Blessed are the Persecuted
For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
From Peace to Persecution
In my last post, I explored Jesus’ blessing on the peacemakers. But what happens if certain people are not interested in being at peace with us? And what if they are so entrenched in their animosity that they start mistreating us because of our faith? The heartbreaking reality for millions of Christian around the world is that this kind of hostility can quickly turn into outright persecution: verbal abuse, slander, threats, extortion, manipulation, retaliation, and even physical violence and imprisonment.
Have you ever experienced that kind of attack? A situation where someone made it their life’s purpose to make you miserable because of your faith in Christ?
According to research from the Christian organization Open Doors (www.opendoorsus.org), roughly 365 million Christians face “high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith,” which amounts to one out of every seven Christians in the world.1
Jesus offers this final blessing for people who find themselves in that type of situation:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 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 (NIV)
Jesus offers a blessing for people who are committed to pursuing peace because peace is a core value in the Kingdom of God. But Jesus recognizes that in a fallen world of human sin and selfishness, some people will be committed to staying in conflict with us despite our best efforts to live at peace with them (see Romans 12:18).2 In other words, we are only responsible for our half of the relational equation. We can (and should) pursue peace with others, but we cannot force people to be at peace with us.
Jesus wants us to know that we will be blessed because of our efforts to pursue peace, but we are also blessed if those people choose to persecute us anyway.
Why Does Jesus Call Persecuted People “Blessed”?
The shock value in this verse — blessed are those who are persecuted — reminds me of the equally shocking verse in James 1:3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” There have been many times in my life when I have felt blessed, and many seasons that were filled with joy, but trials and persecutions were not what made me feel that way.
How is it possible that people who are suffering from such terrible persecution could be considered blessed? The key point is that Christians aren’t expected to “rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:12) because of the pain, but because of the great reward they are promised for refusing to deny Christ despite the pain and suffering they endure. Jesus says that those who are persecuted have the hope of inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven, just like the prophets from the Old Testament.
In other words, Jesus offers us several reasons to rejoice and be glad, even in the midst of intense suffering:
The Kingdom of Heaven is ours.
We have a great heavenly reward waiting for us.
We join a long line of faithful servants of God who are mistreated because of their devotion.
Some of those servants were men like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When threatened with execution by fire because of their faith in God, the three men refused to abandon their faith to protect their lives:
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” -Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV)
What an inspiring example of faith! That being said, the Beatitudes are not entrance requirements for people who wish to become part of God’s Kingdom, so don’t take these words to mean that you need to go out and seek persecution in order to follow Jesus. You just have to be willing to endure suffering on account of the name of Jesus if the situation arises. And that is something that rarely comes naturally for us.
The Idol of Comfort
In today’s society, we place a high value on comfort and security. There’s a reason why there are so many companies out there that want to sell you their home security services, and very few that specialize in making your home easier to break into. You can probably find hundreds of places in your hometown to go and get pampered, but only a few that focus on hurting you (other than the gym, and maybe the dentist). Just think about it: we spend big bucks on personal comfort and safety, don’t we? And that reflects our human tendency to prefer the things that are easy and safe.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that desire, as long as the quest for comfort doesn’t override our pursuit of holiness. Or stated in a positive way, we need to make sure that we care more about our long-term holiness than our short-term happiness.
Reflection Question: How well are you doing in this area? Do you feel like you are more committed to comfort and happiness? Or to a life of holiness?
Examples in the Bible of Being Thankful for Christian Suffering
Many of our first century brothers and sisters experienced intense suffering because of their commitment to Jesus. Here are a few examples to reflect on:
Acts 5:41, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
1 Corinthians 4:12-13, “12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.”
1 Peter 4:12-16, “12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
Revelation 2:3 (written to the church in Ephesus): “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”
Can you think of more examples of people suffering for their faith in Christ? What was it that drove them to endure such terrible persecution? And how can we follow in their footsteps in a very different context — one that celebrates freedom of religion and promises that a person can choose to worship as they see fit?
Conclusion
I like the way Scot McKnight summarizes the profile of the persecuted:
“Blended together, the ‘persecuted’ are those who seek God’s will in spite of what others want, who love God so much they are faithful to God when oppressed, and who follow Jesus so unreservedly they suffer for him. Inherent in persecution, then, are both a love of God and a denial of self.” -Sermon on the Mount, p. 49.
God does not want us to experience any unnecessary pain, but he does call us to be willing to endure it on account of our faith if necessary. Persecution can take on many forms, and in our context, it might be helpful to consider how we are called to deny ourselves and carry our cross as we follow Jesus, since it’s less likely that we will endure the same kind of outright persecution that was so common in the first century (and even today, in other parts of the world).
“The 10 Most Dangerous Places for Christians,” accessed May 8, 2025 from https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/stories/10-most-dangerous-places-Christians/.
“However hard we may try to make peace, some people refuse to live at peace with us.” -John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 53-54.