"The Teaching of Jesus Christ"
"The Blesseds" (Part 3)
Matthew 5:10-12

8. Blessed are the persecuted (verses 10-12).
- Question #1: Who is blessed?
- Question #2: Why is this person blessed?

In past weeks, we have been examining this famous sermon of Jesus found in Matthew 5-7. The first week, we did an overview of the entire sermon. For the past two weeks, we have examined this opening section of the sermon, which begins with eight pronouncements of blessing. We have entitled this section, "the blesseds." With each of these blesseds, Jesus is describing the citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Let me simply remind you that the first four blesseds describe the empty person.

- The one who is poor in spirit lacks spiritual resources.
- The one who mourns, does so because of their lack of satisfaction within himself.
- The one who is meek, lacks pride and selfish ambition in his heart.
- The one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness lacks righteousness.

Citizens of the kingdom of heaven aren't those who are great in and of themselves. The predominant characteristic of them is that they recognize that they are not great, but that they have great need. They recognize that only God can satisfy their need. Furthermore, in each of these four blesseds, only God can fill what is lacking.

- Only God can give the spiritual resources that we need.
- Only God can ultimately comfort those who mourn.
- Only God can sustain the meek.
- Only God can satisfy the desire for righteousness.

Citizens of the kingdom of heaven are those who see their great need and are subsequently filled and satisfied in God. As a result, there are certain character traits that flow out of a filled person. Jesus describes this person in the next three blesseds.

- The one who has been shown great mercy will be merciful.
- The one whose spirit God has filled will be pure in heart.
- The one who is at peace with God will be enabled to be a peacemaker.

Such is a citizen of the kingdom.

This morning, we will look at the last blessed, which is contained in verses 10-12. Although the word, "blessed" occurs two times (in verses 10 and 11) in these verses, I believe that these verses contains just one "blessed." The thought of the blessedness of those who are persecuted is repeated. The first time it occurs in verse 10. The second time it occurs in verses 11-12, where the thought is expanded. In each of these instances, Jesus is describing the one who is blessed and well as why this person is blessed. The thought is the same in each case. Why the repetition? I believe that John MacArthur is right when he says it is because this person is doubly blessed (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 1-7, p. 220).

This last blessed, is different than the others. The first four talk about being empty. The next three talk about being full. This last one talks about the reaction of the world to a citizen of the kingdom. It isn't my empty state before God. It isn't my actions towards others. It is the attitude of others toward me!

Jesus says that a kingdom citizen will be persecuted. This is axiomatic. This is true. You can bank on it. This will happen to those who are genuine Christians. Paul said it like this, "indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12). The Christian life is a life of difficulty, trouble and persecution. Jesus said, "In the world you have tribulation" (John 16:33). Paul said, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

This has always been true of God's people. They have always faced the wrath of the world. The writer to the Hebrews described those who "were tortured, ... and others [who] experienced mockings and scourgings, ... [and] chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword, ... being destitute, afflicted, and ill-treated" (Heb. 11:35-37).

Yet, for some, this fact often comes as a surprise. Peter said, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you" (1 Pet. 4:12). Paul had to remind the Thessalonians, who witnessed the persecutions that came with following Jesus that suffering was the normal experience of those who would follow Christ. He wrote, "we have been destined for [afflictions]. ... We kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know" (1 Thess. 3:3-4).

Why is this? If the Bible lays it down as a simple truth that cannot be negated that believers in Jesus Christ will be persecuted, why does this surprise so many? I have thought of two reasons....

1. Being labeled a Christian isn't always a bad thing in this country.

Our society today is very tolerant. A "Christian" is often seen as a moral person, who does good things. Our nation is a "Christian" nation, in that it is predominantly sympathetic to "Christianity." (Note, I have placed these words in quotes, because I am referring to the "Christianity" of the masses). After September 11, it was in vogue to put up a sign, "In God We Trust."

