Matthew 5:10-12 (NKJV)

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT:PERSECUTED

Matthew 5:10-12

SOM: Persecuted

Tonight we continue our Sunday Night Series on the Sermon on the Mount

We began in Matthew 5 and will wrap up our study together of the Beatitudes

Beatitude is simply a word that reflects those who are blessed, happy or fortunate

SOM: Peacemakers

Jesus here is telling us the kind of people we ought to be if we want to be happy

Tonight we look at the last beatitude, which may be the most difficult for us to swallow

However, when we understand persecution, then we can approach it with a more confident and joyful attitude

SOM: Persecuted Defined

Look at what Jesus wrote in verses 10-12…

Here we see the word persecuted (or some form) in all 3 verses that we read

What is the idea behind being persecuted here, since many say that we often do not face persecution today

SOM: Persecuted Defined

Persecuted (Greek word dioko) means…

To flee

To pursue (in a hostile manner), follow after

To make run or flee, put to flight, drive away

In any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one

To be mistreated

SOM: Persecuted Defined

When we see the definition of the word used here by Christ, we realize that there are many ways that one can be persecuted, even still today

To break down these 3 verses will give us so much knowledge and wisdom about who Jesus wants us to be…the persecuted

SOM: Persecuted Alone?

There is a certain comfort we find when others experience the same difficulties or hardships that we have felt

Perhaps it’s a sense of relief that it wasn’t just us doing something wrong

When others experience the same thing, it lets us know that we are not alone

SOM: Persecuted Alone?

A word of comfort that Jesus gives is “for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you”

We need to understand that we are not alone when we suffer persecution

Elijah was not alone when he was told that 7,000 had not bowed to Baal (I Ki. 19:18)

SOM: Persecuted Alone?

Jesus reminds us that He too was persecuted (Jn. 15:20)

He tells us in the same verse that we too will suffer persecution, because we stand with one who was not liked either

Jesus was persecuted by Saul as well (Acts 9:4-5)

SOM: Persecuted Alone?

Paul tells us that he too was persecuted (II Cor. 4:9)

He goes on to tell us that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (II Tim. 3:12)

So we can clearly see that we are not alone in our sufferings

SOM: Persecuted How?

Some might ask what kind of persecution we might see

Jesus addresses that directly in these verses

He said some will revile us

Revile means to defame or taunt; to find fault with

SOM: Persecuted How?

Some will say all kinds of evil against you falsely

They won’t speak well of us, but rather it will be evil

When they do so it probably won’t be the truth, but rather a lie that they make up about you

SOM: Persecuted How?

Notice Jesus doesn’t really mention any physical persecution, but rather verbal

That’s probably the type of persecution that most of us will face in this life

That’s why it’s important for us to live a good life, so that any false evils that are made up are not believed

SOM: Persecuted Why?

Why are we persecuted?

Some may be persecuted for doing bad things

The person who is arrested and jailed is suffering persecution because of their own bad choices

Our persecution is based on doing good

SOM: Persecuted Why?

In I Peter 4:12-16, Peter speaks of suffering for the cause of good and not because we have done wrong

Jesus said we are blessed when we suffer for “righteousness sake” or for “My sake”

Our suffering is not for our glory, but for the glory of God

SOM: Persecuted, Now What? What do we do when we find

ourselves being persecuted?

How do we react to this persecution?

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44)

SOM: Persecuted, Now What? We should be good to those who

mistreat us

Romans 12:14, 17, 19-21

One of the reasons we do not return evil for evil is because the God of justice will take care of it Himself

We treat how we want to be treated

SOM: Persecuted Results

Jesus tells us exactly what our reaction should be as well as the results we should expect

He tells us that we are blessed when we are persecuted

He also tells us to rejoice and be exceedingly glad

SOM: Persecuted Results

We can rejoice and be glad because of the great reward in heaven that awaits us

Jesus tells us that those who are persecuted for the cause of Christ have the kingdom of heaven

What greater reward is there than heaven?