Blessed Are those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake…
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, those who seek first the kingdom of heaven, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the eighth and final Beatitude, and this number is significant. The number seven has the quality of completion, as with the Creation, and the number eight is new beginnings....
We see this significance for 8 in both the Old and New Testaments; new beginnings are a fact of life on earth:
The significance of this “Blessed are…” statement is that this is the first Beatitude that is not centered on the character of the individual. The seven Beatitudes examined before gives us a picture of the nature of the follower of Christ. This eighth statement describes what the Christian may encounter as he returns to the world. The new man/woman in Christ has changed, but the world is unchanged.
The reader unfamiliar with the kingdom of heaven must think this a strange land, indeed. The poor in spirit in the first Beatitude, and the righteous in the eighth Beatitude, sound like examples at two ends of the spectrum, and yet they share the same reward, the kingdom of heaven.
The reward at the beginning of transformation is the same reward as when the completed new creation begins their first day. The newly minted character is tested in a trial of fire, emergence into the world.
The poor in spirit, standing at the entrance to the kingdom, has only become aware of the wide gulf between where he stands and the place where he was created to be. He has the realization that he must open the door to allow the kingdom of heaven to enter – the way to the kingdom is not “out there” but is “in here.” The vision of a lonely soul faced with a long pathway comes to mind, but it is an inward journey that lies ahead.
And at the end of the Beatitudes we have “those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” who would appear to be at the end of that long narrow pathway, having negotiated the dangers, distractions, and distance. The journey inward is difficult. Keep in mind, that this person is persecuted for his intention. He is still a man and cannot count himself righteous, but his present condition shows by comparison how unrighteous is the world about him.
That we are perfect both at the beginning and the end of the journey, reminds us that we are like the rose, perfect at each stage of our development. We do not expect a fully formed bloom on a tender shoot. The person who has become aware of the need for change, for repentance, is perfect at that moment, bearing the character of the rose, as a shoot that is still in a state of becoming. These are states of perfection, even as the Father in heaven is perfect.
Paul assures us that “there is none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:10). Jesus himself says that “no one is good (intrinsically virtuous) but One, that is, God” (Luke 18:19). The journey to righteousness, the longing to bear the character of God, is not complete.
The lens through which we previously had seen the world has been left behind, one of the many things that we have had to surrender. The new lens through which we view the world has a new dimension added.
The Gospel has been made clear. Like all great truths it is simplicity itself: Christ crucified on the cross.
If we seek validation for this truth, Paul states this clearly for us: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul sees clearly. He knows what he sees. And he is not afraid to call what he sees by name.
We have been given the keys to the kingdom. Listen again to what Jesus says in the parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. Divine grace has entered our temple and, if we have received this grace, the kingdom of heaven lies within our heart. This was what Jesus had been showing his disciples through the many parables of the kingdom of heaven: the kingdom of God is God’s grace working upon the heart.
Peace within the sanctuary of the human heart will not be met with peace outside in the world. Matthew promises persecution and Luke promises hatred.
Luke 6:22-23 “Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you.
And revile you, and cast your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
Luke’s corresponding “woe” does not allow us to hope for approval from the world.
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
When we leave the Sanctuary, Jesus’ promise to those who follow Him is that we should expect no more from men than He received.
Jesus left the heavenly Sanctuary and was born into this world. He came to the place and to the people that were His, and they did not receive Him. Not all rejected Him, for “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12).
We are tempted to see the Beatitudes as a series of mixed blessings if we look at the literal wording. Standing outside, before we enter through the narrow gate, none of us are blessed, happy, for the peace of the outside world is illusory, temporary. Emerging from journey through the Beatitudes, we are blessed, happy, but stepping into the broad way of the world, we are confronted with persecution, hatred.
This experience was modeled by the prophets, by Jesus, and the disciples and Jesus’ followers. The truth that the goods of this world are illusory is not evident to those without the eyes to see and the ears to hear of spiritual things. Even Jesus had difficulty among His own in Nazareth: “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58).
Understanding why Abram must leave his culture, his family, and his father’s house (traditions) is easier at this stage. Those who have loved us did so because we were a reflection of them. The change in character, imperfect though it still is, no longer reflects their own condition. What they see is a challenge to their self-image, and this is uncomfortable for them. Either they must change, or we must return to our old selves. There is now a tension that must be resolved.
The broad way and the narrow way are two different paths. The physical senses that guide us along the broad way do not willingly yield to the spiritual senses that guide us along the narrow way. There is no peace within, and there can be no kingdom of heaven on the broad way.
If we yield to the physical senses, we will not find lasting peace, for the foundation of the physical world is spiritual. The long standing concept of the atom (from the Greek, atomos – uncut, indivisible), a name applied by Democritus thousands of years ago to the smallest, indivisible particle of the universe, proved to be an illusion. The atom is not indivisible, but is its own new universe. Consisting mostly of empty space with a set of governing laws that are at odds with the Newtonian laws of our physical senses, we find that the foundation of our physical world is fundamentally different from what our senses lead us to believe.
