Welcome back to the 7th and final of our study series, looking at pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes. Today we conclude with the last three verses of the Beatitudes – and while it is true that we have spent quite some time on them, I think that you will agree with me that it has been time well-spent; because it is always good when we see pictures of Jesus. Indeed this is the entire purpose of the scriptures (Luke 24:27, John 5:39), and this fact is something that we have studied previously also.
By seeing Jesus and more of His grace, His majesty, His splendor, power and love, it strengthens our own faith – our information of who He is, His character, His nature, and what He accomplished for us on the cross. And in-addition, as we see the truth of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished, we then also see our true selves… we see our real identity as new creations in Him; and this is the point of it all.
And today we continue seeing pictures of Jesus in the final section of the Beatitudes. Get ready, because this is going to be really good!
So let’s get into it, with Matthew 5:10-12:
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Now, believers typically separate into two different camps when it comes to these verses:
Those who under-emphasize or ignore what Jesus says here, and those who over-emphasize these verses and promote a doom-and-gloom picture of suffering and pain. And as you probably already realize, neither of these positions represent the truth of what Jesus is conveying here.
Just as with what we have studied up to this point, these Beatitudes describe aspects of our new identity in Christ, just as much as any other; and we shouldn’t be afraid or intimidated to look at them, because Jesus did not intend to scare us away with what He said.
There are several details for us to see here – the first of which is right at the beginning of verse 10. Jesus says, blessed are they which are persecuted… and this is where most people stop, however notice with me, the detail that Jesus included in what He said… blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. He is speaking of a specific type and manner of persecution here. Persecution for righteousness’ sake is not the type of persecution that we generally assume it to be, but it is in-fact persecution for (or because) of righteousness’ sake. And somewhat ironically, this kind of persecution for righteousness’ sake, happens just as much inside the walls of church buildings (if not more-so) than outside.
Persecution for righteousness’ sake is being pushed away and/or otherwise mistreated specifically because of righteousness. And as we know, this is not works-based righteousness being spoken-of here by Jesus, because in-reality there is no such thing as works-based righteousness (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:21, Titus 3:5)
Rather, it is the divine righteousness of God on your life; righteousness that has been imparted to you as a free gift of God’s Grace in Christ Jesus. That is the kind of righteousness being spoken of by Jesus – the only true kind of righteousness that exists.
It is this kind of righteousness (the free gift of God’s grace) that a great number of people both inside and outside of the church building do not understand – and some event resent and hate. This is where the persecution comes from.
When the true reality of the finished work of Christ and His Grace permeates your heart and spirit, you will sometimes find that you have very little in common with those around you. Even those in the church building – because the sad truth is that Grace is widely misunderstood even by those in church, and many even see it as a falsehood – hence the persecution.
They may call you crazy, or a heretic. They may tell you that you are being deceived, or “walking after the flesh”.
But in all of that though, know that as Jesus says in verses 11 and 12, people may speak evil against you falsely, but you are blessed (spoken well of) by an even greater source, and that is God Himself!
We can see in verse 12 that Jesus ensures us that the prophets that came before us were also persecuted the same way.
Why? Because they spoke the truth about God.
Likewise we also speak the truth about God… In our case, the truth about His finished work, His Grace, and the New Covenant brought about through the sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Sometimes you will be slandered, argued with, discounted, or otherwise resisted against on account of the good news of God’s Grace.
We see several examples of this kind of resistance to the message of the Gospel of Grace in the life of the early apostles and disciples, such as in Galatians chapter 2, Acts chapter 15, and other places in scripture as well. People will often try to reintroduce some form of the Old Covenant Law, to try and “balance out” Grace – as if it needed balancing to begin with. But as Jesus Himself said, you cannot mix the two covenants together, otherwise you lose both, and most people don’t truly even understand the seriousness of trying to intermingle two different covenants to begin with! Nor the insult to the finished work of Christ that such a desire implies.
The point is, that such resistance and persecution is not odd or unexpected, and we should not be surprised when unbelievers behave as unbelievers! The very people who rail against the Gospel of Grace are just as much in need of it as anyone else. Jesus did not tell us this would happen to discourage us, but precisely to encourage us, that we are in very good company, and well taken-care of.
And in all of this, remember that even these people are not our enemies, because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. People are not the real problem or source of resistance, but spiritual forces and principalities, as mentioned in Ephesians 6:12.
These people are in bondage to spiritual forces, and we as representatives and ambassadors of Jesus Christ, should be praying for the release of these precious people. For chains to be broken, and for them to come to know the same Grace and Peace of Jesus Christ that we have.
This is simply another aspect of our new identity in Christ. To be the bearer and bringer of the message of His Gospel. Not to argue or fight needlessly, but to recognize the real source of resistance; which is not the people (they need freeing), but the spiritual forces which influence and hold some people in bondage.
We have the right, authority and responsibility to pray for the spiritual release of such people, that they may see, hear and know the wonderful truth of the Gospel. This is not even a hard thing, because in reality the battle has already been won, the enemy has been disarmed according to Colossians 2:15. The only way that evil forces even influence people is through lies, deceit and trickery; the enemy has no real weapons left!
So I encourage you today my friend, step into your rightful place as a new creation and ambassador for Christ. As you see the amazing status that Jesus has placed you in, you can begin to fulfill your high calling in Him. And even in persecution, know that you are highly blessed and loved.
Be blessed.