Beatitudes, Part 8: Blessed are those Who are Persecuted

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5: 10-11, NIV)
 

No one signs up for anything because they want to be persecuted. And yet, one of the first lessons Jesus teaches us in the Bible, is that we will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. And not only that, but we will be blessed because we are persecuted in Jesus’ name.

But that’s not the reason people give their hearts and lives to Jesus. Usually, they want something else: forgiveness of sin, relationship with God, to be saved from eternal suffering, to go to heaven. The list could go on and on. But people don’t tend to give a confession of faith because they know it’s a guarantee for oppression.

No, people tend to start at the first Beatitude. They find themselves poor in spirit and in need of a Savior that can pay the debt of their sin. They see their trespasses and how they’ve wronged God and they mourn over those transgressions against Him. In their humility, they submit themselves in meekness to live a life in serving and drawing near to the Lord. The more they draw near to Him, the more they hunger and thirst for righteousness that causes them to read His word and know Him more intimately. When we begin to know Him, we are transformed to be more like Jesus. Suddenly, there are characteristics of His that are found within us. We become merciful, pure, peaceful. Our purity of heart helps us to better see Him and to see Him with an unencumbered heart. 

Ultimately, being like Jesus will change our reactions and the way we approach others. Soon, people will clearly see Christ in us. And you’d think that would be a good and widely-accepted thing.

But even Jesus faced persecution from the Romans, Pharisees, and other Jews. He dealt with oppression and rejection that led to a cross. He died for us, but also because people hated the parables, lessons, and sermons He gave in order to show people more of the Father. 

Following Jesus will never be an unopposed journey. You will lose friends, be disliked, and sometimes, you will even be ostracized from family. Because the Gospel will make people aware of their own sin, and if they don’t choose to draw near to their Savior but instead use it as an excuse to dive more deeply into their sin, then they will label those who choose Jesus a bigot and a judgmental, religious freak.

Why? Because to people that want to cling to their darkness, they don’t want the reminder of righteousness. And the culture of this world will never agree with the Bible. It will never accept the love of Jesus as real, deep, and pure love. Because it can’t. Jesus, although He sat with and spent time with sinners, didn’t condone their sin. He was very clear that to follow Him, we had to put our flesh to death and put on garments of righteousness. And that process can be painful, because it’s constantly letting go of things that make us comfortable or entertain us.

So when the world sees Jesus in us, and sees the fruits of a life lived in closeness with Him, it will turn its wrath on us. It will ostracize us and mark us as a pariah. It will insult us and claim all sorts of evil things about us. Why? Simply because if we stand with Jesus, it makes the world uncomfortable in their ways.

So if we face hate, abuse, and wrath from others, why on earth would we follow Jesus? 

Well, because the long-term spiritual blessings that come with it outweighs the instant gratification of a life without Him. Jesus says that those who are persecuted for His sake are blessed, because they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. 

Sound familiar? 

It should. That’s what Jesus says the poor in spirit will also inherit. But we shouldn’t look at it like Jesus got lazy with His blessings so He repeated some. Instead, we should look at it in that the poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven through salvation; in short, they gain access to God, closing the gap created by sin, and are welcomed into heaven when this life is over. The persecuted, having sacrificed their lives to the Lord so completely that the world hated them, insulted them, or even killed them, inherit the one thing that they want in all the world: Jesus Himself.

There are accounts of martyrs in medieval times being burned at the stake for what they believed, and they went to their deaths rejoicing, even hugging the pyre saying that even in that moment, the courtrooms of heaven were at hand. That takes a deeply rooted faith: to go to your death with no fear and even gladness because they could see beyond the pain and suffering of a death sentence and see that Jesus was on the other side. To look down death and know that when their eyes close on this world, they will open them again to look upon their Savior.

I don’t know if I’m there yet, but I am encouraged by knowing that if that moment ever came, I would be in good company of great Christians that came before me. I pray that Jesus would increase my faith to stand unwavering, even at the point of death; that I would go peacefully, praising Him even in my pain. I pray that at that moment, I’d be able to remember that Jesus Himself walked through that kind of persecution and would be with me, too.

Persecution isn’t fun in any way. I am not disillusioned to that. But just like James says in the opening verses of his letter, we can consider it joy to face all trials, knowing that everything we face will build perseverance in us to mature our faith.

And every step of the way, that’s the goal. To have a mature faith that can withstand even the truly terrible days of this life, carrying us all the way to the end and into eternity and the arms of our Savior.