Royal Persecution
The Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
Antithesis - Good vs Evil, Light vs Darkness, Right vs Wrong, Truth vs Falsehood, Joy vs Despair, Righteous vs Wicked, Satan vs Christ. There is a deep antithesis in this world.
The Kingdom of God is battling against the Kingdom of Satan—Christ is building his Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We are not of this world—therefore the world does not want us here. This brings persecution for God’s royal people—for his kingdom in the church. True religion is bloody and painful as we trust in the Cross and take up our Cross as we follow Jesus—but the end thereof is the Crown of Everlasting Life!
Watson: Religion will cost us the tears of repentance and the blood of persecution. But we see here a great encouragement that may keep us from fainting in the day of adversity. For the present, blessed; for the future, crowned.
Theme:
Royal Persecution
Need:
We need to embrace true suffering for our King—and we need to ensure that we are suffering for righteousness sake, not for stupidities sake—and in so doing, we will find true Gospel Blessedness resting upon us as Christ’s true disciples and citizens of his kingdom of heaven on earth.
Purpose:
To define what true Gospel blessedness is; to show how suffering saints are truly happy in the Lord; to exhort us to be living in true righteousness for his name’s sake; to warn those who don’t experience persecution for their faith; to comfort those who belong to the King of grace; and to point our eyes to our true citizenship in the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Recap:
Last Lord’s Day we looked upon the Gospel of Peace—which comes from the God of Peace, in the blood of the Prince of Peace, applied by the Spirit of Peace—and we saw how Christ’s true disciples are peacemakers, they alone are truly blessed in God’s covenant and kingdom—and they are the children of God, with all the benefits of access to our Father who is in heaven. We have a living hope as co-heirs with Christ, the Son of God. But something I didn’t emphasize last Sunday, is that peace isn’t always possible. Sometimes you can do everything right, by God’s grace, and yet still not attain peace with those around us—because peace is a two-way street. Therefore, Jesus gives us this next beatitude to teach us to expect persecution when terms of peace cannot be met. So this morning we come to the 8th Beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount:
Read Text:
Matt. 5:10 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) Joyful Blessings Rest upon Suffering Saints - v. 10a.
(1) Joyful Blessings Rest upon Suffering Saints - v. 10a.
Matthew 5:10 (ESV)
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”
(1) Joyful Blessings Rest upon Suffering Saints - v. 10a.
(1) Joyful Blessings Rest upon Suffering Saints - v. 10a.
Q - What does it mean to be Blessed by Jesus Christ?
I quizzed some of you for the definition of Gospel blessing at our Wednesday night discipleship group, and you all answered truthfully but not with my definition! So now is your chance to redeem yourself for this Wednesday! :)
Here is our working definition: To be blessed by Jesus Christ is to be joyfully lavished with God’s saving goodness. This is true Gospel blessing. It is to be granted the free grace, favor, kindness, and mercy of God. It is to be experiencing the power of the Gospel and the fruit of the Spirit.
You’ll remember that ancient promise of the covenant of grace to Abraham:
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Well, notice how Paul interprets this promise about life in the Spirit:
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
This blessing is Gospel blessing in Jesus Christ:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Thus, Jesus is describing those who are blessed in the Gospel, who are heirs of the promises of God, who are partaking in salvation as Christ’s disciples, who are freed from the curse and rigor of the law, who are enjoying new life in the promised Spirit, and who have living hope as children of God our Father.
Truly, this is a joyful lavishing of saving goodness by faith and repentance in Jesus Christ, who is the wellspring of Gospel blessing—who is filled with mercy for the worst of sinners. And here Jesus is describing those who are blessed indeed. How does he describe his true people? As those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. So:
Q - What does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness sake?
Well first of all, here is what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that all suffering is blessed by God. It doesn’t mean that foolish decisions which lead to suffering is blessed by God. It doesn’t mean that you should desire to have a martyr complex looking for every opportunity to cry out: persecution! persecution! persecution!
Watson: When men suffer by the hand of the magistrate for their sin, folly, and crimes—they do not suffer persecution, but execution. They die not as martyrs, but as malefactors. They suffer evil for being evil.
So what does it mean? What is righteousness? And what does it mean to be persecuted for it?
Righteousness is rightness—being right with God, right with His Law, right with His Son, right with His Word, and right with His Spirit. It’s moral beauty and excellence! It’s obedience! It’s fellowship with God. It’s walking in true justice, goodness, truth, beauty, wisdom, and love—by the standards of God’s commands which are righteous and altogether to be desired!
