Scripture Study
Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 6:22-23
“Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
STOTT It may seem strange that Jesus should pass from peacemaking to persecution, from the work of reconciliation to the experience of hostility. However hard we may try to make peace with some people they refuse to live at peace with us. Not all attempts at reconciliation succeed. Some take the initiative to oppose us – to “revile” or slander us. This is not because of our own idiosyncracies, but “for righteousness’ sake” (verse 10) and “on my account” (verse 11) – because they find distasteful the righteousness for which we hunger and thirst, and because they have rejected the Christ we seek to follow. Persecution is the clash between two irreconcilable value systems.
When persecuted, Jesus expected His disciples to “Rejoice and be glad!” We are not to retaliate like an unbeliever, nor to sulk like a child, nor to lick our wounds in self-pity, nor to grin and bear it like a Stoic, nor to pretend we enjoy it like a masochist. We are to rejoice as a Christian should rejoice and to “leap for joy,” because “your reward is great in heaven.” We may lose everything on earth, but we shall inherit everything in heaven – not as a reward for merit, but because the promise of the reward is free. Also, though, persecution is a token of genuineness, a certificate of Christian authenticity – “for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The major reason we should rejoice is because we are suffering on Christ’s account – because of our loyalty to Him and to His standards of truth and righteousness. The apostles, having been beaten and threatened by the Sanhedrin, “left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41). They knew that wounds and hurts are medals of honor.
This reference to persecution in this Beatitude is like the others. It has the distinction of being a double beatitude, for Jesus first stated it in the third person like the other seven (“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” verse 10) and then repeated it in the direct speech of the second person (“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you…,” verse 11). Since all the beatitudes describe what every Christian disciple is to be, the condition of being despised and rejected, slandered and persecuted, is as much a normal mark of Christian discipleship as being pure in heart or merciful. Every Christian is to be a peacemaker, and every Christian is to expect opposition. Those who hunger for righteousness will suffer for the righteousness they crave. Jesus said so both here and elsewhere; the apostles Peter and Paul did also (John 15:18-25; 1 Peter 4:13-14; Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12). We should not be surprised if anti-Christian hostility increases, but rather be surprised if it does not. We need to remember the complementary woe which Luke records: “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). Universal popularity was as much the lot of the false prophets as persecution was of the true.
Few men in recent history have understood better the inevitability of suffering than Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He seems never to have wavered in his antagonism to the Nazi regime, although it meant for him imprisonment, the threat of torture, danger to his own family, and finally death. When he was executed in April 1945, it was the fulfillment of what he had always believed: “Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his Master. Following Christ means…suffering because we have to suffer…Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and token of His grace” (The Cost of Discipleship, pp 80, 81).
The Beatitudes paint a comprehensive portrait of a Christian disciple. We see him first alone on his knees before God, acknowledging his spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes him meek in all his relationships, since honesty compels him to allow others to think of him what before God he confesses himself to be. Yet he is far from acquiescing in his sinfulness, for he hungers and thirsts for righteousness, longing to grow in grace and in goodness.
Next we see him out in the community with others. His relationship with God does not cause him to withdraw from society, nor is he insulated from the world’s pain. He is showing mercy to those battered by adversity and sin. He is transparently sincere in all his dealing and seeks to play a constructive role as a peacemaker. Yet, he is not thanked for his efforts – but rather opposed, slandered, insulted and persecuted because of the righteousness for which he stands and the Christ with whom he is identified. Such is the one who is “blessed” – who has the approval of God and finds self-fulfillment as a human being.
However, in all this the values and standards of Jesus are in direct conflict with the commonly accepted values and standards of the world. The world judges the rich to be blessed, not the poor in spirit or in material goods; the happy-go-lucky and carefree, not those who take evil so seriously that they mourn over it; the strong and brash, not the meek and gentle; the full, not the hungry; those who mind their own business, not those who meddle in other men’s matters and spend their time in do-goodery like showing mercy and making peace; those who attain their ends by any means, not the pure in heart who refuse to compromise their integrity; those who are secure and popular and live at ease, not those who suffer persecution.
