“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:10 ESV
Sharing in Christ’s Sufferings
The last blessing Jesus gives isn’t a very comforting thought—at least the first part of it isn’t.
To our justice-motivated minds, it seems only fair that if we live in obedience to God’s Word and walk in a way that’s pleasing to Him, we should have it pretty easy. It seems only fair that if we live with humility, show mercy, exude pureheartedness, if we make an effort to be peacemakers, that we should be generally well-liked, respected, and maybe even revered by the world.
Right?
Unfortunately not. In fact, Jesus promises the exact opposite will be true. The world hated Him, so if we live like Him, the world will hate us, too. In John 15, Jesus says, “‘The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you’” (John 15:18-20 NLT). We can be comforted knowing that in our persecution, we are sharing in Christ’s own sufferings.
The Way of Jesus is always going to be countercultural. It’s always going to ruffle the feathers of those who choose not to follow it. As Christians, we must be ready for that. We must be willing to stand firm in our beliefs, even when they go against what the world tells us.
Our Eternal Reward
The second part of the blessing, “...for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” is what makes everything worth it.
We may not have an easy time of it on this side of eternity, but our eternal reward—life with God in His beautiful Kingdom—will be infinitely greater than the worst hardship we could ever imagine here on earth. So great that Jesus says we should be happy when people persecute us: “‘God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven’” (Matthew 5:11-12 NLT).