So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
So what does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness? It mean to suffer because of your walk with Jesus. It means to suffer because of your stand for truth, beauty, and goodness. It means to suffer for your pursuit of justice, obedience, witness, and mission. It means to suffer as a Christian—not as a Crook.
Q - Why are Christians persecuted? And are all Christians persecuted?
Christians are persecuted because they are living like Jesus, whom the world hates—not becuase they are living like Judas, whom the world loves. Christians are persecuted because of the antithesis; because they are light in a world of darkness; they are holy in a world of sin; they are love in a world of hate; they are truthful in a world of lies; they stand for God’s authority and not on their our autonomy. Catering to the world is not clever in God’s eyes—it’s compromise. True Christianity is other; distinct; separated; as unto the Lord. And this is why the world hates it—because it is not like the world.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
“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.
Jesus is the altogether lovely one—the light of the world—and so he both disgusts those living in darkness, while strangely attracting them. Because even if you are deep in the pit of darkness, your eyes can still notice the light far off in the distance; but the light makes you squint, it makes you uncomfortable, it exposes your wickedness, and so you choose to remain in the darkness rather than come to the light. Jesus is the Light of the world—and we are salt and light in Him. Therefore—the world will persecute us just as it hated Him—if we are walking in true Gospel Light!
MLJ: The effect of Jesus Christ upon His contemporaries was that many threw stones at Him. They hated Him; and finally, choosing a murderer instead of Him, they put Him to death. This is the effect Jesus Christ always has upon the world. … So let us be careful that our ideas about Christ are such that the natural man cannot easily admire or applaud. If you try to imitate Christ the world will praise you; if you become Christlike it will hate you.
What MLJ means by that is that Jesus didn’t only love, he spoke the truth in love. If you just try to love without truth the world will adore you. But if you love with truth the world will hate you—because it hates the truth. We need to be willing to speak about both wrath and grace, mercy and judgment, heaven and hell—and in this way we will be followers of the Way, the Truth, and the Life—with humble boldness, and gentle resilience.
But, come on now Pastor Evan—not every Christian is persecuted are they? Well, according to Paul they are:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
But it is true that persecution is on a scale or a continuum. Not all persecution is the same. Persecution in the West is more focused on verbal shame, cultural pressure, being called a bigot by the woke crowd, and losing certain privileges in society. Such is still persecution—but it’s not as intense as Christianity in the 10/40 window, in the heart of Islamic countries, or in communist/socialist countries.
The globally persecuted church suffers much more than we do. We have countless brothers and sisters who have been murdered by ISIS; last month 43 Christians were martyred on Palm Sunday in Nigeria; right now there are estimated to be 50,000 to 70,000 Christians held in prison where are missionaries are going to serve…
And we could go on and on. I encourage you to look into Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs if you want to learn more about the persecuted church. And in some sense, I don’t even want to call Christians in the west persecuted—but they are—just with much much less pressure …. for now. If you are a Christian you will suffer for Christ; and you need to count the cost, and rejoice to bear the name of the Man of Sorrows.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
We need to prepare to suffer, and be thankful to suffer for his sake! Whether it’s family members distancing themselves because of your faith, coworkers scoffing at you becuase of your love for Christ, neighbours laughing at the fact that you go to church, being told that you are intolerant because you live by God’s Word, being digitally censored because of your lack of political correctness, or being accused of being closed-minded because you believe Jesus is the ONLY WAY OF SALVATION. If you are trusting in the Cross for Life, you are going to bear a Cross in Life:
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Christians are Christlike—as they suffer for righteousness sake. So:
Q - What if I’m not being persecuted? What does that mean?
Well three things, really. It means your either living with compromise and cowardice—failing to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and stand for righteousness; or your living in sinful backsliding, failing to pursue true righteousness while living in sin; or your not a true disciple of Jesus Christ at all, because you are denying him before men, ashamed of his Word, which says that he will deny you and be ashamed of you before the Father. None of these options is good!
So what’s the solution then? The only solution there is! Repent & believe, turn & trust—return to the Lord through Jesus Christ; be born or filled anew by the Spirit of God; cast away the works of darkness, and walk in newness of life and true light as you follow Jesus after his example that he left us:
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Oh cast yourself upon the Cross of Jesus Christ—where he bled to set us free, where he bled to forgive our sins, where he bled to save us from wrath—go to him afresh and find renewal and grace, new mercy, and renewed strength—then take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him in the daily battle. Love God, love your neighbour, speak the truth in love, make disciples, share the Gospel, stand for Justice, live in Mercy, and bear suffering as a good solider of the Lord.
