CE Week 8: Persecuted

I can understand that people think “God blesses the super-Christians” - those who face extreme persecution just for owning a Bible, or refusing to follow cultural religios customs, or those disowned from their families because of their faith - when they read Matthew 5:10. To some degree, this is true. God is with them. Great is their reward. But, if we read this and think it’s about someone else, then Jesus isn’t talking to the rest of us. We read it as a command, or a law, instead of an announcement. It leads to thinking that, “If you want to be blessed, be brave.” That’s not a gospel announcement, it’s a law. “Go and do this and God will be with you.” More of the same law. This was not Jesus’ intention.

Edward Schweizer put it this way: "This passage extols not the strong, who, to the admiration of all, heroically defend their faith, but those who are defamed and go down in ignominious [marked by shame or disgrace] defeat.” This blessing is about whenever you follow Jesus and it costs you something and you lose. You receive no exaltation. No praise from your supporters. Your reward will be the “kingdom of God.”

This also seems to wrap us back around to the beginning of the Beatitudes to complete a circle of progression. When you're poor in spirit, yours is the kingdom of heaven. From poor in spirit, you mourn, become meek, then hunger and thirst for righteousness. To each of these people, God announces, “I am with you.” God meets you in your failure with grace, which, in turn, makes it easier for us to show grace to others. The progression continues...you become merciful, pure at heart, and peacemakers. Peacemaking leads to persecution. The Jesus way threatens how the world works and persecution often results. With persecution, again, yours is the kingdom of heaven. A complete circle.

Notice in all this, at a high level, for this, Jesus’ longest sermon, he begins with blessing. The 10 Commandments do not begin with law, they begin with blessing. Exodus 20:2, “I am the Lord your God, who BROUGHT YOU OUT of Egypt, out of the land of slavery [and blessed you]. [Now, here are my commands.]” When you have guilt, shame, fail, quit - blessing. Be blessed!