Matthew 5:10-12

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

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.

Last week we looked at verse 9 of Jesus’ beatitudes,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

and today we’re going to see that those who are God’s peacemakers will at the same time, you might say ironically, will be persecuted for their message of peace and reconciliation. Many will take offense to the peacemaking efforts of God’s people, and it’s because of the very nature of the fallen human heart, that it is radically opposed to the kingship, or lordship, of Jesus. The human heart at it’s core seeks autonomy, it reaches for divinity just as Eve reached for the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s why by our fallen nature we strive against God and do everything in our power to suppress the truth about him.

God’s message of peace brings division

So while we are commanded to be peacemakers Jesus also teaches us that this message of peace and reconciliation will have consequences, often causing division, even among families. Jesus says it like this later in Matthew’s gospel starting in chapter 10:34-36,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

Jesus doesn’t mean here that he intends to bring physical violence against anyone, rather he’s using the analogy of the sword to describe the kind of division and strife that will inevitably exist within a family when certain members of that family become disciples of Christ. It is no small thing for a person who was once dead in their trespasses and sin to be born again, repenting of their sin and turning to God. Because to be a disciple of Christ means to have a new Lord, a new master directing the life of the person. And those who oppose Christ will, by their fallen human nature, want nothing to do with the lordship of Jesus Christ, and by extension nothing to do with the person who has become a follower Him.

Example of how Jesus divides family members

I have a friend who I first met while I was in my late teens before moving back to Alaska who came from a home with a father who was a very vocal atheist, and I remember when my friend gave his life to the Lord that his father had a very harsh reaction to his son’s faith in Christ. After many arguments and heated conversations his father eventually instructed him to move out of the house. I remember going with him to his house once while he still lived with his family, and to this day I have this very vivid memory of the tension in the house while sitting in his living room on the couch. I remember how strange it felt to witness my friend who probably wasn’t much older than 17 or 18 at the time essentially be disowned by his father.

I haven’t talked with him in years but I periodically see pictures of him and his wife with their children on Facebook, and he regularly sends us letters in the mail with updates of their ministry efforts on the college campuses of Texas, as he has been a full time evangelist and disciple maker with the Navigators ministry since we first became friends.

The pursuit of righteousness provokes opposition from the world

My point is that as peacemakers we will encounter much difficulty because a vast majority of the people around us don’t want anything to do with Jesus. They don’t want the gospel and they don’t even want God in their thoughts. It’s important that we’re soberminded about this reality, it should help from thinking it strange that the people around us tend to reject the message we carry. But it’s equally important that we know that the message we carry is promised to be effectual, that God is able to, through our sharing of the gospel, remove a person’s heart of stone and give that person next door to us a heart of flesh, a heart that responds to God’s message of reconciliation. I want you to listen to was Luke records for us in the book of Acts chapter 13 starting in verse 44,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,

that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

I want you to look at the last half of that last verse with me again,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Effectual calling emboldens us to evangelize

This is what we call efffectual calling. In other words, in this particular situation, God overcomes many of the hard and rebelious hearts of the Gentiles in this city and gives them hearts that respond in faith. Or to say it as the Apostle Peter did in his letter, “[God] has caused us to be born again.” Now, the reason I want to point this out is because this reality means that you will not fail in your proclamation of the gospel, and as many are appointed to eternal life will believe. You see, Luke could have written verse 48 very differently, he could have said something like this, “and as many believe God granted them eternal life” and I still think Luke would have been accurate to say that. Of course those who believe will have eternal life - that’s the gospel, but Luke chooses to tell us more. Instead he says that “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” He’s showing us more than what we just see on the surface, he’s showing us that they believe because God had already appointed them unto eternal life. This is HUGE for us as evangelists, you will succeed, you can share the gospel with someone and pray for someone and God can change their heart. In fact, look what Luke later records in Acts chapter 18 starting in verse 5,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

Beloved there are many in this city who are God’s people, they just need to hear the word of God. God encourages Paul’s evangelism by telling him that there are many in this city who are His. The teaching that God’s calling is effectual is intended to embolden us to open our mouths.

The pursuit of righteousness provokes opposition from the world

My point here is that it’s important that we realize that our peacemaking efforts will encounter opposition, and to also remember that such opposition is not too much for our God to overcome. In other words don’t let the opposition stop you, don’t let the opposition discourage you.

Now looking back at we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

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.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus breaks this beatitude out into two parts that are very closely related. The first is that we will be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” If you’ll look back at verse 6 we are reminded that those who are the children of God are those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” That is, as God’s people we desire and pursue righteousness, and what Jesus is saying here is that because we pursue righteousness we will be persecuted, that we will encounter opposition from the world.

