APRIL 27, Matthew 5:10-12

What is persecution? It is to pursue someone and hunt him down as one does an enemy. Here in today’s reading, it means to oppress someone on account of their religion.

Many Bible scholars take verse 10 as the last Beatitude and consider verses 11 and 12 an elaboration of this Beatitude, with some personal application. We also note that “Blessed” is used twice in today’s reading. Why is that? One Bible commentator suggests that God doubly blesses those who suffer and those who are persecuted.

It should be observed that only those who are persecuted for “righteousness’ sake” (v10) and for “my [i.e. Jesus’] sake” (v.11) are blessed. In other words, persecution or bad treatment as a result of your own sinfulness, faults, character flaws, self-righteousness, or a non-biblical belief would bring no blessings whatsoever, except to teach you the need to go to Jesus Christ to purify your heart (1 Peter 3:13-17).

Christians should expect persecution! Jesus Christ himself said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:18-19). And the Apostle Paul wrote that “Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. (2 Timothy 3:12).

This last Beatitude is the most difficult of the Beatitudes to live out. This Beatitude, more than the others, will divide those who are truly righteous (i.e. those that are true Christians and therefore truly saved) from those who are not (i.e. those that pretend to be Christians, but are not truly converted and saved).

Thought: The nature of righteousness is that it provokes the unrighteous.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me be brave in standing up for You and Your Word in the midst of my friends and unbelieving family members. Help me be brave, even to rejoice when I am harassed for Your sake. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.