paul made his farewell to some elders of the church in Ephesus before going to Jerusalem, he told them,
 
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Ac 20:22-24)
 
That was what Paul focused on. He put God’s will and His calling first in his life to the point that he didn’t even spare his own life in order to finish his race of faith that God had given him. He was ready to suffer for Christ. Paul even said,
 
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Php 1:20-21)
 
Paul’s eyes were so fixed on Jesus that he was filled with eager expectation. The hope Paul had in Christ gave him sufficient courage to go through and overcome suffering and hardships.
 
In other words, Paul intentionally chose to suffer for Christ. Before believing in Jesus, Paul lived a good and stable life. He had Roman citizenship and was well educated. He was a respected man in the Jewish community.
 
He wasn’t persecuted, but instead was a persecutor of churches and Christians. If he had remained who he had been before meeting Christ, there would’ve been no reason for him to suffer.
 
But, Paul met Jesus on the way to Damascus. His encounter with Jesus was so intense that it completely changed his whole life. He was a persecutor of Christians, but now he became a Christian who was subject to severe persecution.
 
From that time on, Paul suffered many times for the name of Jesus. And he ended up being executed as a result. Who would say that Paul’s life was blessed? From the point of view of this world, he lived the most miserable life possible.
 
Paul also knew this. He once said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1Co 15:19).
 
But Paul had hope in Christ to which nothing in this world can compare.
 
He added, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1Co 15:20-22)
 
That was the reason Paul could endure suffering and even enjoy his hardships. He chose to join in Jesus’ suffering because he fixed his eyes on nothing but Jesus and put his hope in His resurrection.
 
That’s the one of the biggest differences between suffering for Christ and the general hardships we may experience on earth. In human life, no one likes hardships, but we can't avoid them. Our lives are always exposed to hardships such as illness, accidents, financial challenges, and unexpected events. These hardships are not something that we 'choose'. These inevitable troubles are given regardless of our will.
 
But persecution and joining in the suffering of Christ are chosen. That means we can choose whether or not to suffer for Christ just as Jesus chose to suffer and die for us.
 
However, that doesn’t mean that we can avoid suffering and hardships as Christians. The suffering and hardships that Paul went through in his faith in Jesus were not special things that were given only to him, but to every Christian who truly seeks God’s righteousness first and wants to follow Christ.
 
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Lk 9:23-24).
 
These words are given not only to some special, devoted, and faithful Christians but to all Christians who believe in Jesus. It seems that many Christians nowadays have a tendency to distinguish the word “disciple” from “Christian.” They might think that they are not disciples yet because they are not that devoted to Christ, but they are still Christians because they believe in Jesus.
 
But the Bible doesn’t allow such a distinction. The word ‘Christian’ only appears three times in the Bible while the word ‘disciple’ is used many more times to describe those who believe in Jesus and follow Him. Christians were called ‘disciples’ first. In fact, the term ‘Christian’ was invented by non-believers to ridicule those who follow the way of Christ.
 
So, the Bible clearly states that it’s impossible to be Christians without choosing to follow Christ as His disciples, which means that Jesus requires all Christians, not just a few special disciples, to deny themselves and carry their own crosses to follow Him.
 
In other words, all Christians are called to join in the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ by intentionally making decisions to make His name known to those who don’t know Him yet.
 
But, it seems that there are not many Christians who are interested in this. some Christians live comfortable lives without any persecution, sacrifice, or difficulty, while other Christians willingly choose to join in Jesus' suffering, forgoing all their privileges and choosing to endure severe persecution and hardship, even risking their lives.
 
Why does it make such a big difference? That’s my question. We believe in the same God, the same Christ, the same Holy Spirit, and the same word of God, but why are the ways Christians live so different?
 
That’s because nowadays many Christians only believe what they want to believe, not everything in the Bible. They believe in Jesus as their Savior but refuse to accept Him as the Lord of their lives. They believe that they will go to heaven after death but they don’t try to experience the presence of God’s kingdom in their daily lives.
 
So, they are not interested in being used by God to build and expand His kingdom. They believe in forgiveness, but not the repentance of sins. They believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they refuse to join in His death. They believe in joining in the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns but they refuse to join in His suffering here on earth.
 
How can we call that true, genuine faith? At this point, I want to share what I believe. I said that Christians can choose persecution. But, I want to go further. What I believe is that joining in the suffering of Christ is beyond a matter of choice for Christians. It may sound radical, but I believe that only those who make the decision to suffer for Christ are true Christians.
 
Of course, there are different forms of suffering and degrees of severity, but true Christians are those who deliberately carry their cross and join in Jesus Christ's suffering. We can’t receive the gospel without suffering for it.
 
In 1 Tm 3:12, Paul said, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Here, Paul suggests persecution as evidence of faith.
 
So, I want to encourage you to choose to join in Jesus’ sacrifice and His suffering somehow. It is indeed hard, but we can continue to follow Jesus when we fix our eyes on Him and put our hope in the glory that He will give at the end of the journey of our faith.
 
Now, let’s read 1 Pt 2:20-21 together before we wrap up.
“…If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1Pt 2:20-21)
 
As Christians, we should know that we’re called to be persecuted for righteousness. Jesus Christ was a great example in sacrificing His life on the cross. Now, it’s our turn. We should follow in His steps, joining in His suffering, taking up our cross daily. I want every one of us here today to be real blessed Christians.
 
Let’s pray.
 
[Closing prayer]
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us this great opportunity to think about what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him as Christians and as His disciples.
 
Lord, we thank You for giving us the privilege to join in Your ministry of reconciliation. As we carry out this mission, there might be a lot of opposition, insults, and persecution. We may need to sacrifice our time and money.
 
So Lord, please give us willing spirits to join in Jesus’ suffering. Let us not hesitate to choose to take up our crosses to follow Christ but help us make bold decisions to suffer for You out of our faith in You.
 
We want to remember all the things You’ve done and what Jesus sacrificed to give us salvation. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel, but give us courage and strength to proclaim it no matter what it costs us.
 
We put our hope in You, Lord. Help us fix our eyes on Jesus so that we can follow His example on earth.
 
We thank You, Lord, and we love You.
We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who came to the world as the suffering Servant. Amen.
 
[Reflection Questions]
1. Have you sacrificed anything or experienced any kind of opposition or insults because of Jesus’ name? Please share your experience if you have one.
 
2. What do you think is the relationship between being a Christian and suffering? Is suffering necessary to believe in Jesus? Why?
 
3. What are some ways you can join in Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice in your life now? What are some obstacles that prevent you from doing so?