Probably no one has hated the “softness” of the Sermon on the Mount more than Friedrich Nietzsche, the son and grandson of Lutheran ministers, who rejected Christianity. In his book The anti-Christ he defines “good” as “all that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man,” and what is “bad” as “all that proceeds from weakness.” To the question, “What is more harmful than any vice?” he responds: “Active sympathy for the ill-constituted and weak – Christianity.” He sees Christianity as a religion of pity instead of a religion of power. Nietzsche condemned the whole value system of Jesus.
But Jesus will not compromise His standards to accommodate Nietzsche or his followers or any who may imbibe bits and pieces of his power-philosophy. In the beatitudes Jesus throws out a fundamental challenge to the non-Christian world and its outlook, and requires His disciples to adopt His altogether different set of values.
Bonhoeffer wrote: “With every beatitude the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people, and their call to come forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest.” The world dreams of progress, of power and of the future; but the disciples meditate on the end, the last judgment and the coming of the kingdom. The disciples are strangers in the world, unwelcome guest and disturbers of the peace.
Such a reversal of human values is basic to biblical religion. The ways of the God of Scripture appear topsy-turvy to men. For God exalts the humble and abases the proud, calls the first last and the last first, ascribes greatness to the servant, sends the rich away empty-handed and declares the meek to be His heirs. Jesus congratulates those whom the world most pities, and calls the world’s rejects “blessed.”
LLOYD-JONES Jesus has finished the general portrayal of the characteristics of the Christian by the end of verse 10. He then applies this last statement in particular to the disciples – elaborating and giving the disciples an application of its truth and message – in verses 11 and 12.
This Beatitude appears to be different from the others; because it is not so much a positive description of the Christian as an account of the likely results of the preceding characteristics of the Christian. He is persecuted because he is a certain type of person behaving in a certain manner. All the other beatitudes have been a direct description; this one is indirect. Christ says that this will happen to you because you are a Christian. This is especially true when you observe the order of the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peacemakers” precedes “Blessed are those who are persecuted.” If a Christian is a peacemaker, this is what happens to him.
Another point of interest is that the promise attached to this Beatitude is the same as the promise attached to the first. Jesus started with the kingdom and He ended with it –to impress upon His listeners that the important thing was membership in the kingdom of heaven. Over all the particular blessing which we receive – and which we are to receive in greater measure and fullness – the great thing is that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven and thus belong to that spiritual realm.
This Beatitude is a vital statement, an essential and integral part of the whole teaching of the NT. It is one of the great characteristic messages of the whole Bible, which carries its inevitable implication with it. The most important thing to emphasize is this phrase, “for righteousness’ sake.” It does not merely say, “Blessed are they which are persecuted,” but “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”
Today Christian people are being actively and bitterly persecuted in many countries, perhaps more than has been since the first centuries of the Christian era. There may well be a strong case for saying that this may be the most important verse in your life and mine. It may well be that we in this country, in apparent safety and ease, may know and experience something of the fiery trial and furnace of affliction and of persecution of which Peter wrote.
To understand this verse, we must start with a few negatives. It does not say “Blessed are those who are persecuted” because they are objectionable…or because they are difficult…or because they are seriously lacking in wisdom. Christian people may be persecuted because of their own folly – bringing endless suffering upon themselves. But the promise applies to those who suffer “for righteousness’ sake.” Sometimes we are slow to realize the difference between prejudice and principle. Sometimes we are slow to understand the difference between being offensive in a worldly sense and causing offense because we are righteous.
We are not told “Blessed are the persecuted” because they are fanatical…or overzealous. Sometimes people make a nuisance of themselves and get into trouble. A Christian can be overzealous. In Matthew 10:16 we are told to be “as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Peter put it in his wisdom, “let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler” (1 Peter 4:15).
