Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted Because of Righteousness

In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Most of us living in the United States will never find ourselves being persecuted because of our faith. Many of us will never be persecuted because of our race, our education, or our wealth. Our privilege protects us from feeling this type of pain. 

But we’ve certainly read about this type of persecution and the pain that it brings. Sometimes, on our service trips, we see people who have to pick up everything they have and move to a different country. We witness on television and on the internet people living in a police state and never knowing peace or freedom. We ask God, “Don’t you see the pain these people are experiencing?”

When Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their righteousness,” we like the part about being blessed and don’t want anything to do with being persecuted. However, we’re told that we will experience moments of tribulation and pain in this life. 

In chapter three of the Book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon. Their faith was tested – they truly believed that God would rescue them from the flames.  

We can relate this story to our own lives. What happens when we refuse to bow to idols of greed and oppression? What happens when we stand up for what we believe in? What happens when we advocate too much? We often find ourselves in places of comfort and complacency, yet we must rock the boat. When faced with injustices, even when they don’t directly affect our lives or put us in a situation of persecution, we must stand up and say, “Enough is enough.”

Let’s think again about Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego. As Nebuchadnezzar II watched the three Hebrew men being placed into the furnace, he realized they were not burning. Not even a single hair on their heads had been singed. By simply having faith, the men did not let their persecution consume them. 

We also cannot let our personal persecutions consume us. We must be like Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego and have faith. Whether you’ve been let go from a job or are experiencing relationship problems, or whatever trials and tribulations you are facing in your life, you must simply have faith. 

Matthew 5:11 says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” We understand that the prophets went through horrendous and intense persecution. Moses was ridiculed by an entire nation – even his own family. Samuel was rejected by a nation and at one point feared for his life. Jesus was reviled; even at the start of his ministry, his family and his neighbors mocked him. On the last days of his life, even his closest friends betrayed him for a bag of silver. His remaining friends abandoned him on the eve of his arrest. 

What does it mean to be persecuted? I think in the context of church, especially here at Plymouth, it means being willing to stand up for justice. Sometimes you are reviled for standing up for what is right. Maybe there are qualities of your relationship with a job or with your family that ask you to hide certain aspects of yourself. 

Maybe you haven’t lived a perfect life but you’ve lived it the best that you know how. In John 8:10, Jesus says to the woman who was caught in adultery, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” She replies, “No one, Lord.” To this, Jesus replies: “Then neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more.” 

We are called as people of faith to let our light shine before people so that we may glorify our God in heaven. We aren’t called to let our light hide under a bushel. Yes, sometimes we face persecution. Sometimes we face pain. Yet we must not hide our light – we must let it shine before all, and always point back to a God who loves and cares for us no matter what.