Persecution - The Next Step for Jesus Followers?

July 18, 2010
Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted . . .

The beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) can be seen as a sequence. The Beatitude Staircase was presented, based on an idea shown on the web. If a person were to apply the beatitudes in order, perhaps the final step in the sequence is verses 5:10-12, being persecuted. That is, as a person becomes more and more like Jesus, she or he becomes more and more at odds with the world. Since the world is not properly aligned with God and with the kingdom Jesus wants to build, the world will resist efforts to change it. This can result in actual persecution.

The ancient Greek writer Plato, with probably no influence from Hebrew thought and centuries before Jesus lived, discussed the idea of righteousness in his Republic. He cites Socrates, who pointed out that true virtue is good even without rewards. In fact, a truly righteous man would continue to live properly even if the world were to kill him.

But just what is persecution? It is more than just being inconvenienced. We hear of places where Christians are arrested, their families attacked, their jobs lost. In comparison, our occasional troubles with getting permits or having to live by secular laws are only nuisances, not persecution. Persecution seems to be a deliberate attempt to irritate, attack, or destroy a person. The class emphasized that motivation is key. The pressure or testing must be done on purpose.

A natural discussion point might be "When was the last time I was persecuted?" After all, persecution is at least partially defined by the one who suffers it. (One person did point out that people with paranoia will feel persecuted too easily; but even paranoids do face opposition.) During class, someone instead asked us to consider the other side of the question. "When was the last time I persecuted?"

Further defining persecution, the class noted that some persecution may be unintentional. There are power and control issues tied up with the difficulties we face. When we address issues of human rights, we may be especially likely to run counter to those in authority.

1 Peter 2:19-21 points out that not all troubles are "persecution for righteousness' sake." Our own unrighteous actions can create difficulties. We might face opposition for self-satisfaction rather than for our virtue. The beatitude promises blessings to those who suffer because they are living as Jesus wants them to.

This brought us to verse 11. Jesus moved from "behave in a righteous manner" to "for my sake." And the consequences were the same. God will be pleased, we will receive a reward, we will face a hostile world, whether our aim is "being good" or "being like Jesus." This is a pretty bold statement for one human to make to another. We are all used to Jesus saying things like this, because we've heard them for many years. But statements like these are why the early church decided that Jesus must actually be God. Otherwise, Jesus was taking too much authority upon Himself.

The gospel of John (chapter 6) records an incident where some people did get offended by such statements of Jesus. Even then, some remained with Him. They recognized that Jesus was speaking on God's behalf. They decided that the troubling statements ("living for me is the same as being good," "I am spiritual food for you") must have validity as well.

As we ended the session, these were the identified take-aways:

• The blessing talks about being persecuted for Jesus, not persecuted for doing wrong.
• All hard times and disagreements are not persecution.
• We Christians are sometimes accused of being hypocrites; this could be a reason for some of our difficulties.
• Persecution can be instructional.
• Persecution has a negative tone, but we are to be joyful.
• Persecution can stem from misunderstanding. There is a challenge to live above the misunderstanding.