Science that works only within the limits of our physical senses cannot discover the truth underlying the physical laws. True science, going beyond the symptoms that are our physical world, will discover truth, the underlying cause of what manifests physically. The tension between true science and the illusion of our false scientific beliefs is building.
For example, there are three things (among many) that we know are disobedient to our physical laws. These three areas are governed by a different set of laws:
The science of faith is like all truth, open to God’s leading, to His revelation.
What is the blessedness that is the eighth Beatitude and the blessing that follows it? Perhaps we are like the metal that is tried by fire in order to improve its character and strength. Persecution is the fire, the trial that strengthens our faith or, if faith has not yet captured the heart, will cause us to relapse back into the world.
Peter affirms, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:14).
The new person looks little different on the outside from the beginning of this journey. Repentance, baptism, humility, praying, loving, seeing, and being at peace have made a huge difference, however. The external person is still flesh in a physical world, but the spirit rules the body because they know that God’s Spirit rules the world. They are once again a spiritual being in an earthly body.
Given that the external appearance has not changed, how does the world know the new person is not the same as the old person? Jesus later tells us that we will know the character of a person by his fruit (Matt. 7:16). Jesus makes clear a few verses later that works are not sufficient. Character is the foundation, and a foundation built on the rock of Jesus will endure while a foundation built on the shifting sand of humanism will crumble (Matt. 7:21-27).
In the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows us how to put the Beatitudes into the practical reality of daily life. Jesus gives us examples, but He cannot answer every possible question for us. He has given us new eyes, the lens of the Beatitudes, to see an old world. Answers are evident because this lens shows us reality.
If we are not able to transform the world, we at least are able to transform ourselves into malleable lumps of clay available for God’s purposes rather than our own. By allowing God to do His work in us and through us, we will find our blessedness, our happiness. This is His promise.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, those who seek first the kingdom of heaven, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the eighth and final Beatitude, and this number is significant. The number seven has the quality of completion, as with the Creation, and the number eight is new beginnings....
We see this significance for 8 in both the Old and New Testaments; new beginnings are a fact of life on earth:
- The eighth day is the start of a new week, a new beginning (Gen. 2:1-4).
- Eight people of Noah’s family were saved from the flood to repopulate the earth (1 Peter 3:20).
- Male children were circumcised on the eighth day, a renewal of Abram’s covenant (Gen. 17:12, Luke 2:21). Note: by the 8th day, the child’s blood reaches maximum ability to coagulate, allowing a safe operation.
- The Gospel of John records 7 miracles Jesus performed during His life; the 8th miracle was the Resurrection, the new life.
The significance of this “Blessed are…” statement is that this is the first Beatitude that is not centered on the character of the individual. The seven Beatitudes examined before gives us a picture of the nature of the follower of Christ. This eighth statement describes what the Christian may encounter as he returns to the world. The new man/woman in Christ has changed, but the world is unchanged.
The reader unfamiliar with the kingdom of heaven must think this a strange land, indeed. The poor in spirit in the first Beatitude, and the righteous in the eighth Beatitude, sound like examples at two ends of the spectrum, and yet they share the same reward, the kingdom of heaven.
The reward at the beginning of transformation is the same reward as when the completed new creation begins their first day. The newly minted character is tested in a trial of fire, emergence into the world.
The poor in spirit, standing at the entrance to the kingdom, has only become aware of the wide gulf between where he stands and the place where he was created to be. He has the realization that he must open the door to allow the kingdom of heaven to enter – the way to the kingdom is not “out there” but is “in here.” The vision of a lonely soul faced with a long pathway comes to mind, but it is an inward journey that lies ahead.
And at the end of the Beatitudes we have “those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” who would appear to be at the end of that long narrow pathway, having negotiated the dangers, distractions, and distance. The journey inward is difficult. Keep in mind, that this person is persecuted for his intention. He is still a man and cannot count himself righteous, but his present condition shows by comparison how unrighteous is the world about him.
That we are perfect both at the beginning and the end of the journey, reminds us that we are like the rose, perfect at each stage of our development. We do not expect a fully formed bloom on a tender shoot. The person who has become aware of the need for change, for repentance, is perfect at that moment, bearing the character of the rose, as a shoot that is still in a state of becoming. These are states of perfection, even as the Father in heaven is perfect.
Paul assures us that “there is none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:10). Jesus himself says that “no one is good (intrinsically virtuous) but One, that is, God” (Luke 18:19). The journey to righteousness, the longing to bear the character of God, is not complete.
