The Persecuted

How many of you were followed this morning on the way to church?

Did any of you take different routes than you normally would so you would be harder to track?

Did you leave your phone at home so no one could find your GPS data?

How many of you have a full Bible with you? Raise it up so we can see.

How many of you own more than one Bible?

On any given Sunday, there are Christians across America gathered to worship. We can come publicly, we can openly carry our Bibles with us, and we can even stream it all on the internet for the whole world to see.

I dare say that most of us never give that a second thought.

In fact, we are so comfortable in our ability to worship Jesus openly that these next few stats may come as a tremendous shock to you. Last year:

Over 260 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution

2,983 Christians killed for their faith - That is an average of 8 per day, 3 per hour. For some scale, that means that our entire congregation from last Sunday would be dead before St. Patrick’s Day.

9,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked.

3,711 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned.[1]

Here in America, we feel uniquely blessed to have escaped the persecution faced by our brothers and sisters around the world, and in a sense, we are.

However, as we turn to Matthew 5:10-12, we are going to find that Jesus says the opposite.

This morning, we are coming to the final Beatitude here in the Sermon on the Mount.

Although they have all had places where they conflict with what the world who doesn’t follow Jesus teaches and believes, perhaps none seem so counterintuitive than this.

Read these verses with me...

Doesn’t this just sting as we read it? I mean, persecution doesn’t sound like fun, yet we are commanded to be glad and rejoice when it happens to us.

By the way, although we have tremendous freedom to worship and serve Christ openly today, we are not guaranteed that we will always enjoy the same freedoms we have today.

Even this week, our state legislature has been considering legislation that would infringe on our ability to exercise freedom of conscience.

We don’t know how it all will go in the days ahead.

However, if you catch nothing else from this morning’s message, I want you to do this: Prepare to face persecution with joy.

Isn’t that what Jesus has been promising this entire series of Beatitudes? That the citizens of his kingdom, who have been saved by his death, burial, and resurrection, would live blessed lives of unshakeable joy!

Here, we see that this joy extends even to the times when we are being persecuted for what we believe and do.

To help us understand this a little better, let’s look at three different expectations about persecution we should cultivate:

1) Expect persecution.

Right out of the gate, Jesus is indicating for us that we need to expect persecution.

This beatitude is a little different than the others, because persecution is something that happens to us, not something that we do to ourselves.

However, there is a kingdom-mindset that causes us to be persecuted.

Persecution comes when people not only live differently, with different priorities and standards, but are so strongly convinced of those standards that they refuse to compromise them.

In case you still think this might be optional, think about it logically: the first seven beatitudes have all been attitudes or actions that characterize everyone who follows Christ, so why should this last one be any different?

We are never called to go out and and find someone to give us a hard time, but we are called to live in such a way that persecution doesn’t rob us of our joy.

Did you notice anything else interesting about this verse? The second half sounds a lot like verse 3, doesn’t it?

In both the first and the last beatitudes Jesus gives us, the “for” part is the same: “for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

Although we don’t know for sure why Jesus spoke it this way, we do know it was intentional. It wasn’t that Jesus had just run out of ideas of what the good life would look like.

These statements make a nice, clean book-end to this section.

They do more than that, though; by tying the first and last beatitude together, we see that indeed, persecution is an expected reality in the life of a Christian.

Paul states it clearly and simply to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12:

2 Timothy 3:12 CSB

In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

At some point, you and I should find ourselves persecuted because we follow Jesus.

Let’s also make a clear distinction here: Not all suffering is persecution.

Look back at verse 10.

Jesus says kingdom citizens are blessed when they are persecuted because of righteousness.

Peter explains this well in 1 Peter 4:

1 Peter 4:12–16 CSB

Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

Here again we see that we can expect persecution to happen to us as we follow Christ.

When we do, we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, which we will explain in greater detail later.

Down in verse 15, we see what we are getting at here: the blessing for the persecuted isn’t for those who are getting in thrown in jail for stealing a car, it is for those standing with Christ!

As we look at what happens to us, we need to be careful to evaluate well what is going on around us.

Your boss might be scrutinizing your work because he hates Christians, or it might be because you have slacked off on your work and you aren’t doing your job.

You might have been passed over for a promotion because you honored Christ and stood with integrity, or it could be because there was someone better for the job.

Be careful before you start playing the “persecution” card.

Let’s stop and evaluate for a moment, though: does your life show that Jesus is in charge, or do you blend in so well that no one would ever single you out for being a Christian?

All through the Beatitudes, we have seen that those in Jesus’ kingdom look at life differently: we seek to be broken over our sin, we seek to submit ourselves as meek servants of God, we desire righteousness more than anything else, and so much more.

Perhaps the reason you have never encountered any persecution for what you believe is because you have never believed anything strongly enough to live it out!

What compromises have you made so you won’t stick out for following Jesus? Is it the words you use, the jokes you laugh at, the places you go?

Listen: you need to settle in your heart whether or not Jesus really is in charge. If so, you need to expect persecution, so hold on tight to Christ and his Word!

Going back to 1 Peter 4:16, if you are suffering because you are Christian, don’t be ashamed. Instead, seek to honor God and rely on his strength to help you stand firm as a citizen of his kingdom.

When you and I find ourselves in a situation where we are being persecuted for following Jesus, we must also:

2) Expect persecution to get worse.

Look back at verse 11.

Isn’t it interesting to notice that

Although there is some overlap, we can find three basic ways that we suffer for Christ.

Each one gets more severe.