Think about the President of the United States. I'm not just talking about President Bush. I'm talking about Clinton, Reagan, Nixon, or others. I can think of many occasions in which I have seen these presidents walking out of church with a Bible under their arms, waving to the press as they leave. Often, their church attendance is beneficial to their political status, because our nation often views a church attendee with a positive perspective.

It would be a politically harmful for a president to routinely take a Koran underneath his arms and enter a Muslum mosque and prostrate himself to Allah. (Though President Bush did host several Muslim holiday feasts with other Muslims at the White House during the crisis in Afghanistan. On November 19, 2001, he hosted an iftar meal, which is the traditional breaking of the daily fast during Ramadan. Also, he celebrated the festival of Eid al-Fitr on December 17, 2001, which signifies the end of the Ramadan month of fasting. This he did because of the political benefits of such action).

I remember distinctly thinking this when I was in High School. I had my grades under control. I was successful at sports. I was a popular guy. To top it all off, I was a Christian! Others would look at me favorably.

Now, it must be admitted that many people mock at Christians today in this country. Yet, there is a sense, where it is culturally acceptable to be labeled a Christian. As a result, people are often surprised at these sorts of statements that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12).

There is a second reason why this comes as a surprise.
2. The gospel message that is often preached speaks only of good things.

The message of many preachers today are "fix-it-up" messages.

- "Do you have a bad marriage? Accept Jesus, and you will have a better marriage!"
- "Do you have a drug problem? Accept Jesus, and you will be free from addiction!"
- "Do you have a poor self-esteem? Accept Jesus, and you will feel better about yourself!"
- "Do you need direction in your life? Accept Jesus, and your life will begin to have meaning and purpose."
- "Do you want a wonderful life? Accept Jesus, and you will have a great life.
... it goes on and on and on and on.

Christianity is often placed in this problem/solution scenario, where only the good things are presented. Now don't get me wrong, following Christ is filled with many good things. For instance, we have looked at seven "blesseds" of the Christian life in verses 3-9. But there are also some bad things that will happen to you as a follower of Jesus Christ. However, God will redeem the bad and turn it into a blessing.

If somebody would come up to you and ask you, "Why should I believe in Christ?" What would you tell them? Your life will get better? Jesus will solve all your problems? How about, "Because Christianity is true" (see Iain Murray's insightful comments in Evangelicalism Divided, p. 257).

Fundamentally, this is what our faith is about.... believing the truth. A few weeks ago when we looked at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we found out that the apostles preached this all the time. They preached the resurrection as verifiable by eye-witnesses. They preached the resurrection as verifiable by Scripture. The simple conclusion is that you must believe in Jesus, because He raised from the dead. Everything He said was true. He is God. He is Savior. He is Lord. He is Christ. He is gracious. He has paid the penalty for sins. He must be followed and obeyed.

But when people hear a message that claims that belief in Jesus will result only in good things for you, how can they believe that persecution will come? When it comes, they will fall away. Jesus said, "the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has nor firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away" (Matt. 13:20-21). Fundamentally, I believe that the problem is that they have believed in a false message about Jesus. They heard of the blessings and believed Jesus for the good things, but never believed the difficulties that would arise. But Jesus said that a characteristic of a kingdom citizen that he will be persecuted (Matt. 5:10).

Rock Valley Bible Church ought never to be surprised that this is the case. We know that in other locations across the world, persecution is a reality, today.

I am thankful to the Lord for Steve Belonger's ministry among us. In fact, this morning, he is away preaching at another church in efforts to raise awareness of the reality of persecution today. In joining up with Voice of the Martyrs, Steve has made it one of his life goals to help those in the church who are suffering persecution, by making the issues known to others, by helping those who are being persecuted with physical resources, and by encouraging us to pray for them.

We have heard from him on several occasions of the tremendous persecutions that other believers across this world are experiencing. Two weeks ago he shared several prayer requests for us to pray over. ...

- Pray for Sarapheen Atta and her daughter. Sarapheen was widowed last October when terrorists killed her husband, pastor Emmanuel Atta along with 15 other members of the Church of Pakistan. Pray for Emmanuel's daughter who was very bitter over that event but who is learning what it means to love her enemies. Pray for the salvation of the terrorists.

