Blessed are those who suffer for Jesus’ sake
Matthew 5:10-12
New Revised Standard Version: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Message: You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
The Message translation makes clear that living the Jesus’ way will produce a response among those opposed to the Jesus’ way. At core the question is this – if Jesus faced persecution and opposition as he lived his life, why would his followers expect anything different in their lives as they seek to follow Jesus. To live the Jesus way brings many of the patterns of this world into question.
To touch the least and the overlooked, to care for the dispossessed and the difficult, these are things that our world has trouble with, but Jesus and his followers care for the least and the dispossessed. And in doing that, our actions challenge the self-seeking patterns of the world.
To declare a loyalty to Jesus above all other loyalties makes the powers of this world – government, business, society, even family – nervous. Notice that Jesus says in vs. 11 the false accusations he is talking about are the result of us being connected to Jesus. This is not opposition because we are insensitive or abrasive or worse. The persecution Jesus has in view is the result of our being followers of Jesus, it is on account of our being followers of Jesus.
More than anything else, the followers of Jesus hope for, reach for, dream of the kingdom. Praying for the day when the world will live the Jesus way, as part of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. Jesus promises those who suffer persecution for his sake that their deepest desire, his kingdom, will be fully realized.
PRAYER:
God of glory and wonder, we pray for those who suffer insult and abuse, ridicule and physical hurt, because of their following of your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that we ourselves would be so aligned with you and your Son, that others would see our commitment to you. Keep us faithful when that commitment is costly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.