This is a Blessing?!  Matthew 5.10-12

If you are a devoted follower of Christ, you might want to keep it to yourself, or you just might face trouble.  How much trouble depends on where you live.  To keep quiet or stand for Jesus … hmmm. In a final beatitude, Jesus makes a promise and a reward—but in this case, it is definitely a bad news, good news thing.

Isis is on an all-out campaign not just to persecute Christians but to murder as many as possible.  When they take Christian hostages, it seems the only ones who live are women who are then made sex slaves for Isis fighters.  As I write, 35 villages in Northeast Syria, have been targeted with hundreds of Christians being taken hostages.¹ Four young Iraqi children were beheaded in December because they would not denounce Jesus.² We in the West must not be ignorant about the persecution of our fellow Christians as they suffer around the globe – today. It is not a fairytale or a story from a bygone era.  Persecution, martyrdom is real.  Christians face extreme persecution (in order of most severe) in: North Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea, Nigeria and other places as well…³

In a New York Times article about James Foley, American journalist who was imprisoned, tortured, and finally beheaded by Isis barbarians last August, Pope Francis was quoted as saying, “Martyrdom “is not a thing of the past: This is happening right now.”^{4  “}Our martyrs, who are meeting their end under the authority of corrupt people who hate Jesus Christ.”⁵

If I had a team, I could do a statistical analysis of how many of the Morning Briefings’ subscribers live in countries or areas where they have endured persecution for their Christian faith.  I know that some of my Nigerian (particularly from Northern Nigeria) and Indian readers, as well as those from Myanmar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, have certainly felt the sting of suffering for their Christianity—in different ways and to varying degrees. 

Wait, weren’t we just talking about peace in the Beatitudes—that peacemaking is at the top rung of the ladder of Beatitudes?  Right when Jesus got to what really felt like a sweet spot we can all identify with in some fashion—that of peace and peacemaking, things turn suddenly very serious, and honestly for some, maybe even disturbing.  Jesus’ focus shifts from the qualities that ought be present in those who follow him to the reaction they might get if indeed their lives exhibit the character presented in the Beatitudes, that of a true Christian.

As Jesus taught on the hillside that afternoon, his disciples had not faced too many tough times yet, but he is now talking about what is going to come their way—“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.”⁶

Yes, the heat would be turned up for followers of Jesus Christ.  They faced persecution from Rome and from the Jewish leaders as well.  When Rome burned in A.D. 64, Emperor Nero himself blamed the Christians. The Roman historian, Tacitus, recorded the cruelty these victims faced. “Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”⁷

From A.D. 81 to 96, Emperor Domitian continued the acts of Nero against the Christians. Domitian used the title “Lord and God,” which Christians refused to acknowledge. The infamous “test” of a Christian appeared during this time. Romans placed statues of the Emperor, and the Roman gods Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva before the suspected Christian. If the suspect denied the faith, officials required that he repeat a formulaic invocation of the gods, and then offer wine and incense to the Emperor’s statue. Lastly, the suspect was required to revile the name of Christ. Execution awaited anyone admitting to belief in Christianity or refusing any part of the test.⁸  Sounds hauntingly familiar.

Let’s bring it down to where most of us live – persecution means  harassment or punishment in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief.⁹

Westerners will more likely see rejection, if we truly live like Jesus.  In America and Europe, it may be that the classroom is the arena of greatest mocking of Christian beliefs, (followed by the media).  The pressure is intense on our young people to defend their personal faith in Jesus Christ, in the face of a teacher or college professor belittling them—how can they know enough to go toe-to-toe with an academic? 

The promise: you will be persecuted.

The reward: you will never be separated from the love or presence of God; eternity with God is guaranteed, as is a great reward in Heaven.

Here’s the question:  If your life were threatened, would you renounce Jesus?

Christine 

1 – cnn.com – February 26, 2015; www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/middleeast/isis-syria-iraq/

2 – Nypost.com – December 12, 2014

3 – https://www.opendoorsusa.org/.../world-watch-list/, really interesting and informative details about the extent and the kinds of persecution Christians are facing

4 – NY Times, 2.21.15; www.nytimes.com/.../keeping-the-faith-in-brutal-captivity 

5 – Ansa en Vatican, 6 February 2015

6 - Matthew 5.10-12

7 – www.livius.org – Tacitus, Annals 15.44

8 – “How Christianity Survived Pagan Rome” cbn.com

9 – Merriam-Webster on line