- Pray for Asif, a convert who survived a poisoning. He now rides a bicycle, evangelizing. He has had his legs broken and his bike taken away. Pray for strength for him to continue his evangelizing and that he could get his bike back.

- Pray for Ayub Masih who is in jail awaiting execution for having spoken "blasphemies" against Mohammed. He is still going through the appeals process. His prison conditions are very poor.

- Pray for Christian teenage girls who are kidnapped and forced to marry Muslim men. Pray that they would be protected, and that their families would have wisdom in protecting them.

Christian persecution is a reality in the world today. Even this morning in our prayer meeting before the service, we prayed for Martin and Gracia Burnham, who have been held captive in the Philippines since 5/27/01.

We ought never to be surprised at persecution when it comes, because of the teaching of Jesus.

Enough introduction, let's look at our text this morning. As we have examined each of the blesseds, we have asked two questions of them, because that is how the text opens up. Question #1: Who is blessed? Question #2: Why is this person blessed? Each of these statements say, "Blessed are these people, because this is the result."

Question #1: Who is blessed? "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness" (verse 10).

The description is pretty simple and straightforward. It simply describes the one who is pursued. This is the meaning of the Greek word, diokw (dioko). IT means, "to pursue, follow after, drive away." Thus, the meaning comes, "to persecute." In verse 11, we see Jesus expanding upon the characteristic of this persecution, "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me." Let's take each of these words and open them up.

1. Casting insults.

This simply describes verbal abuse. I remember being at a few basketball games at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Many of the students used to sit in one section of the bleachers down near the court. They called themselves the "verbal abuse" section. Their job was simply to insult the opposing players. If a player shot an air-ball, whenever this player touched the ball, this section would yell, "AIR ... BALL." If a player committed a foul, this section would say, "YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU." This is what "casting insults" means.

This is what they did to Jesus as He suffered on the cross. Those who passed by Him hurled abuse and Him, saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt. 27:40). The religious leaders also mocked Him saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. His is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we shall believe in Him. HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET HIM DELIVER HIM NOW, IF HE TAKES PLEASURE IN HIM, for He said, 'I am the Son of God'" (Matt. 27:42-43). And the robbers who were crucified with Him, "were casting the same insult at Him" (Matt. 27:44). This is the same word that appears in Jesus' sermon.

2. Persecuted.

This is the same word as occurs in verse 10. It simply describes the one who follows after another with the intent of harm. This is the stalker. The picture here isn't of a gathering of evil men. You knock on the door, only to find yourself in their nest. The picture here is of a chase. You are fleeing danger, and others are going after you.

3. Saying all kinds of evil against you falsely.

Again, this is describing slanderous words, which are false. Enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ will seek to bring up any sort of accusation against you.

There are several examples of this occurring in the early church. For instance, in Acts 17, Luke records for us what happened when Paul came to Thessalonica. Some Christians were brought before the city authorities and the accusation was made, "they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus" (Acts 17:7). They took a half-truth and twisted it! Jesus was indeed the King, but this didn't create rebellious citizens. Those in Thessalonica would still obey the governmental authorities. But the accusation against them appeared to the contrary.

Paul was slandered as a greedy, self-serving, self-glorifying false apostle (see 1 Thess. 2:1-6; 2 Cor. 11:8-15). The early church was accused of cannibalism, because of their love feast, in which they ate "the body of the Lord." The early church was accused of participating in sexual perversion with orgies, because of their "love feasts." The early church was accused by Nero of burning Rome, because they spoke of Christ returning with fire of wrath upon the earth.

The world will do anything to deceive others. The media constantly puts Christians in bad light. One man told me this week, "I always get excited when my dad speaks with other Christians whom I respect...one for their witness, but two, so he can realize that we are all not the people the world portrays [Christians to be]."

