Blessed are the Persecuted
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction to the sermon
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Pray
more introduction
1. Expect Persecution
1. Expect Persecution
Matthew 5:10 (ESV)
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
In verse 10, Jesus says those “who are” - this is an ongoing, present reality
In verse 11, Jesus says “when” - this will happen
Jesus, in preparing His disciples for His departure, said in John 16:33
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Paul did not sugar-coat this for Timothy as he was awaiting his own execution
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
So notice this.
If you desire to live a godly life, you should expect persecution. The world hates you because you belong to Jesus.
Jesus said in John 15:18
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 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.
Also, if you seek to follow Jesus, which means sharing the gospel message with other people, you will be persecuted.
You cannot tell people that there is a problem with their lives before God and that they need to repent and not be a polarizing force.
Some will love you because you led them to the truth and they came to salvation. Others are going to hate you because they reject the truth and hate your message. Your light shined on their lives exposes them as a fraud and they love their sins and want them to remain covered.
Take for example those people in our culture who believe tolerance is the chief of all virtues. They are tolerant of everything, except Christianity. You believe whatever you want, so long as you don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
If you point this out, they will respond by saying that tolerance does not apply to those who are intolerant. But the very definition of tolerance (according to Google) is: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with
The world protects its own and you should expect persecution. You should not seek it out on your own, because it will find you easy enough, but you should expect it. In fact, if you are not being persecuted at some point for your faith, you might want to look and see if your are living out your faith in a way that is consistent with those in the Bible who have gone before you. You may be living a hidden Christianity that never confronts and never shares itself with anyone.
2. Endure Persecution
2. Endure Persecution
Not only should we expect persecution, but we should endure it.
Jesus names a few different types of persecution in these verses. Before we look at them, it is important to know that you can be persecuted for a lot of things that have nothing to do with Jesus or living for Him. If you are persecuted because of some sin in your life, that is not Jesus’ fault, that’s your own.
But Jesus describes those being persecuted for living for Kingdom values (righteousness’ sake - v.10) and those who are living to testify to who Jesus is (v.11).
In v. 11 Jesus says,
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
We see three ways here that people may persecute you.
Revile you - that is to hurl insults at you. They reviled Jesus on the cross. This is personal, direct attacks at you.
Persecute you - the Greek word here means to go after. This might look like a physical attack. It might be a seizure of your stuff.
Testify against you falsely - this is in the court of public opinion (i.e. straw man) or in actual courts. The religious leaders twisted what Jesus said to attack him and justify killing Him. Do you think they wouldn’t do that to you or me?
Whenever we face persecution, know that Jesus has already been there and that Jesus will never leave you.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Again we see the caveat, “if…for the name of Christ.” When we are persecuted for His name, we can know we have the Spirit of glory (the Holy Spirit) resting upon us.
This gives us power to endure. Think about all of the Christians who have been persecuted for God (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs). They gave up their very lives in some of the most heinous situation for the sake of the gospel.
3. The Reward of Persecution
3. The Reward of Persecution
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
We see that we are in good company when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake and for the gospel.
They persecuted the prophets. They persecuted Jesus. They will persecute you.
But Christ is with us. Just like He was with the three Hebrew Amigos in Daniel, He will be with you too in the midst of your fiery trial.
Conclusion
I want to read to you a verse in context that we looked at earlier as we close this morning.
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Let me ask you, have you entrusted your soul to Jesus?
As a believer, have you suffered for the Name of Jesus? Do you care enough about those that are out their who need to hear?
Illustration of the wounded lying on the battlefield.
We need to get after them and bring them to Christ.