Some of the most hope filled verses in the Bible are found in the Beatitudes as Jesus began his ministry with The Sermon on the Mount. These words are quite as hopeful as the most powerful promises at the end of The Revelation.
For several reasons I want to look at the Beatitudes in reverse order. When we do this we see some things very clearly about them. When you plunge into the deep water first, you get a better idea of this pool's depth. I fear that many people who say they love the Beatitudes have only dabbled their toes in the shallow end. These teachings certainly do not reflect the ease and pleasure ethic that has saturated society in the West and to some extent the entire world. These words of Jesus come to their stinging conclusion in Matthew 5:10-12.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“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, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
These words are not an abrupt change from the rest of the Beatitudes or of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They represent the heart of who Jesus was, of what He did, and of what He taught. Many years ago now I served for short time in Uganda. I had a friend there whose name was Onesimus Jonah Juma. As I was returning to the United States Onesimus went to serve in a very difficult place. We exchanged letters for some time. And he shared with me in those letters some of the difficulties he faced in the name of Jesus. At the end of one of his letters he wrote, “Remember, we serve a crucified Christ.”
To some extent, I'm going to have to take what Jesus said here on faith, because I am not going to easily understand the blessedness of persecution.
But there is sense in which the Holy Spirit at least gives us a glimpse, or maybe a taste, of goodness in this extreme.
The first facet of what Jesus tells us is The Possession of the Kingdom in Persecution.
This is not merely something we will enjoy when we get to heaven. Jesus says, “Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” not, theirs will be the Kingdom. Even while you are being reviled, shamed, lied about, or tortured, you are proving that Jesus Christ is King! He is Lord in your life, and Lord of the universe. And there is great joy in that realization.
Next, in the midst of persecution we come to grips with the reality of God's Promises in Persecution.
Jesus tells us to rejoice because our reward will be great in Heaven. What you are paid for something makes a great difference in how you think about it. If you were employed to carry bricks at $0.50 an hour, you might be tempted to complain about the drudgery. But what if you had signed a contract to carry bricks for $1,000 a minute? We have assurance that whatever we suffer will by no means compare with the ultimate reward of faithfulness to God. The more you have to endure, the more assurance you can have of the glory that is yet to come.
Finally Jesus points out the Identity that is Affirmed in Persecution.
Jesus said this is how they treated the prophets who were before you. When you suffer for the name of Christ, you join an elite corp. You are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Elijah on Mount Carmel. You stand with Isaiah and Jeremiah, Daniel in the Lion's Den. You are identified by God as being among those who are most faithful to Him.
This is a very crucial promise for those living in our day. In the past few centuries most Christians in the West were not severely persecuted, although there was always a price to pay. That is not true if it ever was on the world scene. In many parts of the world people joyfully pay a terrible price for following Christ. In fact some misseologists have estimated that more people died for the name of Christ in the 20th century than in all 20 centuries since the cross. And few would dispute that more are paying the ultimate cost in the 21st century. And it is important for us to encourage our brothers and sisters, joining Jesus in assuring them, “Rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven.”
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