Notice here why they are persecuted. They are persecuted, "for the sake of righteousness." It is because of the righteous things they do and say that they are persecuted. It's not because Christians are irritating people. It's not because Christians are legalistic Pharisees who hold themselves up to be so perfect and nobody else can match up. Rather, it is because of their righteous living that they are hated. Christians have totally dedicated themselves to live for the glory of God. They have found a righteousness in Jesus Christ and have told others where it may be found. They have told others of how true righteousness must be be obtained -- through faith in our resurrected Lord, Jesus.

This is the result and culmination of all of the other blesseds. If you understand and acknowledges your emptiness before God, you will be filled by God and will live differently. Your life will manifest righteousness. By the power of Christ, you will overcome sin.
You will speak of righteous things. You will do the right thing and press others to follow your example. And the world, which loves its wickedness will hate you. They will hate you because your actions, attitudes, and speech will bring constant condemnation against them. They desperately want you to join with them in their sin. When you don't participate in their sin, they will hate you, and the persecution will come. Those in the world desperately are seeking justification for their actions, which they know to be wrong. Paul describes the unbeliever in Romans 1:32 as those who "know the ordinance of God, that those who practice [sinful things] are worthy of death. They not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

Though I painted the picture earlier that Christianity is generally tolerated and often seen as a good thing in our society, there are those here in the United States of America who are persecuted. Oh, perhaps it is more subtle than Christians in the other parts of the world.

- We are not facing the persecution of the early church where they wrapped Christians in the carcasses of dead animals, and threw them into an arena with hungry lions.
- We aren't facing the possibility of being dipped in tar and pitch and lit on fir in the even as lights for the dinner parties of the king.
- We are not facing the persecution of the former Soviet Union, where the possession of a Bible meant that you would spend the rest of your life in Sibera, because atheism was the official religion.
- We are not facing the persecution as exists today in China, Indonesia, Sudan, and many other Muslim countries.

But, persecution does exist here in the United States of America. It comes upon those who live righteously. It comes upon those who speak boldly for Jesus Christ.

Have you known this persecution? Have you simply lived a righteous life and seen others hate you for it? I'm not even talking about an "in-your-face" confrontation with others concerning their sin, which is more of a nuisance than genuine godliness. I'm talking about living a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Tim. 2:2). I'm talking about gently warning others of eternal realities and the exclusiveness of the cross of Jesus Christ. I'm talking about seeing others hate you for these things. The world doesn't hate people who generally do good. The world hates you when you are humbly confrontational about right and wrong and sin and judgment.

I have known this. I remember in college being ridiculed for my Christianity, weak as it was. In the work place, I have been ridiculed. I remember at one place, being kind and gracious to a member of our department. I went out of my way to constantly show this individual my love and care for him, despite his "rough edges." Yet, this man continued to verbally abuse me and ridicule me. It even got to the point where my boss stood up for me and said to this man, "enough is enough. This has to stop. I don't want to hear of this anymore." I have been told to "calm down" on my work-place Bible studies before.

When you are righteous, the world will hate you. Perhaps some of you have faced the hostility among your own family. Perhaps your parents have spoken to you in anger, ...

- "What do you mean, you are going to home-school my grandchildren?"
- "You cannot send my grandchildren to Christian school!"
- "You believe in Jesus? Jesus is for sissies."
- "Ooops, I guess we can't do that because of the church goes in our family."

Notice also that these people are persecuted, (not only for the sake of righteousness), but also "on account of Me." Because of your association with Jesus, you face persecution. There is no place that shows this connection in a greater way that in the upper-room discourse to His disciples on the night before Jesus died. In John 15:18-21, Jesus give his disciples four reasons why the world will hate His disciples.

1. The world hated Jesus first (John 15:18).

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you" (verse 18). We know that the world hated Jesus. Sure, Jesus had his small group of followers, but a much larger crowd were those who hated this holy God-man. Jesus said, "The world ... hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil" (John 7:7). Jesus "was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him" (John 1:10).

Our Lord was a wanted man. In the wild west, they used to post signs of outlaws, which showed the face of a criminal, which the authorities wanted, dead or alive. On top of their picture, there was often this word, "WANTED." Such was the label placed upon Jesus. He was a wanted man. Eventually, the world crucified the Lord of glory.

