The Sermon on the Mount 5

Introduction

As we have walked through these opening words of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, we have seen that Christ has been describing the citizens of His kingdom. Demonstrating for us what grace makes a man to be when the Spirit of God works to regenerate his heart.

We have seen that the poor in spirit are emptied of self. They then become those who mourn learn to grieve the sin in their lives. Those who have mourned become those who are meek and instead of the weakness the world sees, they have bowed beneath the hand of God. This transformation continues as these same kingdom citizens become those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who have been made restless, by the work of the Holy Spirit, until they are satisfied in Him and tasting of the mercies of God become merciful. They are those described as pure in heart who are cleansed by grace and they long for undivided devotion. These citizens are the peacemakers, sons and daughters who bear the likeness of their Father, people the world does not applaud, but rather persecutes. The world may admire the vague idea of kindness as long as that kindness never confronts sin. It will admire peace when that peace never requires truth, or religion when that religion remains private, harmless, and easily managed. But when righteousness is embodied in a people who belong to Christ, the world often finds that righteousness unbearable.

In verses 10–12, our Lord does not hide this from His disciples. He does not recruit them with promises of ease. He does not tell them that following Him will make them respectable in the eyes of the age. He tells them plainly that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Then, in verses 11–12, He presses the matter home personally: “Blessed are you.”

That personal word matters, each of the preceeding verses are written in the third person, but verse 11 turns and looks the believer in the eye: “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you.” Our Lord knows that persecution is not merely a doctrine to be affirmed. It is a providence to be endured. It comes with faces, names, voices, accusations, losses, and wounds. So Christ does not merely speak about persecuted saints somewhere else. He speaks to His own disciples, and through them to every believer who will bear reproach for His name.

Our text for today shows us that a disciple of Christ is blessed when he is insulted and persecuted for Christ’s sake, because his suffering identifies him with the faithful who have gone before him, fixes his hope on heaven, and draws him nearer to the rejected and reigning King. Which brings us to now turn to the Word of God found in the 5th chapter of Matthew’s gospel as we read once again verses 1-12.

Text

Please stand in reverence for the reading of God’s holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, sufficient, complete and certain word:

Matthew 5:1–12 LSB

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Father, we come before You having heard Your holy, inerrant, infallible, complete, authoritative, and sufficient Word. We ask now that You would humble us beneath it, strengthen us by it, and conform us to Christ through it. Teach us not only to hear what our Lord has spoken, but to believe it, receive it, and walk in it. Where we fear the reproach of men, give us courage. Where we love the praise of this world, turn our eyes toward heaven. Where we are weak, uphold us by Your Spirit. Make Christ precious to us now, and teach us to rejoice in Him above all things. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I. The Reproach Christ Describes

Our Lord says, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” It is interesting to note here that as Christ begins to speak of persecution He does not speak of imprisonment, beatings, or martyrdom, even though those things are certainly included in the broader reality of persecution, and are some of the severest forms of persecution. What we actually see is that He begins with insult, speaking of reproach, verbal abuse, public dishonor, and malicious speech.

This should catch our attention. In theory, many Christians are prepared to suffer dramatically for Christ. However, often we are more deeply shaken by the smaller and more common wounds of reproach. We are undone when someone misrepresents us, mocks us, excludes us, or speaks evil against us. Yet Jesus names that kind of suffering. He knows the sting of words. He knows what it is to be called a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He knows what it is to have His works attributed to the devil. He knows what it is to be despised and forsaken of men.

The text gives us three forms of opposition. First, “people insult you.” This is personal reproach. It is the contempt of others directed at the follower of Christ. Second, they “persecute you.” This is active hostility. It may take different forms in different times and places, but it is opposition because of allegiance to Christ. Third, they “falsely say all kinds of evil against you.” This is slander. It is not enough for the world to reject the Christian; it often feels compelled to redefine him as the problem.

This has always been one of Satan’s weapons. If he cannot silence the truth, he will attempt to discredit the messenger. Remember, Moses was opposed by the very people he was sent to lead. Elijah was treated as the troubler of Israel, though the true trouble was Ahab’s rebellion. Jeremiah was mocked and imprisoned. Daniel was targeted because he would not cease praying to the living God. The prophets were not persecuted because they were cruel men. They were persecuted because they spoke for God among people who did not want God to speak.

