Matthew 5:10-12 “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.”

These eight statements spoken by the Savior describe the call of a Christian, what it looks like to live our lives for the Lord. Jesus does not focus on outward performance, like going to church, giving, or even serving. No His concern goes much deeper as He delineates how a disciple should be on the inside. A follower of Christ is someone who is poor in spirit, recognizing their own spiritual bankruptcy, who laments the losses of life, sorrows over sin, cries over the condition of others, and weeps for the world. A Christ-follower is one who is meek, who hungers for right living, is merciful to others, pursues purity and peace, bringing calm in the midst of conflict, and is persecuted for trying to do what is right. At the beginning of His ministry as He preached this message from the mountainside, Jesus knew not only the end and what awaited Him, but also what was in store for His faithful followers. In John 12:27 as Jesus contemplated the crucifixion and His coming death, He said: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” Jesus knew the suffering ahead, He came as our sacrifice, choosing to die as our sin substitute. In His final hours, He suffered horribly, He was betrayed, arrested, and faced a sham trial. He was beaten and bloodied, He was spit on and scourged with a whip called a cat-of-nine-tails because there were nine pieces of leather to which bits of bone were tied to rip off flesh. His kingship was mocked as they crammed a crown of sharp thorns upon His head. Yet even knowing the pain that awaited Him Jesus proclaims that persecution is a blessing. But as we come to the eighth and final beatitude we discover the blessing that nobody wants. When it comes to persecution we would rather take a pass and skip the suffering. But it is this last beatitude that serves as a test of all the others. Persecution is as much a normal mark of discipleship as being merciful is. It’s the longest and wordiest Beatitude maybe because it’s the hardest to embrace. It is also the only beatitude that comes with a command, which is to “Rejoice and be glad.” It’s the only one with an explanation, and it’s the only one repeated twice, so that we see the word “blessed” used two times. It is also the only beatitude addressed to us personally, for it is here that the tense changes from “blessed are those” in verse 10 to “blessed are you” in verse 11. For some Jesus last statement may seem strange. It may seem out of place to move from peacemaking to persecution, from harmony to hostility, but remember not all attempts at reconciliation succeed, and no matter how hard we try to make peace with some people, they may refuse to live at peace with us. The truth is that if we live life according to the first seven Beatitudes then we will automatically experience the eighth. It’s like an equation, people who pursues verses 3-9, get the product of verses 10-12, persecution. When you are “poor in spirit,” some will think you are self-righteous. When you “mourn” over sin, others will feel convicted and may respond with rejection and not want you around. The “meek” may get run over. Those who stop settling for the spiritual status quo and really “hunger and thirst” for God, will get label as a religious fanatic and ridiculed. When you are “merciful” people may take advantage of you. When you pursue purity as you strive to be “pure in heart” in the midst of a promiscuous world that lives on lust you will get labeled a looser.  When you pledge to be a “peacemaker” get ready for war. As we live out the first seven beatitudes our faith grows and matures, where under the eighth our faith groans and moans. The first seven cultivated our faith where the last challenges it. The further we go with each beatitude the greater the gulf between fair weather fan and faithful follower, between being part of the crowd and pursuing Christ. What’s hard about this last beatitude is that we all like to be liked. We want to fit in not feel bad. Another challenge was that people in Christ’s day believed that suffering was an indication that God was not pleased and that the person going through persecution was being punished. This is clearly seen in the Book of Job, where his friends are convinced that Jobs suffering is the result of sin. So Christ’s claim that Christians would face persecution not because of sin but because of service was not only controversial it was counter cultural. As you study the blessing that no one wants you will see three paradoxes related to persecution, first persecution is a:

• Given

There are many Christians who have bought into the bogus belief that once they have God in their life everything will go great. There are some who have replaced the gospel of persecution with a gospel of prosperity, preaching success in place of suffering. But Jesus never taught a “prosperity gospel,” He preach the “persecution gospel.” In John 15:20, Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” In John 16:33 He added, “…In this world you will have trouble…” and in Matthew 24:9, He told His disciples that they would face serious struggles: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” All of the disciples faced persecution and most were put to death for their faith. James was beheaded, Phillip was scourged, thrown into prison, and then crucified. Matthew was slain with a sword, while James was stoned to death. Matthias was beheaded, Andrew, Peter, Jude (Thaddeus), and Simon the Zealot were crucified, while Bartholomew was beaten with clubs and then crucified. Thomas was speared to death while John was exiled to an island called Patmos where he died a prisoner. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” This is echoed in Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” Peter who was an eyewitness to the suffering of the Savior wrote in 1 Peter 4:12: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” So why are we so shocked at suffering? Because today we think that if we live a sold out life for the Lord we will not suffer, and that everything will going well for us. Persecution of God’s people is not an if but a when and there are at least two reasons why we will be persecuted. First because of the life we live, verse 10 says “those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” Second because of the Lord that we love, in verse 11 Jesus says that people will insult, persecute, and say false things, “because of me.” The reason that we will be persecuted is because of the life that we live and because of the Lord that we love. Verse 11 serves to help us both understand the meaning of the word “righteous” which means to live like the Lord as well as reveal the different forms that persecution will take. Verbal insults, these are misrepresentations intended to degrade and destroy another’s reputation. They can take the form of verbal abuse and insulting language, and while the old children’s nursery rhyme tells us that “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me”, the truth is words can wound. Persecution can also take the form of physical attack. The word, “persecute” means to be hunted down like an animal. They can also take the form of false accusations. Jesus not only faced false charges but according to 1 Peter 2:23, “He did not retaliate.” People will try to belittle you and even talk behind your back, but remember they did the same to Jesus, they tried to slander the Savior. If the Prince of Peace faced persecution so will His people, but remember you don’t have to respond with retaliation and resentment, instead you can respond with rejoicing because persecution is a privilege. When it comes to persecution are you shocked and surprised, or do you see persecution and suffering as part of the package for those who are sold out to the Savior? How are you responding to persecution pouting or counting it a privilege?

