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“Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted”
Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted (Mt. 5:10-12)
Wade Webster
For several weeks we have been considering the attitude that we are to have in worship (John 4::23-24). To analyze and adjust our attitudes we have been examining the beatitudes of the Bible. This week we will consider Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The early Christians faced severe persecution. They were pursued to strange cities and arrested. They were falsely accused and imprisoned. They had their property seized. They were barred from marketplaces and cast out of trade guilds. They were seen as enemies of the empire because they wouldn’t burn incense to Caesar. They were beaten and stoned.. They were compelled to blaspheme their Lord and they were tortured to turn one another in. They were devoured by lions to the cheers of bloodthirsty crowds. They were covered with oil and set on fire to illuminate Nero’s parties. They were beheaded. Yet, in spite of all of these things, they gathered and worshipped; and, they did so in spirit and in truth. You better believe that these Christians knew the price of righteousness and the cost of being connected with Christ. You better believe that the hope of heaven was in their hearts and that the Old Testament martyrs were on their minds.
We face little to no persecution today. While I am thankful that we don’t, I wonder if the peace that we enjoy makes us more passive than we ought to be when it comes to worship. We are not persecuted for righteousness sake. We are not reviled or ridiculed for Christ’s sake. As a result, worship may mean less to us. There is no risk or danger associated with our assemblies. There is no real fear that a knock on the door will end services and scatter worshippers. There is no thought that we might die for our faith today and go to heaven. There is no fellowship in the sufferings of Christ. Do you recall how the apostles rejoiced when they suffered for Christ? Luke records, “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name”:(Acts 5:41). For sure, the apostles didn’t relish persecution, but they did rejoice in the intimate fellowship that this created with their Lord. They daily denied themselves and took up their crosses and followed Jesus (Lk. 9:23). They daily defied orders and preached Jesus in the temple (Acts 5:42). Imagine what these services were like for the apostles and those who assembled with them. They were risking everything to worship; that is, everything but heaven. Paul also spoke of the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. To the saints at Philippi, Paul wrote, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:7-11; cf. 2 Cor. 1:5-7; Col. 1:24). Did you catch the references to suffering and righteousness and fellowship? Paul wanted to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. I believe that you will agree that he got his wish. I am confident that he worshipped with fresh stripes on his back from being beaten, with deep bruises on his body from being stoned, and with blisters on his wrists and ankles from being shackled and placed in stocks.
As we get ready to worship this week, let’s think about the persecution of the early Christians and the sufferings of Christ. Let’s think of how they took it patiently and joyfully. Sadly, we may one day face circumstances similar to the early church. In the meantime, I think that thinking about the persecution of the past will help our attitudes to be what they need to be right now as we worship.