The inevitable collision of two opposing pursuits

If you think about it, it’s inevitable that those who pursue righteousness will be on a collision course with those who do not. That those who love the darkness will have disdain for those who love the light. It’s the inevitable collision of two opposing pursuits. Our pursuits for righteousness will inevitably conflict with the world’s pursuits for unrighteousness. Paul reaffirms this in his letter to Timothy and writes,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Examples of conflict between righteous and unrighteous pursuits

There are a multitude of examples of this conflict throughout the Old and New Testaments. The signs that accompanied the apostles caused many to follow them which filled the Pharisees with, as Luke describes it, jealousy. Over and over again throughout the Gospels Jesus exposes the unrighteousness and hypocrisy of the religious leaders, inevitably culminating in their insistence to have him put to death. And Pilate sentences Jesus to death at the Jew’s request to protect himself and his rule despite Jesus’ innocence. A world that is in love with darkness cannot bear the light of those who seek after righteousness, because righteousness threatens and jeopardizes their unrighteous pursuits. It was the Jesus’ righteousness that exposed the evil deeds of others wherever he went. John, in his gospel, records Jesus’ words like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 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.”

Sexual revolution

I’m reminded of the sexual revolution that has been upon us over the last 60 years or more. The bottomline agenda boils down to attaining the moral freedom to engage in sexual relationships of any kinds, from heterosexual fornication to homosexual activity. To attain sexual freedom in all categories and to throw off the so called shackles of biblical marriage.

I’m reminded of the sexual revolution that has been upon us for at least the last 60 years. The bottom line agenda of this movement boils down to attaining so called “moral freedom”, or freedom from moral restraint, to engage in sexual relationships of any kind without limits, from heterosexual fornication to homosexual activity to whatever else the sinful mind can imagine. To attain so called “sexual freedom” in all categories and to throw off the so called “shackles” of biblical marriage. There’s is little wonder why biblical Christianity is becoming ridiculed and its followers labeled as bigots, it’s because the righteousness that God’s children pursue is in direct conflict with the pursuits of a godless revolution, and for them at the end of the day the only option is to silence such opposition. Beloved, remember that your pursuit of righteousness in your own life and in the lives of others will invite persecution, but remember, blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Righteousness in public

And what’s implied in this text is that Jesus assumes that his disciples will be living public lives, that their lives will be in plain sight. He is not directing them to live their lives as though they were hermits. He’s not directing them to separate themselves from the world in an attempt to escape it’s evils. He assumes that we, as his disciples, will very much be in the world, yet not of it.

No compromise on issues of righteousness

And Jesus does not call us to compromise on issues of righteousness, but instead calls us to pursue it, both in our private and public lives, and this is why he anticipates persecution. And let that perseuction remind us that we are citizens of God’s kingdom, which ought to give us cause to rejoice. Listen to what Peter says in ,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

You will be persecuted for my sake

Now if we look at the second part of this beatitude as it is outlined in verses 11-12 we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

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.

In addition to our pursuit of righteousness our allegiance to Jesus will be further cause for our persecution. Jesus elaborates on this point later in starting in verse 16,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Jesus is the very source and embodiment of righteousness

While we are called to pursue righteousness Jesus is the very source and embodiment of righteousness. The Scriptures teach in that, "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:21 that, "for our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God." This is why the Scriptures speak of him as our righteousness.

Allegiance to Jesus invites persecution

And for this reason when we align ourselves with him we will be maligned and persecuted as he was, we will suffer ridicule as he did. Not only will our own pursuit of righteousness create friction with the world, but our allegiance to Jesus will make sure of it. You see Jesus' light shines the brightest because he was without sin, and "everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." The light of Christ makes people uncomfortable and as we associate with him and become conformed to his image people will increasingly become uncomfortable around us.

They persecuted the prophets who were before you

Jesus also reminds us that this is nothing new, as he said in verse 12 “for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The Pharisees boasted that they would never have partaken of the murderous actions against God's prophets, but Jesus said their rejection of Him was witness against them that they were sons of the those who murdered the prophets. We read Jesus’ words in ,

English Standard Version Chapter 23

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Persecuted as Jesus and the prophets were

The fact that they persecuted Jesus was evidence against them that they too would have been partakers in the murderous actions against God’s prophets of old, and when we align ourselves with Jesus we too will be persecuted as he was.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, and on my account

And likely what’s most important for us to understand today is why does Jesus call us blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness sake and persecuted on account of him. I think we would all agree that persecution in all its forms is never pleasurable from a purely fleshly perspective, in fact, it’s only natural for us to recoil and stop our mouths in order to avoid persecution from others. It’s probably part of the reason we don’t share the gospel as often as we should, but I want us to see the blessing that ought to motivate us and free of from any fear of persecution.

