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The Forgotten Beatitude

Ron Redekop

“Daniel Kopf, a minister of the Word, was apprehended with six other persons, at Bairisch-Graitz, in Steyermark; he and two brethren were sentenced to the sword, while the four sisters were drowned. They testified with their body and life, that this is the true way to eternal life in Christ Jesus, and though the executioner, fire, water and the sword sought to turn them away, they would nevertheless adhere to it as long as breath remained in them. (AD 1529)”

This brief account is only one among hundreds recorded for us in a volume first written in 1660, and later translated into English under the title The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror. Within these pages we find story after story of Anabaptist Christians (the 16th-century name for Mennonites) who gave their lives for their Lord.

The history of evangelical, orthodox Christianity is a history of persecution. From Stephen in the book of Acts to modern day China, the true church has seldom been a stranger to opposition and attack. Suffering has always been par for the course.

Our Lord Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, began His message to His disciples with eight Beatitudes (blessings), the last of which reads as follows:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).

A blessing for persecution? This should cause us to rejoice and be extremely glad? In this culture, which worships comfort? Has this become the forgotten beatitude – one we’d sooner ignore than face?

The preceding blessing (“Blessed are the peace-makers”, Matthew 5:9) makes sense in our increasingly ecumenical world. As Christians, we don’t have any difficulty seeing how peacemakers are blessed – especially those who help people find peace with God. God is a God of peace, and so we are to be a people of peace (Romans 12:18). Yet, we must not be lulled into thinking that there will always be peace. For, ironically, on the heels of the seventh beatitude (for peacemakers), comes the blessing for persecution. While the peacemaking message will be welcomed by some, let us not make the mistake of thinking that there won’t be opposition. In fact, Scripture teaches that the majority will oppose us. Jesus’ way will never be the popular way. (See Matthew 7:13-14 if you have any questions about that.)

But a blessing for persecution? Yes! A blessing – and even a double blessing, for Jesus spent considerably more time on this beatitude than on any which preceded it. He wants us to get the point – how fortunate are these people!

Recipients of Blessing

The first question we must answer as we examine this beatitude concerns the recipients of the blessing. Who receives the blessing Jesus promised? Our first answer might simply be: “Persecuted people.” This response, however, is not complete. The blessing is not simply for those who are being abused or ridiculed, as I have heard some suggest. The blessing is not merely to comfort the maligned, the attacked, the put-down, the hurt or the unjustly treated. Such sufferings are often just a part of life that anyone – Christian or non-Christian – faces. At best, the antagonism is unjust, at worst, a result of our own folly, but this is not what Jesus is talking about.

Our Lord specifically says that the blessing is for those who are persecuted “because of righteousness”. In verse 11, He parallels this thought with “because of Me”. The persecution is for being His followers. It is for identifying with righteousness, Jesus being the personification of that righteousness. The persecution is the result of aligning ourselves with the Lord.

As stated at the beginning, this persecution has been a fact throughout church history. In the early church, during the Middle Ages, during the Reformation of the 16th century and in modern Muslim lands, disciples of Jesus have not been strangers to opposition. This Jesus Himself promised in John 15:18-21a. Paul, in his last days, confirmed this as well when he wrote to Timothy: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). D.A. Carson has remarked, “Opposition is a normal mark of being a Christian.”

As we in the West enter a new millennium, it should come as no great surprise to us that the heat is being turned up. The postmodern world is anything but a friend to orthodox Christianity. The social agenda is increasingly anti-Christian. Terms like “narrow”, “bigoted”, “intolerant” and “homophobic” should not cause us alarm nor shock us. It has only been the widespread Christian influence in our history which has minimized opposition to this point.

Why such opposition? Jesus explained this for us in His discussion with Nicodemus in John 3:19-20: We are light, and the world loves darkness. People living in darkness do not want to be exposed for what they are – people lost in sin. Righteousness exposes evil and calls for repentance. Pride and self-righteousness are always opposed to this call, and, except for the grace of God through the Holy Spirit enlightening the heart, resistance and opposition will always be the result. Christians will never be popular if they are doing what they should be doing. The world is not throwing parties for us!

Do we understand this? Or is there an ever-increasing trend in our circles to avoid being thought of as bigoted or weird or narrow or irrelevant or boring? In a culture where the cardinal sin is to offend someone, are we compromising truth in order to avoid ridicule and attack? Do we want to be acceptable and liked, or have we forgotten that the gospel is offensive to the world because it means death to self (Galatians 2:20)?

Now, this must never mean that Christians or churches themselves are in fact offensive, tactless, rude or obnoxious. God forbid! But the message is often likely to be an offence. Have we remembered this? Take, for example, some trends within the contemporary “church growth” movement. In an effort to be “seeker friendly” – and I hope we are warm and inviting to strangers in our churches – a warning must be sounded in those cases when a church will do almost anything in order that non-Christians find Christ and the church “acceptable”, “non-threatening” and even “appealing”. (As though Jesus is not attractive enough on His own! Since when did He need to be “dressed up”?) We dare not pass over issues like sin, repentance, judgement and hell in order to “attract” people lest they not “like” our Jesus. (If there is no sin, there is no need of a Saviour.) Woe to us if we neglect people’s real needs as the Scriptures define them, in order to satisfy their “felt” needs. (Since when did non-Christians dictate our message?) We must be very careful in our attempts to be “relevant” (often a modern term for non-threatening), lest we dumb down Truth in order to make ourselves more appealing and less “odd”. Compromise in this area is very subtle, yet it is compromise nonetheless. Motives often are genuine. The methods might “work”, but the message has changed. A “cool” Jesus is a different Jesus. The late D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: “If our conception of Him is such that He can be admired and applauded by the non-Christian, we have a wrong view of Him.” Let us not keep people out of the Kingdom we wish to draw them to. We must accept the fact that the majority will reject our message.

Response to Persecution

Jesus goes on in verse 12 to tell us how we should respond to false accusations, insults and persecution: “Rejoice and be glad.” Not frustrated, surprised, or wondering if we’ve done something wrong. No, we should be full of tremendous joy. Why? Because we’re in good company. Opposition has been the hallmark of God’s people since Cain slew his brother. Remember Elijah running from Ahab and Jezebel. Remember Zechariah, who was stoned in the temple courts. Remember Jeremiah, who was beaten and put in stocks. All were persecuted for the same reason: They proclaimed the truth about sin and judgement and repentance – a message the people did not want to hear.

The New Testament apostles were treated the same way. In Acts 5:41, after they were beaten for proclaiming the gospel, we are told that they were “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”. In a similar vein, Peter tells us to rejoice that we can “participate in the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:12-13). What a privilege to be in such company! We can rejoice and be glad to be associated with such forerunners.

Reward from our Lord

In addition, the reward for identifying with Christ will be “great” (Matthew 5:12). Paul writes that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). The best is yet ahead. In this world are problems, ridicule, opposition, mockery, slander and persecution. All of these Christ Himself faced. We, in the middle of this, must remember one thing: This world is not our home. We’re only here for a short while. It is better to think of ourselves as foreigners, pilgrims or strangers, for that is what we are. Who cares what the world thinks?

When we are tempted to get wrapped up in the system of the world and want so badly to be accepted and fit in, we do well to remember our citizenship is in another Kingdom. Any present antagonism is nothing compared to what is to come. Again, hear the words of Paul: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Let’s remember this great truth in the face of opposition. We have nothing to be ashamed of, but much to look forward to. Hang in there – it’ll all be worth it!

Ron Redekop is senior pastor of Northside Community Church in Mission, B.C.

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Last modified June 22, 2000.

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