2. His disciples are not of the world (John 15:19).

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (verse 19). If, today, you believe in Jesus Christ, He has taken you out of the world. Your environment has changed. Your loyalties are changed. You are no longer like the world.

The world doesn't like it. The world wants everybody to be in the world. When we depart from the world, the world views us as traitors, because we no longer give allegiance to our former world system. We have gone on record saying that the world is our enemy, along with the flesh and the devil (1 John 2:15-17). Of course the world will hate us.

3. A slave is not greater than his master (John 15:20).

"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (verse 20). This is simple. The way they treated Jesus is the way they will treat you. Like master, like servant. If Jesus was hated, so will His followers be hated. If they obey Jesus, they will obey His followers. But the world didn't obey. They hated Jesus. They will hate you as well.

Remember when Saul was on the road to Damascus, Jesus blinded him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4). Remember, Paul was persecuting the followers of Jesus, not Jesus Himself. But Jesus regards this as a personal offence.

4. The world does not know the Father (John 15:21).

"But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me" (verse 21). If they knew the Father, they would know the Son. But, the world doesn't know the Father, so the world doesn't know the Son. When the Son is gone, the world has nobody to persecute, but His followers. Because of Jesus, His followers will be hated and persecuted.

This now brings us full circle to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me." As they treated Jesus, so will they treat you. When persecution comes, don't be surprised. Peter said, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you" (1 Pet. 4:12).

I want to give you a different perspective this morning. When persecution comes, realize that it vindicates Jesus' words.
It shows that He tells the truth! Jesus says that the people who exhibit these sorts of characteristics are kingdom citizens. Kingdom citizens will experience persecution. So, when the persecution comes, you can respond one of two ways.

1. "God, why me? Why have you allowed this to occur? I didn't do anything to provoke this person, and yet, they have insulted me. They have spread all kinds of false rumors against me. They distort the truth. They said that I said things which never came from my mouth. Why God?" This is a response of unbelief.

2. "Glory be to God, because I see that Jesus' words were fulfilled! Jesus said that if I followed Him, I would experience trouble, hardship and persecution. It has come, precisely as Jesus said. Now, let me trust that Jesus will use it to His glory, as I rely upon Him for the strength to endure it." This is the response of belief.

Realize that when you are persecuted you are blessed. At this point, you might be saying, "Steve, this sounds pretty terrible to me! How can this be a blessing?" Let's ask our second question of the text to find out....

Question #2: Why is this person blessed? Verse 10 puts it simply, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

This simply points out everything that I have sought to do with these verses. These characteristics are typical of citizens of the kingdom! When persecution comes upon you, realize that it is stamp of approval upon your life.

On more than one occasion in my life, I have put on a new pair of pants, which my wife has brought home from the store. Upon putting them on to try them out, I inevitably reach into my pocket and find a little slip of paper that looks something like this:

Often there are a few initials on this slip of paper. It is the manufacturers seal of approval. Somebody has examined these trousers that I have on and have found them to be in good shape, without any problems. So they put their name upon these trousers. When persecution comes upon you, it is Jesus' inspection of your life. "Yes, I see your life. You are my representative. I place my stamp of approval upon you. I have allowed you to be persecuted for being a Christian."

Remember in the early church, when Peter was arrested for preaching. After a brief inquisition, the religious leaders decided to let Peter go free, on one condition, "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18). So what do you think he did? He continued on preaching. Again Peter was arrested once more, and placed "before the Council" (Acts 5:27). The high priest asked Peter, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name" (Acts 5:28). Essentially, he was asking Peter, "What's the deal?" Peter again responded by preaching the gospel to them. This time, rather than simply letting them go, "they flogged the apostles and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus and then released them" (Acts 5:40). Remember their response? "They went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41).

See how the apostles responded? They rejoiced, because Jesus had placed His stamp of approval upon them. Jesus considered them "worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41). This is precisely what Jesus is saying. "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven" -- the persecuted ones are kingdom citizens. There is no surer confirmation that you are a child of God, than to see you persecuted by the world simply because of your righteousness and your association with Jesus Christ.

