Hey everybody! Thank you for taking the time to join me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, you can visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Today, we continue Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount! Day 34, Matthew 5:10 — The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:10 (NASB1995) “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Historical Context We begin Chapter 5 directly following the events at the end of Chapter 4, where we see multitudes (thousands) of people converging from Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, the Decapolis, and other areas “beyond the Jordan” (4:25) to seek healing and hear Jesus preach. If you’re just joining, the Matthew 5:1-3 post found HERE provides further context. Discussion Yesterday, we read the seventh beatitude about peacemakers and learned about what it takes to make peace in God’s sight. The first six beatitudes Jesus covers are for the poor in spirit (5:3), mourning (5:4), meek (5:5), those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (5:6), merciful (5:7), and pure (5:8). Today, we read about the persecuted: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Throughout the New Testament, we see followers of Jesus persecuted in many ways. While it looked different in biblical times, persecution is still an obstacle for Christians today. We do not see much of it in the U.S. but it is especially prevalent in the Middle East, China, and Africa, as millions of Christians are tortured and murdered every year. But what does persecution look like today? What did it look like in biblical times? What constitutes persecution? To have a better understanding of the persecuted, let’s look at its origins. In Greek, persecution is diṓkō, which literally means ‘to pursue’. At face value, this might not fit the definition we understand today. Diṓkō can mean a pursuit as in the ‘chase or pursuit of striving for a goal with great intensity’ or a ‘malignant pursuit’ as in the ‘pursuit to systematically oppress and harass a person or group’—or as an extension of ‘pursuing or chasing someone on foot with great intensity to harm or oppress’. Jesus is using the latter context, but specifically about those who are persecuted for the glory of God. Let’s explain. Those being persecuted in this verse are not being persecuted for just any reason—they are being persecuted for righteousness. This righteousness is the same righteousness that we learned about from v. 6. Remember? Righteousness or dikaiosýnē is seeking Godly justice and victory against evil and darkness, and also seeking salvation and right standing with God. Dikaiosýnē means ‘standing for what is right,’ ‘agreeing with God’s standards,’ ‘being in the state of a proper relationship with God and His fair dealing of justice,’ etc. You can read the full explanation HERE if you missed it or need a refresher. People may think they are being persecuted, but this is unlikely. The persecution Jesus is speaking about is regarding those choosing to follow the LORD and His standards no matter the consequence. Those choosing to follow God’s law and obey Him even if it ends in death. This is what we see today in China, Africa, and the Middle East. There are many followers of Christ being persecuted for their faith—even to death. Many are already seeing tribulation like never before. Jesus is blessing those persecuted who faithfully honor and glorify God regardless of consequence. We do not see this persecution in the U.S., but that does not take away from the challenges faced with standing for what is right in God’s sight. There are many political stances an American Christian may claim persecution for, but this is not biblical persecution. Are we being thrown in prison? Beaten? Killed? Not quite. Are we mocked? Shamed? Called names? Totally. Does this equal persecution? Sure—but this does not mean the backlash and attacks we face from the world are inept. The persecution we see today is not the same as in other countries or during biblical times, but it does not mean we are weaker or that we should not stand for what is right because the consequences are milder. We should always be willing to face whatever backlash or consequence to honor the LORD and we should never give in to the climate of culture. We will conclude the Beatitudes tomorrow with a more in-depth look into persecution. Application While our persecution may not seem as difficult as what Jesus and the early Christians dealt with, it does not mean we are weaker or less significant today. Depending on the locality, our consequences for proclaiming Christ and standing for Godly righteousness may be different. But that does not erase the fact that we should honor and glorify God in all things at all times. We should be ready to face whatever trial comes our way, including physical abuse. I am sure we have all faced verbal abuse at some point in our walk. Think about how you felt at that moment. Were you angry? Sad? Did you love that person or want to love them after? I believe persecution builds our faith more than anything in this world. I have found that when I face pushback or backlash for something about my faith, it motivates me to push deeper into prayer and the Word. It strengthens my relationship with Jesus and my ability to discuss the issues at hand with those attacking or questioning me. What better way to face your ‘persecution’ than to study up to better preach the gospel and love that person? May we always seek to honor the LORD in this way. The last sentence of this section is always the same because it is a prayer I pray daily. It is a prayer that helps me stay focused on Jesus at all times. In ALL THAT WE DO, may we glorify Him. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Tomorrow we conclude the beatitudes and read Matthew 5:11-12. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please please please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, please reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together!
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