The Beatitudes: Persecution, rejection, and being put out
5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Persecution comes from the word persecute, which is dioko in the Greek. Dioko means to put to fight or pursue, by implication to persecute; to pursue with all haste; to earnestly desire to overtake. The Gospel of righteousness, which is in Christ is this: By grace, we are all saved by faith, and it’s not from ourselves, but a gift from God — not by our works, so that no one can boast. [Ephesians 2:8] This is the faith of a true disciple of Christ, faith that directly opposes a world that teaches us we have to earn all good things and self-righteous gospel that teaches us our salvation is in our own hands. As disciples in Christ, we will face persecution from unbelievers and believers because what we stand for rebukes that.
When we become Believers, we take on the attitude of a disciple and receive the Gospel into our lives. It is written in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” The Word changes us from the inside-out because of the revelation of God’s goodness. In Ken Boa’s commentary, he shares that “we can never be like Christ without being entirely changed. To become like him, we have to become light…” Immediately after teaching the beatitudes, Christ tells us something similar. “You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:13-14] Because of His goodness that lives in us, we are no longer prisoner to fear, doubt, wickedness, malice, anger, envy, hate, or bitterness. [Ephesians 4:31] Instead, we overflow with and are led by God’s love, making us able to be an example of that same goodness to others. [Ephesians 4:32]
Ken Boa goes on to say “light always exposes darkness, and the darkness always hates the light.” It is God in us who is faithful to do the good works He calls us to do, which includes to be the truth and light that exposes lies and darkness. [1 Thessolonians 5:24] Darkness, as in the evil influence in the world and mankind’s sinful nature, cannot coexist with the light of God. “Goodness rebukes the world’s sinfulness, so the world turns against the righteous and even persecutes them.” (“Ken Boa”) His goodness and truth exposes what is wrong in the world, so lies and evil will always pursue what is good and honest in order to overtake and overpower it.
The Gospel of Christ proves that our heavenly Father is, has been, and always will be good, and we just have to believe it in order to receive it. Darkness rejects that. It teaches that nothing is free, we have to prove ourselves worthy, love is not unconditional, and God is not really who He says He is. Because unbelievers are influenced by the world, they reject the Gospel of Christ and those who share it. Jesus was and is the light of the world — He stood for, was led by, and showed faith in God’s love. He lived a life that was pleasing to His heavenly Father because He exposed lies and revealed truth. Disciples in Christ aren’t influenced by the world; instead, we walk in the righteousness of Christ and do the same things He did. We live for God and become examples of His goodness in a world overtaken by darkness, exposing deception and unveiling the truth. This is why we say God is good. As a result of this way of life, we will face the same persecution Jesus did. He was persecuted even in death. Because wickedness and evil still exist, we will face the same troubles because we are the same salt and light in the earth. We will be chased down by wickedness. Whether it’s by the persecution of strangers, rejection of people close to heart, or by shouting lies loudly in our ears, the darkness will try to overpower the light of Christ to keep from being exposed.
Persecution won’t only come from unbelievers either. We will face rejection because of the self-righteous gospel of the law. The self-righteous gospel of the law teaches that salvation is earned by merit, we have to strive for perfection in order to keep it, and our deeds determine God’s favor toward us. When Job lost all that he had, his friends told him that he needed to repent of his sinfulness because he was being punished. His wife mocked him for holding onto false integrity and told him to curse God. [Job 2:9] When people were sick or had an incurable illness, it was taught that it’s a sign of God’s punishment and a lack of His favor, so those people could not be saved. [John 9: 1-3] The rich were thought to be extremely blessed, so they could buy their way into heaven because of their tithes and offerings. [Mark 10: 17-31] The Pharisees were men of the highest order and strictly followed all of God’s laws, and it was taught that their merit earned them a spot in heaven. [Matthew 5:20; Matthew 16:6]
Jesus came and broke all of those religious systems and beliefs. The Gospel of Christ proves that it’s only by our Father we are saved. Depending on our own efforts will always be futile because we cannot make our own way to heaven. He showed people that salvation couldn’t be earned because no one was completely without sin. [Romans 4: 14-16] He taught that salvation is given and determined by God, who gives it freely to those who accept the Gospel and live a life that pleases Him. He demonstrated what a life that pleases our heavenly Father is like: to love Him with all of our hearts and love others as we love ourselves. [Matthew 22:37-42; Luke 10:25-27] Jesus exposed the sinfulness, self-righteousness, pride, wickedness, and inequity that came from religion. As a result, He was persecuted and constantly pursued by those in the church who refused to let go of the need to earn God’s goodness by their deeds. When we share that same message of salvation, we will be too. The faith that is magnified in the way a disciple lives directly opposes a system based on merit.
theirs is the kingdom of heaven… great is their reward.
If God is for us, who can stand against us? [Romans 8:31]
Persecution and rejection will come, and lies will be said in an attempt to expose us, but what can expose light but more light? What can expose salt but more salt? When darkness tries to surround us, God’s light shines more brightly. When our saltiness is threatened, God gives us more salt. The more the enemies of our lives — the devil, the world, and our flesh — try to overcome us, the more God magnifies Himself in us.
The disciple’s full acceptance of God, Christ, and God in Christ, and the Gospel is a full acceptance of God in them. This acceptance gives control to the One who offered what we could not earn, and we are set free. [Romans 7:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; Galatians 5:1] The world no longer influences our thoughts and actions, God does. [Romans 8:14] We aren’t defeated by fear, doubt, guilt, and shame, we are more than conquerors in Christ. [Romans 8:37] We aren’t threatened by stagnance, our hearts are renewed every day. [2 Corinthians 4:16] We aren't unwanted, we are chosen. [Romans 8:28-30; John 15:16; 2 Thessolonians 2:13;] We are not worthless, we are God’s wrokmanship and made with purpose on purpose. [Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139:14] We are capable because we serve a God who can do all things! [Luke 1:37; Jeremiah 32:27; 1 Thessolonians 5:24; Philippians 4:13]
Being poor in spirit, mournful, meek, and hungry for righteousness, we are merciful toward others who are just as much in need as we are. We humble ourselves and give kindness and compassion, making peace with others and being an example of peace to others. We pursue God with a pure heart full of love for Him that compels us to love others even in the face of opposition. In this, we take on the fullness of resurrection in Christ that we are made whole, reborn, and made a new creation. [2 Corinthians 5:17-18; Romans 6:4] All things become new and we are brought to life!
Nothing can separate us from God — absolutely nothing. [Romans 8] With the power of God and all of heaven around us, and in us, we are able to stand. [Ephesians 6:13] And we continue to stand even in the midst of opposition, knowing that no weapon formed against us shall propser. [Isaiah 54:17] Our reward in heaven is great because Christ is at the right hand of our heavenly Father. [ref.]
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