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. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 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. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
Dear Christian! Your suffering is not in vain. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake! Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. True joy is found in the fire—as you are living for righteousness sake’, for the glory of God. So:
Q - Why are suffering saints truly happy in the Lord? Isn’t this a contradiction?
Because when we suffer persecution for Jesus Christ—we are most like Him, and we find assurance that we belong to Him. As we do so, we find joy in our trials—because they testify that we are not our own, but belong, both body and soul, in life and in death, to Jesus Christ our faithful Lord & Redeemer:
Watson: This is to suffer as Christians, when we are volunteers; we take up the cross cheerfully, nay, joyfully. ‘They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name’ (Acts 5:41). Or as it is more emphatic in the original, ‘They rejoiced that they were so far graced as to be disgraced for the name of Christ’.
And so we learn that deep spiritual comfort is found in deep spiritual affliction—for righteousness sake’:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Let us pursue righteousness for his name’s sake—and prepare to suffer—knowing that it is there that Gospel blessedness rests!
(1) Joyful Blessings Rest upon Suffering Saints - v. 10a.
But this isn’t just suffering or persecution! It’s royal suffering; royal persecution! For such valiant soldiers belong to the King of grace and glory!
(2) Royal Blessings Rest upon Kingdom Heirs - v. 10b.
(2) Royal Blessings Rest upon Kingdom Heirs - v. 10b.
Matthew 5:10 (ESV)
“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
(2) Royal Blessings Rest upon Kingdom Heirs - v. 10b.
(2) Royal Blessings Rest upon Kingdom Heirs - v. 10b.
Q - Why does Jesus connect royal persecution to the kingdom?
Because the Cross is organically connected to the Crown. The Man of Sorrows is the Prince of Peace—the Suffering Servant is the King of Kings. Jesus shows that humiliation precedes exaltation. Christ’s kingdom of grace is upside down, and opposite to the rational mind of the world.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In the Gospel—the Cross and the Crown go together as a package deal through Jesus Christ.
But note, that we don’t confess that he will be Lord—but rather that He is Lord. Also, we don’t confess that He will be King—but rather that He is King. We don’t confess that the Kingdom is only out there—but that the Kingdom has spiritually come in the Person of Jesus Christ the Messiah.
Notice, theres IS the Kingdom of Heaven. They are currently part of the Kingdom. It has dawned. So let’s refresh our minds from the earlier teaching of Jesus on the arrival of the Kingdom:
Q - What is the Kingdom of Heaven that arrived with Christ’s ministry?
If you remember all the way back to ch. 4 of the Gospel of Matthew: the Kingdom of Heaven is the Reign and Rule of Jesus Christ over all things in power, and over his Church in grace.
The Kingdom of God is the reign of King Jesus over all things in creation, and the rule of King Jesus over his new creation in the church. The Kingdom of Christ is the reign of Jesus from the throne of heaven over all things, and the rule of Jesus in the hearts of his people via redemption. This is why Jesus is both King of kings, and King of the Church—this is why Jesus is both Lord of lords, and Lord of the Church. His Kingdom rules over all, and His Kingdom is the Church. Our church statement of faith is helpful here:
CNBC: The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. So…
Q - Who belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven? And How does one enter it?
So in the broad sense, everyone is under the Christ’s Kingdom of Power—but in the narrow sense, not everyone has entered Christ’s Kingdom of Grace. Everyone is under Christ’s Kingdom of Creation, but not everyone has entered Christ’s Kingdom of New Creation. You see? When the Gospels use the phrase: Kingdom of Heaven, there is a special emphasis on the latter. The redemptive kingdom of grace, renewal, and restoration … is entered by repentance and conversion … faith and new birth—which brings peace, salvation, power, and new life in joyful allegiance to King Jesus! Again the statement of faith:
CNBC: Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. So…
Q - How do we live now as heirs of the Kingdom in our daily lives?
I remember the first day this struck me. About the presence of the Kingdom and how it advances in the earth, as it is in heaven. Jesus speaks about the kingdom, righteousness & the will of God four times in the Sermon on the Mount.
(1) Here in 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom.
(2) Then in 5:19 - Whoever teaches and obeys the commandments of God will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(3) Also in 6:10 - Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
(4) And in 6:33 - Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
And then it dawned on me. You enter the Kingdom by salvation and conversion—and you live in the Kingdom through righteousness and obedience to the will of God. So we live now as members of the Kingdom as we serve King Jesus by the power of His Spirit, obeying the moral law of God. The Kingdom grows through conversion—and advances through dominion and discipleship!
