These beatitudes end on a surprising note. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Why do you think Jesus ends with this beatitude? The extent to which we live the first seven beatitudes is the extent to which we will experience the last. The range of suffering that we ought to expect as Christians is made very clear in vrs 11, insults, persecution and slander. If we never experience any opposition whatsoever we need to take a careful look at our lives. Perhaps our witness is not as bright as it should be. In John 15:20 Jesus declared; no servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. DL Moody once said; “if the world has nothing to say against you, beware lest Jesus Christ has nothing to say for you.”
Why then will we endure persecution? We are very clearly given the answer in vrs 10; blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. The apostle Paul says exactly the same thing in 2 Timothy 3:12 when he soberly warns Timothy, in fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. This of course begs the question, if righteousness involves being merciful, pure and peaceable, why would anyone want to persecute that? In John 3:20-21 Jesus says, everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. Either people will hate the light in us and seek to destroy it or else they will be drawn to it. Mark Twain once wrote; “few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” There was a man in ancient Athens called Aristides the Just who was banished from the city. One person who voted against him did so only because he was tired of hearing him always called just. Why would we call someone who suffers for righteousness, blessed? Firstly, we can rejoice because persecution identifies us with Jesus Christ. After the apostles had been flogged on the orders of the Jewish Sanhedrin for preaching the gospel, they walked away rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41). The second reason why we can rejoice in persecution is that it also identifies us with the prophets who have gone before us. Jesus tells us in vrs 12 that we can rejoice and be glad . . . for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In Hebrews 11:36-38 we read a massive catalogue of suffering. We think of Jeremiah who was whipped and mocked and thrown in prison. We read about Isaiah who was sawn in two. A third reason why we can indeed rejoice in the face of suffering is also found in vrs 12, rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. We may lose everything on earth, but we shall inherit everything in heaven. In order to rejoice in the suffering of persecution we have to believe that, that very suffering enlarges our reward in heaven. Jesus promises His followers in Matthew 19:29, and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. The missionary, Jim Elliot who was martyred 40 years ago uttered those memorable words; “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” He lost his life, but he gained heaven.