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

Pledging to be a peacemaker and seeking to put peace into practice instead of just letting it remain a principle may be a pretty tall order but how different would our world be if we would all pledge to be peacemakers? In his book “The Peacemaker” Ken Sande provides the following pledge that I have found particularly helpful in my life.

As people reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we believe that we are called to respond to conflict in a way that is remarkably different from the way the world deals with conflict (Matthew 5:9; Luke 6:27-36; Galatians 5:19-26). We also believe that conflict provides opportunities to glorify God, serve other people, and grow to be like Christ (Romans 8:28-29; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; James 1:2-4). Therefore, in response to God’s love and in reliance on his grace, we commit ourselves to respond to conflict according to the following principles:

• Glorify God

Instead of focusing on our own desires or dwelling on what others may do, we will rejoice in the Lord and bring him praise by depending on his forgiveness, wisdom, power, and love, as we seek to faithfully obey his commands and maintain a loving, merciful, and forgiving attitude (Psalm 37:1-6; Mark 11:25; John 14:15; Romans 12:17-21; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Philippians 4:2-9; Colossians 3:1-4; James 3:17-18, 4:1-3; 1 Peter 2:12).

• Get the Log out of Your Own Eye

Instead of blaming others for a conflict or resisting correction, we will trust in God’s mercy and take responsibility for our own contribution to conflicts—confessing our sins to those we have wronged, asking God to help us change any attitudes and habits that lead to conflict, and seeking to repair any harm we have caused (Proverbs 28:13; Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 19:8; Colossians 3:5-14; 1 John 1:8-9).

• Gently Restore

Instead of pretending that conflict doesn’t exist or talking about others behind their backs, we will overlook minor offenses or we will talk personally and graciously with those whose offenses seem too serious to overlook, seeking to restore them rather than condemn them. When a conflict with a Christian brother or sister cannot be resolved in private, we will ask others in the body of Christ to help us settle the matter in a biblical manner (Proverbs 19:11; Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Galatians 6:1-2; Ephesians 4:29; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; James 5:9).

• Go and be reconciled

Instead of accepting premature compromise or allowing relationships to wither, we will actively pursue genuine peace and reconciliation—forgiving others as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us, and seeking just and mutually beneficial solutions to our differences (Matthew 5:23-24, 6:12, 7:12; Ephesians 4:1-3, 32; Philippians 2:3-4). By God’s grace, we will apply these principles as a matter of stewardship, realizing that conflict is an assignment, not an accident. We will remember that success in God’s eyes is not a matter of specific results, but of faithful, dependent obedience. And we will pray that our service as peacemakers will bring praise to our Lord and lead others to know His infinite love (Matthew 25:14-21; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:18; 1 Peter 2:19, 4:19).

I want to challenge you as we start this New Year to make peace a part of your resolution. Take some time to read through and study the scripture passages that are referenced, pray through the pledge, and then I want to invite you to join me in pledging to be a peacemaker and pursuing God’s plan of peace. Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the war and the hate we see in the world around us and feel like what we are doing to pursue peace is pointless. We question whether one person can even make a difference. Well Church historian Theodoret tells us about Telemachus a man who pursue peace and tried to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheater. Telemachus was a monk who lived in the 4th century and upon arriving in Rome found the streets thronged with excited people. When he asked why everyone was so excited he was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum. He thought to himself, “Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?” So he ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators shouting, “Hail to Caesar, we die for Caesar” and he thought, “this is wrong.” So he jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said, “In the name of Christ, forbear.” The crowd protested and began to shout, “Run him through. Run him through.” A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, “In the name of Christ, forbear.” The crowd continued to chant, “Run him through.” One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk’s stomach and he fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, “In the name of Christ forbear.” A hush came over the 80,000 seat coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and then more, and then the whole arena emptied out. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome for the Emperor Honorius was so impressed by the monk’s martyrdom that he issue a historic ban on gladiatorial fights. There is a cost to chasing peace but one person pursuing peace can make a difference. Jesus died on a cruel rugged cross to make peace for us. His blood was shed so that we might know the meaning of eternal peace. In order to be identified as a child of God, we should be willing to do no less. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power and Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Interestingly as Paul lists out the armor we are to wear in verse 15 it says, “for shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Putting on peace is not what one would normally think of when it comes to preparing for battle, it’s the opposite of what the world wants to do. But if we want to pursue peace then we have to put God’s plan into action. Are you participating in God’s peace plan? What shoes are you wearing, are your feet shod with the gospel of peace? The footprints we leave behind as believers should be impressions of peace. What footprints are you leaving on this world, ones of war or peace?