So you who belong to King Jesus, born of the Spirit, adopted by the Father, saved by grace alone—let us live then for the glory of the King! Let your light shine in this dark world! Let us pursue true righteousness for his names sake!
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Pursue the Lord, make Him your Supreme Good, serve Him as your Chief Goal, obey Him as your Lord, walk with Him as your Friend, listen to Him through the Word, speak to Him in prayer, sing to Him with joyful song, worship Him in the assembly of the saints, abide with Him in the secret place, and acknowledge Christ’s Kingship and Lordship over all things!
But also pursue your neighbour. Honour your father and mother. Love your husband or wife. Serve your children with grace. Submit to your authorities. Work heartily as unto the Lord. Feed the poor and needy. Care for the widow and orphan. Enjoy God’s good creation. And live on mission, sharing the Gospel of Grace to a dark and dying world in sin.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And so what does it mean for us to enter the Kingdom? Redemption. Then what does it mean to live in the Kingdom? Righteousness. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs IS the Kingdom of Heaven. Again our statement of faith:
CNBC: Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth [as it is in heaven]. So…
Q - When will the fullness of the Kingdom arrive? And what about those who don’t belong to it?
As we’ve seen: the Cross precedes the Crown. Suffering precedes Glory. If we are to follow Jesus we will follow Him in this order. The narrow path is the suffering path—but the finish line is eternal life and eternal pleasure! We long, with the Apostle:
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
And on the day of the resurrection of life—we will enter the kingdom in all of it’s glory as it comes down, making all things new—where we shall reign forever and ever:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
And our statement of faith closes the Kingdom paragraph saying:
CNBC: The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.
But those who don’t belong to the Kingdom of heaven now, won’t belong to the Kingdom of heaven then.
If you aren’t in the Kingdom of Light—then you are still in the Kingdom of Darkness; if you haven’t trusted in the Prince of Peace, Jesus, then you are still enslaved to the Prince of Darkness, the Devil. And you will be thrown into the lake of fire where the smoke of your torment will go up forever and ever.
But you can flee from the wrath to come by trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, who in his life, death, and resurrection came to bring life, hope, joy, and peace by making us right with God. So count the cost. You will suffer if you come to Jesus, but then you will reign forever! If you reject him now you might enjoy life on earth, but you will suffer forever! Don’t despise your own soul! Don’t be foolish! Come to Jesus and find life eternal! And you who are already following Jesus—take heart beloved!
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
And in that place of eternal glory—there is fullness of joy! All things are made new! Sin and death and darkness and despair is forever banished—and we will shine as lights in the Kingdom of our Father—blessed in royal-heaven forevermore.
(2) Royal Blessings Rest upon Kingdom Heirs - v. 10b.
And such blessings are royal indeed—as we belong to the King of kings! We reign with him now in suffering; and we shall reign with him then in glory! So hear now our conclusion:
(C) Royal Persecution brings Joyful Blessings as we Live Righteously for King Jesus.
(C) Royal Persecution brings Joyful Blessings as we Live Righteously for King Jesus.
1 Peter 3:14 (ESV)
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.
And remember that antithesis we began with? Light vs Darkness? Well, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it—it won’t overcome it—it can’t overcome it! For Christ is with us!
Watson: While we suffer for Christ we suffer with Christ: ‘If we suffer with him.’ (Romans 8:17). Jesus Christ bears part of the suffering with us. Oh, says the Christian, I shall never be able to hold out. But remember you suffer with Christ. He helps you to suffer. As our blest Saviour said: ‘I am not alone; the Father is with me’ (John 16:32); so a believer may say, ‘I am not alone, my Christ is with me’. He bears the heaviest end of the cross. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). ‘Underneath are the everlasting arms’ (Deuteronomy 33:27). If Christ put the yoke of persecution over us, he will put his arms under us. The Lord Jesus will not only crown us when we conquer, but he will enable us to conquer.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(C) Royal Persecution brings Joyful Blessings as we Live Righteously for King Jesus.
(C) Royal Persecution brings Joyful Blessings as we Live Righteously for King Jesus.
Amen? Let’s pray.
Discussion Questions:
(1) Who can remember how Pastor Evan defined what it means to be Blessed by Jesus Christ? 5 stars if you get it right!
(2) What does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake? What would some examples of this be?
(3) Does God bless all suffering? How can we know that our suffering is blessed by God through Christ?
(4) What is the Kingdom of heaven? In what sense is it Already/Not Yet? Define and distinguish :)
(5) Why do suffering saints belong to the Royal Kingdom? And what is our Royal Hope?