First, you start with insults.

My guess would be that if you are in America and have experienced persecution, it has most likely been in this way.

You won’t do what everyone else is doing, so you get called a “goody two shoes” or some kind of other name.

We all know the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” and I think everyone in here has lived long enough to know that it isn’t true.

Insulting words can hurt us deeply, and they can leave wounds.

That, however, is likely the mildest form of suffering for Christ.

From there, those insults may actually move into true persecution.

This is an actual system that actively seeks to punish, ostracize, or make life hard for someone who follows Christ.

We have only seen hints of this in America to date, but over 260 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing this reality daily.

This is where the government is going to arrest you, take your property, or keep you from owning a business. This is where you neighbors will report you for being a Christian and an angry mob will drag you from your home and beat you for worshiping Christ.

We heard recently of a group of believers in a country in West Africa who were arrested after attending a pastor’s conference. They were scheduled to be executed, but the paperwork got mixed up and they were spared for now.

This happened within the last month!

All around the world, the kingdom of God is under attack, and yet all around the world, God’s people are continuing to honor him.

By the way, there is one other level: when the persecutors start making things up.

If they can’t actually persecute you for what you really do, they will start making things up to get you in trouble.

That is why you see the apostles getting charged with inciting riots in the book of Acts, or of teaching them things that it was unlawful for Romans to do.

We read in Roman history that Christians were accused of cannibalism as people corrupted what was going on when they took communion together, saying they were actually eating flesh and drinking blood.

If Satan can’t attack you with things you have done, he may incite people to spread lies.

He doesn’t care—the outcome is the same either way.

Before we leave verse 11, though, look again at the reason for the persecution: because of our identity with Christ.

As we already said, this isn’t suffering for doing the wrong thing; it is suffering that comes as a result of honoring Christ.

We need to prepare to face suffering with joy. It is going to happen, and it is likely to get worse before it gets better.

So why would we want to do this? Because of the last expectation we have about suffering:

3) Expect a great reward.

So, as with the other beatitudes, we are left with the question: why would I go through all that?

Look at what is promised.

As we have already mentioned in verse 10, those who are persecuted are demonstrating that their lives have been transformed by Christ, and they now have received the gift of his citizenship in heaven.

One day, they will fully realize that gift as they get to be in the kingdom of heaven with God forever.

Not only that, but look in verse 12 - we have a great reward waiting for us in heaven.

Here’s something interesting: it is okay to rejoice in the fact that we will be rewarded in heaven.

If in no other beatitude, we see the kingdom focus play out here.

Think about what life is like for those being persecuted around the world this morning. Their lives are marked by having to stay alert all the time so they won’t get caught. If they have been imprisoned or punished for being Christians in some way, then their lives are marked with pain and with suffering.

As they look to the Christ for whom they suffer, they find their hope in what will happen beyond this life!

All who follow Christ can look forward with great anticipation to the day when our joy is made complete when we stand with him in heaven.

It is a good thing to look forward to the end reward so we can endure the pain of suffering with Christ now.

One of the beautiful aspects of that heavenly reward is that it means the suffering of persecution will not last forever.

Look at the last sentence in verse 12. What tense is that? Past tense—they persecuted the prophets.

You know what is interesting there? The prophets Jesus spoke of aren’t being persecuted anymore.

Why? Because they are dead!

If we are looking at life apart from Christ, that doesn’t sound very good, does it? Many who have honored God throughout history have been persecuted up to the very moment they died, and many are still dying for their faith.

But here is the beautiful thing: they aren’t suffering any more! They are in heaven, with God, enjoying the reward Jesus secured for us through his death burial and resurrection.

That’s the thing: Satan loves to make us feel isolated. When persecution comes, it may feel like we are the only one being singled out or the only one strong enough to stand.

If you are facing persecution, know that you are in great company! Some of the strongest servants of God throughout history were insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused.

If you want a great summary of many who lived their lives in faith and faced persecution for it, read through Hebrews 11.

He gives you a summary of the lives of many of the great men and women who honored God in the Old Testament. Not all of them were persecuted, but many were, as you see in the summary at the end of the chapter.

In fact, the writer of Hebrews challenges us to look at these individuals and follow their lead:

Hebrews 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

You and I may face difficult days where we are persecuted for following Christ.

In those moments, look around at all those in the Bible who were insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused—people like Joseph, Noah, David, Jeremiah, and so many more.

Remember that you are surrounded by thousands more witnesses who this year will see their suffering end as they enter their heavenly reward.

More than any of those things, look at who else has been persecuted: the one who is saying that we are blessed when persecuted.

After all, didn’t Jesus endure insults on the night he was betrayed? Wasn’t he ridiculed for being the king of the Jews? Wasn’t he mocked and beaten?

Wasn’t he systematically persecuted by the Jewish leaders who manipulated the Roman system into getting Jesus crucified?

Didn’t they falsely accuse him of blasphemy, even making up charges against him?

And, didn’t we just see in Hebrews 12 that Jesus’ motive in doing this was for the joy set before him, and now he is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father?

He did all of this for you! He endured persecution that was greater than he ever could have deserved so that you and I could be covered in his righteousness.

Hebrews 12:3 CSB

For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.

If we expect persecution, and if we expect it to get worse, we can endure because Jesus already has endured perfectly for us.

May his strength flow through those right now who are in prison, being beaten, or facing persecution.

May he prepare us as well to face persecution with joy, just like he did.

[1] https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/. Accessed 29 February 2020.