Set our gaze toward eternity

First, we must realize we are instructed to be an eternally minded people, not a short-sighted people who cannot see beyond tomorrow. Yes, in this life we will suffer persecution for our pursuit of righteousness and for our allegiance to Jesus, but we must not forget that ours is the kingdom of heaven and our reward in heaven is great! Which means our gaze ought to be toward our future life in heaven, our gaze ought to be toward the reward that awaits us in heaven.

Listen to what the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 51, verse 7-8,

English Standard Version Chapter 51

7  “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

the people in whose heart is my law;

fear not the reproach of man,

nor be dismayed at their revilings.

8  For the moth will eat them up like a garment,

and the worm will eat them like wool,

but my righteousness will be forever,

and my salvation to all generations.”

The unrighteous will one day perish

We are instructed to not fear the reproach of man nor to be dismayed at their revilings. We are to remind ourselves that one day the moth will eat them up like a garment, that the worm will eat them like wool, that their time is short, and we are to remember that God’s righteousness will be forever, that what awaits us is eternal life, that there will be a day that so overshadows the persecution of man in this life that we ought not to even give it a thought. Paul says it like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 8

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

The ridicule and revilings will not even be worth comparing!

Rejoice and be glad!

In fact, more than that, we ought to rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer on account of Jesus' name. In Acts chapter 5 we see the apostles performing many signs and wonders in Jerusalem. The sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits are being healed in droves. The Sadducees become filled with jealousy and arrest the apostles and put them in prison. Miraculously, the Lord opens the prison doors and brings them out, and immediately they enter the temple at daybreak and begin to teach again.

The high priest is dismayed by their escape from prison and has them brought back, but this time not by force, because they were afraid that the people might stone them. They then strictly charged the apostles not to teach in the name of Jesus, but Peter and apostles answer by saying, "We must obey God rather than men." The religious leaders are enraged and earnestly desire to kill them, but instead they decide only to beat them and charge them again never to speak in the name of Jesus. Let’s pickup in verse 40 and read the rest of the story,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

The high priest is dismayed by their escape from prison and has them brought back, but this time not by force, because they were afraid that the people might stone them. They then strictly charge the apostles not to teach in the name of Jesus, but Peter and apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men." The religious leaders are enraged and want to kill them, but instead they decide to beat them and charge them again never to speak in the name of Jesus. We pick up in verse 40 and read,

Is Jesus as precious to us as he was to his disciples here in Acts?

Is Jesus that precious to us? Is he that important to us? Is he worth it? Do we value Christ to such a degree that we rejoice and are glad to be counted worthy to suffer for his name? I ask this of you because what we read here in , the very things Jesus is teaching his disciples concerning persecution, we see carried out in Acts chapter 5. We see the beatitudes being lived out in the lives of the disciples, so the question we must also ask ourselves is, "Are we living as Jesus commanded us to?" "Are our affections stirred when we hear our Lord speaking?" Now, let me make it clear that I’m not saying that if our obedience is not perfect then we ought to be put to shame. No, what I’m saying is that we should be emboldened by the disciples’ example, and take seriously Jesus’ words here in the beatitudes. My desire is that our love and affections for Christ would grow as we read these things, and that out of our love for Christ we would grow up to be mature in our faith.

I want to leave us with one last text this morning, it’s from the letter of Hebrews in chapter 10 starting in verse 32,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

“Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38  but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

We admittedly live in a time and in a place where many of these physical persecutions are restrained by the mercy of God, but let us meditate on this doctrine, that we may be ready if ever that changes. And let not the reproaches of man stop your pursuit of righteousness and allegiance to Christ. Instead, let us rejoice and be glad, and remember that our reward is great in heaven.

We admittedly live in a time and in a place where many of these physical persecutions are restrained by the mercy of God, but let us meditate on this doctrine, that we may be ready if ever that changes. And let not the reproaches of man stop your pursuit of righteousness and allegiance to Christ. Instead, let us rejoice and be glad, and remember that our reward is great in heaven.

Prayer

And paradoxically we’re persecuted for our message of peace. We’re reviled for our allegiance to Christ, and just as Jesus would say, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” While this message of peace being peace to those who embrace Christ by faith it divides whole households as many in the world revile the message.

Rejoice and be glad

Do not revile them in return, but instead rejoice and be glad, because remember you will inherit the kingdom of heaven