Matthew 5:11 “Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous – with life and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. 12 Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense) for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Yesterday we began discussing what it means to be persecuted. But Jesus didn’t stop with just one statement; instead, He went on to elaborate. In these verses, Jesus is promising us that as believers we are going to be reviled. The term “revile” means “to criticize or to abuse in an angrily insulting manner.” Here Jesus was actually describing ahead of time the verbal insults He was to receive throughout His ministry.
Long before the crucifixion took place, Jesus was already facing a fire storm of criticism. By the time Jesus came on the scene, Judaism had become a highly formalized religion with hundreds of tiny rules that were to be observed if one was to achieve true holiness. Tithing had become so organized that some extra – observant Jews were even tithing their spices – their mint and dill and cumin. The religious leaders were furious with Jesus because He didn’t follow every single one of these rules. Jesus criticized those leaders because they were more interested in following all of the rules and getting everything “right” than they were caring for people who were in need. It had reached the point that some religious leaders were making large gifts to the temple and then neglecting their aged parents.
The religious leaders became incensed when Jesus sought out sinners such as tax collectors and prostitutes and even ate with them – another violation of religious practice. And then Jesus had the audacity to heal people on the Sabbath and to point out that no religious leader would have left his donkey or his ox to suffer if that animal had fallen into a pit on the Sabbath, but would have quickly rescued the animal.
What did Jesus mean about the persecution of the prophets? There is good documentation for at least six Old Testament prophets dying through martyrdom. Their deaths ranged from being sawn in two to stoning, stabbing, etc.
Paul says in Hebrews 11:14 – 16 that all of these people died in faith “in search of a better and more desirable country.” Even though the prophets came before Jesus, they knew that Messiah was coming. Even Balaam, a pagan seer, foretold the coming of the Messiah.
There’s a Country and Western song that says, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me.” Today, what are you standing for? What is most important to you? Your job? Your family? Your status? Your bank account? Are you standing for something eternal or are you standing for something that can die or disappear? Yes, family members are critically important and we should love them, but love for your family will not cancel out your sin – debt. Only Jesus can give eternal life. Only Jesus can save you from your sins.
PRAYER: Father, persecution frightens us! We don’t want to suffer. But suffering is inevitable; sooner or later we will face it. Please help us to look to those things that are eternal. Take away our sins. Wash our filthy hearts. And help us to follow hard after Jesus for the rest of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
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