Verse 12 expands upon why those who are persecuted are blessed, "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

At this point, you might be saying, "What? Rejoice? Listen, life is hard. People from all around are saying all sorts of bad things about me. Some of them aren't even true. People are making my life miserable. How am I supposed to rejoice?" But remember, you are not told to rejoice in your persecution, rather the message is to rejoice in what the persecution produces. It produces a great reward for you. This is the perspective of a Christian: Life now is difficult. I know that. But in eternity, it will be far different. Everything that it cost you during your life, it will be more than repaid in the life to come.

This was illustrated in the story Don told last week from Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus. During this life, the rich man lived in luxury and splendor, while Lazarus was sick and hungry (Luke 16:19-21). But in eternity, it was exactly the opposite. Lazarus was comforted, and the rich man was in agony. Everything you suffer for now on account of Jesus, will be your comfort in eternity. The Christian is eminently the one who has a long term focus. Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."

Let me put it in perspective. Suppose I have two envelopes. They are nicely labeled "envelope #1" and "envelope #2." In each envelope, I have a certificate. In envelope #1, the certificate reads, ...

The food you will eat will enjoy is some of the best that Rockford has to offer. It is for dinner tonight. You have to use it tonight. It sounds good right?

In envelope #2, the certificate reads, ...

You don't get this mansion now. But after you clean the toilets at a truck stop for 30 days, it is all yours. Which would you choose? Envelope #1 or Envelope #2? You can either have a little now or you can have everything you ever need in a month, if you endure. Even the children know the proper answer to this decision.

This is the perspective of a Christian. The apostle Peter wrote to a persecuted group of Christians. He told them of the glories of salvation in Christ. Your salvation has given you "an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet. 1:4). You are suffering today, but just think of the glories that await you. Your inheritance is unlike any inheritance upon earth (even the Hawaii mansion). It is ...

1. Imperishable
2. Undefiled
3. Unfading.

He said, "in this, you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:6-7). In other words, the glories of your salvation, far exceed any difficulties which you might encounter here upon the earth. You ought to have eyes which look forward to your inheritance than to your difficulties. Looking forward to the reward ought to give you great joy.

Comparing your present persecutions to the reward which will come to you is impossible. It is like comparing the beauty of a flower to a dirt-clod. It is like comparing these spring days we have enjoyed, to an Alaskan blizzard. Paul said, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18).

Christians have their focus upon the reward that is to be brought to them. As such, they have willingly endured the sufferings of this life for the hope of the one to come. This has always been the hope of the people of God. Moses chose "to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, [rather] than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward" (Heb. 11:25-26).

Finally, Jesus ends the blesseds with an encouragement, "for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (verse 12).

Those who stand and say, "Thus saith the LORD," aren't normally the most popular folks in the land. Zechariah, the son of Jehoida the priest was stoned for preaching to others that they have forsaken the LORD (2 Chron.24:20-21). Jeremiah was thrown into a pit (Jer. 18:19-23) and was placed in stocks for his preaching (Jer. 20:2). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to worship the image and were thrown in the fire (Daniel 3). We might add, "for so they persecuted Jesus." We might add, "for so they persecuted the apostles." We might add, "for so they persecuted church until today." If you live godly in Christ Jesus, it will be just the same for you and for me.

Reading about the persecution of others has a way of strengthening you in your times of persecution. There is a book called Fox's Book of Martyrs, which gives the details of many of God's people who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel of Christ. They are tremendously encouraging. Charles Spurgeon was encouraged by this fact. When he was experiencing particularly great tribulation, His wife, Susannah, framed the words of Matt. 5:11-12 and hung them in his study (Faith Cook, Singing in the Fire, pp. 39-40). They constantly bore witness to encourage her husband's heart.

At times of persecution, remember that you are walking down a path others have walked before you. May these words of Jesus give you great comfort in the persecution you face as a representative of Jesus Christ.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on April 21, 2002 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.