But here we must be careful, because Jesus is not giving a blanket blessing to every person who is disliked. He is not saying, “Blessed are you whenever anyone is upset with you.” The blessing is not upon obnoxiousness. It is not upon foolishness. It is not upon harshness masquerading as courage. It is not upon consequences that come because we have been impatient, unwise, rude, or needlessly offensive.

Charles H. Spurgeon rightly observed, “Mind, it must be said falsely, and it must be for Christ’s sake” (Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Popular Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1893, commentary on Matthew 5:11). That is a needed warning. There is no martyrdom in being opposed because we have sinned. Peter says the same thing in 1 Peter 2:20: “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?” But he goes on to say that if we suffer for doing good and endure it, this finds favor with God.

Christ gives two qualifications. The evil spoken must be false, and it must be “because of Me.” That phrase is the heart of the verse. It is not that the persecution is because of morality, political opinions, personality conflicts, nor even because of religious tradition. But “Because of Me.” The Christian’s reproach is blessed when it comes from true and visible allegiance to Jesus Christ, to His truth, to His gospel, His righteousness, His lordship, and His kingdom.

That means the issue is not merely that the world dislikes us. The issue is that the world hates Christ. Jesus will later say in John 15:18–19 ““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 its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” If the holy Son of God was slandered, rejected, and crucified, then those united to Him should not be surprised when His reproach spills over onto them.

This is not a call to seek persecution. It is a call to remaining faithful even when persecution comes. The believer should not have a quarrelsome spirit. He should not be a lover of controversy for controversy’s sake. The Beatitudes have already shown us the character of the kingdom citizen. He is poor in spirit, mourning over sin, meek, merciful, pure in heart, and peaceable. But precisely because he belongs to Christ, he cannot make peace with lies. He cannot call evil good. He cannot deny his Lord. He cannot edit the gospel to make it acceptable to the age.

So the reproach comes. It may come loudly or quietly. It may come in the workplace, in the family, in the classroom, in public discourse, or even from religious people who resent the demands of Christ. But Jesus says, “Blessed are you.”

II. The Joy Christ Commands

Verse 12 is one of the most surprising commands in the Sermon on the Mount: “Rejoice and be glad.” Our Lord does not merely say, “Endure it.” or “Survive it.” He says, “Rejoice and be glad.”

This is not natural. No one naturally rejoices in being insulted. No one naturally delights in being lied about. No one naturally celebrates the loss of reputation, comfort, security, or acceptance. If all we had were this present world, such a command would seem impossible. But Christ commands joy because He opens the eyes of His people to realities that the world cannot see.

Christian joy is not the denial of pain. It is not pretending that persecution does not hurt. Paul could be “sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” The apostles could leave the council in Acts 5:41 “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the Name.” Their backs may have been bruised, but their joy was real. Why? Because suffering for Christ confirmed that they belonged to Christ. The shame of men became a badge of fellowship with the rejected King.

John Calvin writes that when believers raise their minds to heaven, they “behold vast grounds of joy, which dispel sadness” (John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, trans. William Pringle, Vol. 1, Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1845, commentary on Matthew 5:12). That is exactly the movement of the text. Jesus does not tell His disciples to look inward and find emotional strength. He tells them to look upward. Rejoicing in persecution is not produced by self-confidence. It is produced by heavenly-mindedness. The believer can rejoice under reproach because Christ teaches him to interpret present suffering in light of eternal glory.

This is what Paul does in Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” He is not minimizing suffering. He is measuring it. He puts present suffering on one side of the scale and future glory on the other, and he says there is no comparison. Again in 2 Corinthians 4:17, he calls affliction “momentary” and “light” not because it feels small in the moment, but because it is preparing “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

That is the logic of verse 12. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” Christ does not call us to rejoice because pain is pleasant. He calls us to rejoice because heaven is real. He calls us to rejoice because the Father sees. He calls us to rejoice because the verdict of God outweighs the verdict of men. He calls us to rejoice because no slander on earth can erase the inheritance kept in heaven.

