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This document discusses Jesus' words in the Beatitudes about being blessed when persecuted for righteousness. It provides context that the early Christians faced persecution for their moral standards and lifestyle, which condemned pagan practices. Their lives were a witness that drew some to faith but repelled persecutors wanting to silence their conscience. The document explores how persecution was a compliment that showed how influential Christians were, and an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to Christ through hardships.
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Matt 5.10 Blessed are those who are persecuted.doc
This document discusses Jesus' words in the Beatitudes about being blessed when persecuted for righteousness. It provides context that the early Christians faced persecution for their moral standards and lifestyle, which condemned pagan practices. Their lives were a witness that drew some to faith but repelled persecutors wanting to silence their conscience. The document explores how persecution was a compliment that showed how influential Christians were, and an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to Christ through hardships.
This document discusses Jesus' words in the Beatitudes about being blessed when persecuted for righteousness. It provides context that the early Christians faced persecution for their moral standards and lifestyle, which condemned pagan practices. Their lives were a witness that drew some to faith but repelled persecutors wanting to silence their conscience. The document explores how persecution was a compliment that showed how influential Christians were, and an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to Christ through hardships.
Blessed are those who are persecute for righteousness
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:10-12) This final Beatitude does not say Blessed are those who are persecuted, but Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Many people suffer persecution but for a varied number of reasons, many of which rather needlessly. The Christian is told that he will suffer persecution because of his stand for right living. Through righteous living, the Christians either draw people to them or repel them. Jesus taught: If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chose you out of the world. That is why the world hates. Remember the words I spoke to you, No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also (John 15:18-20). Before the end of the first century, the word for witness and the word for martyr had become the same Greek word. This was because in that time the man who was a witness had every chance of being a martyr too. There was in Jesus an almost startling honesty; no one could ever say that he had been induced to follow Jesus on false pretences. Jesus told his followers what they might expect and he left them in no doubt that they must suffer for his name. To follow him necessarily involved the taking up of a cross (Matthew 16:24). He had no doubt that his disciples would be brought before magistrates, that they would be scourged n the Synagogues and that they would be hated by all men because of their faithfulness to him (Matthew 10:16-22). The day would even come when those who killed a Christian would think that they were rendering service to God (John 16:2). Simon Siew Southeast Asia Union Mission
There are many reasons leading to the inevitable persecution. The
Christians to begin with has a completely different moral standard. The Christian lives in a sinful world; therefore if he exhibits genuine transparent righteousness, he will be rejected by man. Genuine righteousness condemns people by implication; small wonder why people often lash out in retaliation. It was not that Christian went about criticizing and condemning others, nor was it that the Christian was consciously self-righteous and superior. It implies that the Christian ethic in itself was a criticism and condemnation of the pagan life and standards. People were humiliated and abased at the sight of the goodness of Christians. The Christian does not need to speak; his presence and his life are a conscience to his society. Their life is a reminder of what life ought to be and a condemnation of the world as it is. It is no new thing for persecutors to want to silence their conscience. The Christians were hated as they were seen by men to be aloof from their fellowmen and as men whose customs and way of life seemed likely to disrupt the social set-up of life. Another undeniable effect of Christianity that brought about persecution was that it often makes a division in the family. Jesus already prophesied over this in Matthew 10:34-37. It is notable and extremely important to note that in the early days of the church, the Christian never conceived of the possibility of using force to meet persecution. Rather they resorted to only two weapons. a. The weapon of the Christian life. The Christian showed himself so loyal and so useful a citizen, and so good and conscientious a servant, that the slanders of the persecutors were silenced. b. The Christian had the defence of Christian apologetic. Peter insisted that the Christian must ever be ready to give an answer for his faith he must know what he believes and why he believes it. This eighth Beatitude is so important that Jesus expands it, making it more pointedly by changing the 3rd person form of the Beatitudes to the direct address of the 2nd person (Blessed are You instead of Blessed are Those).
Simon Siew Southeast Asia Union Mission
Three other important insights are also given in this expansion.
a. Persecution is explicitly broadened to include insults and spoken malice and cannot be limited to physical torture. b. The phrase because of righteousness (Matthew 5:10) parallels with because of me (Matthew 5:11). This confirms that the righteousness of life that is in view is an imitation of Jesus. How can we speak of the blessedness of the persecuted? It does seem to be a paradox. Yet it is blessing in at least 2 sense. a. Persecution is in fact a compliment. To persecute a person is to show that we take him so seriously that we consider that he must be eliminated. No one will persecute a man who is futile, ineffective and indecisive. Persecution is proof of the utter genuineness and sincerity of the faith of the man who is persecuted. Luke 6:26 says, Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets. Illustration: George Bernard Shaw said that the finest compliment the world can pay an author is to burn his books because it shows they regard his books as so dynamic and explosive that they cannot be allowed to continue to affect the minds of men. b.
Persecution is an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty. It shows that he
is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, that he does not shrink from showing who is it he loves and serves.
The Beatitude promises that he who is persecuted for righteousness sake
Scott T Swank THE UNFETTERED CONSCIENCE (The New Jerusalem Church 1840 1870 A Study of Swedenborg and Swedenborgianism in America) Uty of Pennsylvania 1970