The Joy of Persecution

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God." Matthew 5:10

Joy are woe are part of the fabric of life that God weaves and lovingly fits as perfect clothing for His children. This is, of course, both mystical and paradoxical just as the seven Beatitudes that precede it. But we can take great comfort in the fact that God is the weaver.

Until now all the Beatitudes have been given in the third person -- "Blessed are those," and that is they way this Beatitude begins as well. But the repetition in verse 11 changes to the direct address of the second person -- "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you ..." The repetition of the Beatitude, its personalization, and it position at the end of the list tell us that it is of supreme importance for the church. Significantly, when stretched on the loom of adversity the church has repeatedly woven persecution and joy into garments of divine praise.

Supernatural joy amidst trial has been the experience of the church. When Peter and the other apostles were flogged before the Sanhedrin soon after Pentecost, "the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the Name" [Acts 5:41].

Note that this Beatitude does not say, "Blessed are the persecuted, period!" Unfortunately, this is how is sometimes interpreted and those who read it like this delude themselves into thinking that any time they experience conflict, they are bearing the reproach of Christ. Sadly, Christians are very often persecuted not for their Christianity, but for their lack of it. Sometimes they are rejected simply for their unpleasant personalities ... they may be rude, insensitive, thoughtless or just plain obnoxious. Some are rejected for being proud and judgmental. Others may be disliked because they are lazy and irresponsible or perhaps piously incompetent. To those Christ's words must be read in their entirety ... "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness ... " The context for this righteousness may be found in the preceding Beatitudes as the world cannot tolerate such lives. Why?

First, poverty of spirit runs counter to the pride of the unbelieving heart. Those whom the world admires are the self-sufficient who need nothing or no one else, not the poor in spirit. Second, the mourning, repentant heart that sorrows over its own sin and the sins of society is also not appreciated by this world. Third, the gentle and meek person, the one who has the strength not to take up personal offense, is regarded as weak by those who do not know Christ. To the contrary, conventional wisdom has it that "meekness is weakness." Fourth, hungering and thirsting for the spiritual -- for Christ -- is both foreign and repugnant to a world that lusts after only what it can touch and taste.

Fifth, the truly merciful person who not only feels compassion and forgiveness but who gives it is out of step with the grudge-bearing callousness of our age and is thus, an awkward, embarrassing rebuke to the uncaring. Sixth, the pure, single-minded heart focused on God provides a convicting contrast to an impure, self-focused culture. Lastly, the peacemaker is discomforting because he will not settle or a cheap or counterfeit peace and has an embarrassing inclination to wage peace. The foundational reason such a person will be persecuted is that he or she is like Christ. This is Jesus' point when He completes v. 11 with "because of me" instead of "because of righteousness," used in v. 10. Everyone who lives like Jesus will be persecuted as Jesus says in so many words in John 15:18-20: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also." Jesus is basically telling us here that since the wind was always in His face, it will be in ours too.

Hear also Paul's advice to Timothy: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" [2 Timothy 3:12]. Paul also warned the Thessalonians, "You know quite well that we were destined for trials. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know" [1 Thessalonians 3:3, 4]. Likewise, he told the Christians in Antioch, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" [Acts 14:22]. Everyone who lives righteously will be persecuted. There are no exceptions.

The logic, then, is revealing. Since the first seven Beatitudes describe the character of the true believer, we must therefore conclude that ostracism, persecution and rejection are just as much signs of the believer as being poor in spirit, meek or merciful. We should, therefore, not be surprised when persecution comes but rather, be surprised when it does not. Moreover, if we, who claim to be followers of Christ, never experience any persecution at all, we may reasonably wonder if we are really Christian at heart. Of course, we should be careful not to condemn ourselves if at the moment we are not undergoing persecution. Few, if any, are persecuted all the time. Also, we must be careful not to imagine persecution in overly dramatic terms. Most of it is mundane, and some is even quite "civilized."

R. Kent Hughes relates that the word rendered "persecuted" in Matthew 5:1o bears the root idea of "pursue" or "chase." A good translation would be "harass" -- "Blessed are the harassed." The reiteration of the Beatitude in v. 11 amplifies this idea: "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely." This casting of insults means literally "to cast in one's teeth," so that the sense here is of throwing insults in one's face. Persecution can go to physical extremes as the church's bloody history records; but most often it is verbal harassment, sometimes audible, sometimes whispered, sometimes direct, sometimes innuendo. Verbal abuse and social ostracism may at times call for as much heroism as braving the arena.

These are hard things. But the tragedy today is not that they happen to believers, but that very often, they do not. One reason for this is that too many Christians are isolated from the world. They go to a church that seekers do not visit, attend Bible studies populated by the same crowd, attend Christian schools, exercise with believers garden with churchgoers and golf with believers -- their lives never intersect those who do not believe -- and thus they are sealed from persecution. Others keep their Christianity so secret so as not to make waves with non-Christian associates. The tragedy is that hidden Christianity may not be Christianity at all. But by far the greatest reason there is so little persecution is that the church has become almost indistinguishable from the world. If we want to get along, the formula has become quite simple. Approve of the world's morals and ethics -- at least outwardly. Live like the world lives. Laugh at its humor. Immerse ourselves in its entertainment. Smile, at least outwardly, when God is mocked. Act as if all religions converge on the same road. Don't mention hell. Draw no moral judgments. And above all else, don't share our faith. Follow this formula and life will be smooth sailing.

But the fact is, the church must be persecuted or it is no church at all. People need to be told that if they follow Christ, there will be a price to pay. It will affect how they get along in school. It will affect their profile at the club. It will affect how they make their living. The early church had no doubt about where the believer's duty lay. One hundred years after Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, a man approached the great Carthagian church father Tertullian with a problem -- his business interests and Christianity conflicted. He ended by asking, "What can I do then? I must live." To which Tertullian replied, "Must you?" When it comes to a choice between loyalty to Christ and living, Tertullian holds that the real Christian chooses Christ. And so should we.