Here we must understand reward properly. The reward is not wages earned by merit. Calvin warns that “there is not...a mutual relation between the reward and merit, but the promise of the reward is free” (Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, commentary on Matthew 5:12). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Even our endurance is grace. Even our faithfulness is upheld by the Spirit. Even our willingness to suffer is the fruit of God’s preserving mercy. So when Christ speaks of reward, He is not teaching merit. He is teaching the generosity of the Father.

The God who saves freely also rewards graciously. Hebrews 11:6 says that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Moses considered “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:26). That is not legalism. That is faith. Faith sees what unbelief cannot see. Faith sees that the treasures of Egypt are temporary, but the reward of God is eternal.

This heavenly reward also protects us from bitterness. If we believe that our name must be vindicated now, we will be tempted to anger, self-defense, manipulation, and despair. But if we believe that our Father sees in secret, that Christ will judge righteously, and that heaven holds our reward, then we can entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly. We do not need to return insult for insult. We do not need to answer every slander. We do not need to win every earthly court of opinion. The King knows His own.

III. The Fellowship Christ Gives

Jesus adds one more encouragement: “for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” This places the suffering disciple in a long biblical line. The believer who is reviled for Christ’s sake is not an abandoned outlier. He stands in fellowship with the faithful who have gone before him.

This would have been deeply significant for Jewish hearers. The prophets were honored in memory but rejected in their own generation. Israel decorated their tombs after silencing their voices. Micaiah was hated because he would not prophesy good concerning Ahab. Jeremiah was mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and thrown into a cistern. Amos was told to stop preaching at Bethel. Zechariah was murdered. The history of the prophets is a history of truth resisted by those who did not want God’s word.

Jesus says, in effect, “Do not think your suffering means you are outside the purposes of God. The faithful have always been treated this way.” Spurgeon remarks, “You are in the true prophetic succession” (Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom, commentary on Matthew 5:12). That is not apostolic succession in the institutional sense. It is the succession of faithfulness. It is the line of those who speak and live under the authority of God’s word, whatever men may say.

This also helps us understand the nature of Christian witness. The prophets were not persecuted because they were vague. They were persecuted because they spoke the word of the Lord into the sins of their generation. They exposed idolatry. They warned of judgment. They called people to repentance. They held forth the promises of God. They were not innovators. They were servants. They did not create the message; they received it and delivered it.

So too with the church. We are not persecuted because we invent new doctrines. We suffer faithfully when we hold fast to the old gospel once for all delivered to the saints. We confess the holiness of God in an age that trivializes sin. We confess the sinfulness of man in an age that worships self. We confess the exclusivity of Christ in an age that calls exclusivity hatred. We confess repentance and faith in an age that wants affirmation without transformation. We confess the authority of Scripture in an age that wants every man to be his own lawgiver.

Yet the line does not merely run from the prophets to us. It runs from the prophets to Christ, and from Christ to all who are united to Him. He is the true and final Prophet. He is the Word made flesh. He did not merely speak the word of God; He is the eternal Word who reveals the Father. And how was He received? He was reviled. He was falsely accused. He was called demon-possessed. He was mocked, spit upon, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross.

J. C. Ryle reminds us, “The servant is not greater than his Master. If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, no wonder if they give evil names to His disciples” (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, London: William Hunt and Company, 1856, commentary on Matthew 10:24–25). That is not meant to crush the disciple. It is meant to steady him. The reproach of Christ is not evidence that Christ has abandoned us. It is evidence that we belong to Him.

But we must say more. Christ did not merely suffer as our example. He suffered as our substitute. He was not reviled because He had sinned. He had no sin. No deceit was found in His mouth. He was the righteous One suffering for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God. He stood condemned in the place of His people. He bore the curse we deserved. He was cast out that we might be brought near. He was shamed that we might be clothed in His righteousness. He died and rose again, and now He gives His people a share in His life, His kingdom, His inheritance, and even His sufferings.

