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"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."
(Matthew 5:10-12)
George Whitfield was one of the truly great preachers in the history of Christendom. One of the first Christian biographies I read while in seminary was Arnold Dallimore's George Whitfield. Wow; what a man of God! He could preach to up to 30,000 people at one time with no amplification, according to the measurements of Benjamin Franklin, who loved to hear him preach. Whitfield said, "There I was honored with having stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at me." Franklin said this about his preaching: "It was wonderful to see the change made by his preaching in the manners of the inhabitants of Philadelphia. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if the whole world were growing religious." ( Source.)
Jesus identified the persecuted as those who have all kinds of evil spoken against them falsely. The Greek word translated "evil" in verse 11 is poneros, which means wicked and bad. The Greek word for "falsely" is pseudomai, which means lies or deliberate falsehoods.
Who are these persecuted ones? They are the brave souls who endure harsh, malevolent treatment from unbelievers and the religious as well. They are persecuted not because they have been objectionable, difficult, lacking in wisdom, seeking martyrdom, or even noble ( Lloyd-Jones, p. 112-14); they are true followers of Christ, pursuing Him and righteousness. I love Lloyd-Jones quote: "That was why the Pharisees and the scribes hated our Lord. It was not because He was good; it was because He was different" (p. 116-117). I heard Carey Nieuwhof say recently, "The people we persecute today will be our teachers tomorrow."
We are never more like our Lord and the early church than when we are persecuted. There are so many verses in the Bible that speak to this subject of persecution: John 15:20, 2 Timothy 3:12, and 1 Peter 2:20-21, to name a few.
In Matthew 5:12, Jesus gives us clear commands on how we are to respond when we are persecuted for our faith. To do what our Lord commands, we must die to self and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Our inclination is to frown and retaliate when we are mistreated, but Jesus says to rejoice and be glad.
How are you doing with this hard teaching of Jesus? Don't throw your hands in the air in despair and say you could never do what our Lord is requiring of us. You can do anything the Lord asks you to do. Trust Him. He will empower you to suffer well. |
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