The lens through which we previously had seen the world has been left behind, one of the many things that we have had to surrender. The new lens through which we view the world has a new dimension added.
The Gospel has been made clear. Like all great truths it is simplicity itself: Christ crucified on the cross.
If we seek validation for this truth, Paul states this clearly for us: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul sees clearly. He knows what he sees. And he is not afraid to call what he sees by name.
We have been given the keys to the kingdom. Listen again to what Jesus says in the parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. Divine grace has entered our temple and, if we have received this grace, the kingdom of heaven lies within our heart. This was what Jesus had been showing his disciples through the many parables of the kingdom of heaven: the kingdom of God is God’s grace working upon the heart.
Peace within the sanctuary of the human heart will not be met with peace outside in the world. Matthew promises persecution and Luke promises hatred.
Luke 6:22-23 “Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you.
And revile you, and cast your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
Luke’s corresponding “woe” does not allow us to hope for approval from the world.
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
When we leave the Sanctuary, Jesus’ promise to those who follow Him is that we should expect no more from men than He received.
Jesus left the heavenly Sanctuary and was born into this world. He came to the place and to the people that were His, and they did not receive Him. Not all rejected Him, for “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12).
We are tempted to see the Beatitudes as a series of mixed blessings if we look at the literal wording. Standing outside, before we enter through the narrow gate, none of us are blessed, happy, for the peace of the outside world is illusory, temporary. Emerging from journey through the Beatitudes, we are blessed, happy, but stepping into the broad way of the world, we are confronted with persecution, hatred.
This experience was modeled by the prophets, by Jesus, and the disciples and Jesus’ followers. The truth that the goods of this world are illusory is not evident to those without the eyes to see and the ears to hear of spiritual things. Even Jesus had difficulty among His own in Nazareth: “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58).
Understanding why Abram must leave his culture, his family, and his father’s house (traditions) is easier at this stage. Those who have loved us did so because we were a reflection of them. The change in character, imperfect though it still is, no longer reflects their own condition. What they see is a challenge to their self-image, and this is uncomfortable for them. Either they must change, or we must return to our old selves. There is now a tension that must be resolved.
The broad way and the narrow way are two different paths. The physical senses that guide us along the broad way do not willingly yield to the spiritual senses that guide us along the narrow way. There is no peace within, and there can be no kingdom of heaven on the broad way.
If we yield to the physical senses, we will not find lasting peace, for the foundation of the physical world is spiritual. The long standing concept of the atom (from the Greek, atomos – uncut, indivisible), a name applied by Democritus thousands of years ago to the smallest, indivisible particle of the universe, proved to be an illusion. The atom is not indivisible, but is its own new universe. Consisting mostly of empty space with a set of governing laws that are at odds with the Newtonian laws of our physical senses, we find that the foundation of our physical world is fundamentally different from what our senses lead us to believe.
Science that works only within the limits of our physical senses cannot discover the truth underlying the physical laws. True science, going beyond the symptoms that are our physical world, will discover truth, the underlying cause of what manifests physically. The tension between true science and the illusion of our false scientific beliefs is building.
For example, there are three things (among many) that we know are disobedient to our physical laws. These three areas are governed by a different set of laws:
- Light is a particle or a wave, depending on the intent of the observer.
- Water is the carrier of frequency, which determines the water’s character.
- The physical reality of the body, “health,” is shaped in large part by the beliefs of the individual.
The science of faith is like all truth, open to God’s leading, to His revelation.
What is the blessedness that is the eighth Beatitude and the blessing that follows it? Perhaps we are like the metal that is tried by fire in order to improve its character and strength. Persecution is the fire, the trial that strengthens our faith or, if faith has not yet captured the heart, will cause us to relapse back into the world.
Peter affirms, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:14).
The new person looks little different on the outside from the beginning of this journey. Repentance, baptism, humility, praying, loving, seeing, and being at peace have made a huge difference, however. The external person is still flesh in a physical world, but the spirit rules the body because they know that God’s Spirit rules the world. They are once again a spiritual being in an earthly body.
Given that the external appearance has not changed, how does the world know the new person is not the same as the old person? Jesus later tells us that we will know the character of a person by his fruit (Matt. 7:16). Jesus makes clear a few verses later that works are not sufficient. Character is the foundation, and a foundation built on the rock of Jesus will endure while a foundation built on the shifting sand of humanism will crumble (Matt. 7:21-27).
In the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows us how to put the Beatitudes into the practical reality of daily life. Jesus gives us examples, but He cannot answer every possible question for us. He has given us new eyes, the lens of the Beatitudes, to see an old world. Answers are evident because this lens shows us reality.
If we are not able to transform the world, we at least are able to transform ourselves into malleable lumps of clay available for God’s purposes rather than our own. By allowing God to do His work in us and through us, we will find our blessedness, our happiness. This is His promise.