That means Christian suffering is never atoning. We do not add to the saving work of Christ. His work is finished. His blood is sufficient. His righteousness is perfect. But Christian suffering is conforming. The Father uses reproach to loosen our grip on this world and to make us more like the Son. Philippians 3:10 speaks of “the fellowship of His sufferings.” 1 Peter 4:13 says, “to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing.” The reproach of Christ marks us as belonging to Him.

This is why the believer can rejoice without pretending that suffering is painless. His joy rests in union with Christ. If we are united to Christ, then His rejection explains ours. His suffering gives meaning to ours. His resurrection guarantees our hope. His glory secures our reward. The world may speak against the Christian now, but the Christian’s life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then we also will be manifested with Him in glory.

IV. The Examination Christ Requires

This text calls for honest examination. The question is not merely, “Have I ever been criticized?” Everyone has. The question is, “Have I so belonged to Christ that reproach has come because of Him?” Has the name of Christ, the truth of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, and the gospel of Christ so marked my life that I cannot be fully at home in the world?

There is a false peace that should trouble us. If we can move through a Christ-hating world with no conflict, no tension, no cost, and no reproach, we ought to ask whether we have hidden the light under a basket. Jesus moves immediately from these words into the image of salt and light. That is not accidental. Those who are blessed under reproach are also called to be visible in the world. Salt must have savor. Light must shine.

Yet this examination must not lead us to manufacture persecution. Some believers seem almost eager to be disliked, as though hostility itself proves faithfulness. But the Beatitudes will not allow that. The persecuted disciple is also meek, merciful, pure, and peaceable. He is not harsh. He is not proud. He is not reckless. He does not confuse the offense of the gospel with the offense of his own flesh.

So we must ask both questions. Are we willing to suffer for Christ? And are we sure that when we suffer, it is truly for Christ? The first question guards us from cowardice. The second guards us from presumption.

And if we find ourselves fearful, we should not pretend otherwise. Bring that fear to Christ. Bring your love of approval to Christ. Bring your wounded reputation to Christ. Bring your trembling obedience to Christ. He is gentle with the weak, and He strengthens His people to endure.

But if you do not know Christ, this text calls you to count the cost. Do not imagine that Christianity is a decorative addition to an otherwise worldly life. Christ does not call men to admire Him from a safe distance. He calls sinners to repent, believe, take up the cross, and follow Him. The cost of following Christ is real, but the cost of rejecting Him is eternal. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Conclusion

So our Lord closes the Beatitudes by lifting the eyes of His people. He has shown us the character of the kingdom citizen, and now He shows us the world’s response. The poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, and the righteous will not always be celebrated. They will often be reviled. But they are blessed.

Blessed when insulted. Blessed when opposed. Blessed when lied about. Blessed not because suffering is pleasant, but because Christ is precious. Blessed not because men approve, but because the Father sees. Blessed not because reproach is easy, but because the reward is great. Blessed not because we stand alone, but because we stand with the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, and above all with Christ Himself.

And here is the comfort: the One who pronounces this blessing has already walked the path before us. He was reviled, but He did not revile in return. He suffered, but He entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously. He bore the cross for sinners, rose in victory, and now reigns in glory. Therefore, His people may lose the praise of men and still possess the blessing of heaven.

The question that remains is simple and searching: Is Christ so precious to us that we can rejoice when faithfulness to Him costs us the praise of men?

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who does not flatter us with promises of ease, but tells us the truth and then gives us grace sufficient for that truth. Forgive us for the times we have loved comfort more than Christ, the praise of men more than faithfulness, and safety more than obedience. Teach us to count it joy when we suffer for the name of Christ, not because suffering is pleasant, but because He is worthy.

Lord, strengthen the fearful, steady the weary, comfort the wounded, and purify Your church. Keep us from seeking persecution through pride or foolishness, but also keep us from avoiding reproach through compromise and cowardice. Help us to walk as those united to Christ, remembering that the servant is not greater than his Master. Fix our eyes upon the great reward kept for Your people in heaven, and make us faithful until the day we see our King face to face. In the name of Jesus Christ, our crucified, risen, and reigning Lord, we pray. Amen.