Neither does this Beatitude mean “Blessed are they that are persecuted for a cause.” There is a subtle difference between being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and being persecuted for a cause. Many of the great martyrs were persecuted for righteousness’ sake and a cause – but it does not necessarily mean that the two are always identical. Some people have been imprisoned for religion, but they may not have been suffering for righteousness’ sake. There is a danger of developing the martyr spirit. That is not the thing about which Jesus was speaking.
It does not mean suffering persecution for religio-political reasons. If we begin to mix our religion and politics, we must not be surprised if we receive persecution. This is an acute problem for people in many areas of the world – the Middle East, China, Korea, etc. Are they standing for righteousness’ sake or a cause? A person may have their political views and ideas, but the promise attached to this Beatitude does not apply to that. May God give us grace and wisdom and understanding to discriminate between our political prejudices and our spiritual principles.
There is much confusion on this matter at this time. There is much talk which appears to be, and is said to be, Christian in its denunciation of certain things – which may merely be the expression of political prejudices. This may lead to needless and unnecessary suffering. Another danger is that those who are outside the faith may define the Christian faith in terms of certain political and social views. They are distinct and have nothing to do with one another. For instance, the Christian faith is not anti-communism. As Christian we have the same concerns for the souls of communists as we have about other people. If we give them the impression that Christianity is anti-communism, we are shutting out the opportunity to share our gospel message of salvation.
This Beatitude does not say “Blessed are they that are persecuted” for being good, or noble, or self-sacrificing. The world generally praises and admires the good and the noble; it only persecutes the righteous. There are good people who have made great sacrifices – giving up careers, homes, families and even their lives; and the world has praised them and called them heroes. We should be certain that they were actually practicing the Christian faith or if it were something else – perhaps a general nobility of character.
Being righteous, practicing righteousness, really means being like Jesus. Therefore, they are blessed who are persecuted for being like Him. Christ said: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the words that I said to you, ‘The servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18-20). Paul wrote to Timothy: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Some of the most outstanding righteous men of the OT (Abel, Moses, David Elijah and Jeremiah, etc.) were persecuted – not because they were difficult or overzealous, but simply because they were righteous. In the NT think of the apostles and the persecution they had to endure. Paul suffered in spite of his gentleness and kindness and righteousness. The supreme example is Christ Himself. For a verification of this Beatitude, read the history of the Christian Church about martyrs throughout the ages who suffered persecution for their righteousness.
Persecution is not only imposed by the natural world; formal Christianity is often the greatest enemy of the pure faith. Jesus Himself was persecuted by the Jewish leaders – the Pharisees and Scribes. The first Christians were persecuted by the Jews. During the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church persecuted those who were trying to live out their lives quietly. It is the teaching of the Bible --substantiated by history -- that the persecution may come, not from outside, but from within.
The righteous are persecuted because they are different. Jesus was persecuted, not because He was good, but because He was different. Others may feel condemned and threatened by a Christian’s righteousness. The righteous may not do anything negatively to others; but because they are righteous, it makes others feel less worthy. The Pharisees and others hated Jesus because of His absolute holiness and righteousness and truth.
This Beatitude shows us something of the Person of Jesus Christ. If our perception is that He can be admired and applauded by the non-Christian, we have a wrong view of Him. His contemporaries hated Him – they threw stones at Him, they chose a murderer to be released instead of Him, they tortured Him, and they put Him to death. This is the effect Jesus has on the world. If worldly people tell us they admire Jesus Christ, they have never seen Him. If they saw Him, they would hate Him.
This Beatitude tests our ideas as to what the Christian is. The Christian is like his Lord, who said this about him: “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). The Christian should not be a nice, popular person who never offends anybody and is easy to get along with. The real Christian is a person who is not praised by everybody. The new birth is an absolute necessity before anybody can become a Christian. To be a Christian ultimately is to be like Christ, and one can never be like Christ without being entirely changed. If a person tries to imitate Christ, the world will praise him; if a person becomes Christ-like, the world will hate him.