Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Beatitudes, Part 47 of 50
TEXT: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake" (Matthew 5:10-11).
IDEA: Persecution of followers of Jesus Christ still goes on today.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that Jesus didn’t expect persecution to stop in the first two or three centuries.
What is hyperbole?
Does the Bible ever use it? (Matthew 17:20; Matthew 18:7-9)
Do you think Jesus is using some sort hyperbole in the eighth beatitude?
I. There was persecution of Christians in the early centuries, but do you think that persecution of Christ’s men and women takes place today?
Do you think that the first three hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection might have been a historical fluke?
Persecution didn’t seem to be optional for early Christians. Nero was a cruel Caesar, and the entire Roman world overdid its cruelty. But that was long ago when the citizens in the Roman world were trying to come to grips with a new religion.
Do you think that much persecution goes on today?
Historians say that more Christians have died for their faith in the 20th century than in all other centuries combined. Do you think they are right?
The church has been persecuted in places like Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Uganda, China, Russia, India, Romania. From 1981 to 1985 the Peruvian government and or the rebels martyred thirty-five thousand Christians.
A poll of British churchgoers found that thousands believe they are being turned down for promotions because of their faith.
One in five said they had faced opposition at work because of their beliefs.
More than half revealed they had suffered some form of persecution for being a Christian.
Recently guidelines warned employees that they could face dismissal if they share their faith with their colleagues at work.
II. Why do you think Jesus elaborates on the eighth beatitude when He doesn’t do it for the other beatitudes? He accomplishes three things:
Jesus broadens “persecution” to include insults and malicious accusations. (Persecution isn’t limited to physical punishment like imprisonment or torture.) Has anything like that ever happened to you or to a Christian you know?
Jesus elaborates on the phrase “because of righteousness” (Matthew 5:10) to “because of me” (Matthew 5:11). The other beatitudes could have come from the Old Testament (e.g. Isaiah 61) but this is the first time Jesus mentions himself in the Sermon on the Mount.
What are the implications of that for us today?
The life that is in view is the imitation of Jesus.
There is no such thing as a professed allegiance to Jesus that isn’t full of “righteousness.”
