February is almost over as I start to study the “Kingdom” verse for the month. My life seems to be going at a pace I struggle to keep up with. But I still have 2 days (thank you Leap Year) this month to get my blog posted about the word Kingdom in the Bible for this month.
This month’s verse is found in the Beatitudes from Matthew chapter 5. Because it is from a famous portion of scripture called the Sermon on the Mount we will look into that and what is maybe just as popular a portion within the Sermon on the Mount titled the Beatitudes.
Before we get to the verse at hand we need to understand what is happening in this section of the word. Jesus is speaking not to the crowds as some might think, but to His disciples. Matthew 5:1 tells us when Jesus saw the crowds He went up the mountain and sat down with His disciples. The Sermon on the Mount includes at points a larger audience, but this little section known as the Beatitudes only seems to include the 12 disciples. Matthew 5:2 tells us Jesus opened his mouth to teach them. In my opinion, if Jesus is teaching then it is a lesson worthy of our attention, and retention. The word for teach in Greek means to cause someone to learn and it almost always refers to teaching the scriptures.
Jesus then goes into rhythmic statements about those who are blessed. When I read these they are a little confusing and don’t seem to align with my Western mindset of what being blessed means. The specific Beatitude I want to look into is found in Matthew 5:10 – “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(TLV). It is interesting to note that Jesus starts the list of Beatitudes with “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 TVL) and ends with our verse 5:10. These are the only two from this list that mention the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also follows up this portion of the Sermon on the Mount with details about those who are being persecuted. No other blessed person does he go into as much detail about. I think Jesus wants us to understand that persecution will happen if you are a Christ follower. It may not be grand; but in some way, we all can anticipate persecution. Before we get too far down the road of persecution, let’s gain some understanding that will aid us in understanding this verse.
Let’s first look at the most common word in the Beatitudes which is blessed. The word blessed can mean a myriad of things. To the modern reader it can mean wealth, for non-believers it can mean luck, and to the ancient Jewish person it means happy. That is the most basic meaning of the word, but happy has much more depth in the Biblical sense than our American word. It means the happiness you feel when God extends His benefits to us. The mindset of persecution used to be that of one with honor, because it meant that you were able to empathize with the sufferings of Christ. It was understood that while you were not promised earthly vindication you were promised a great reward in heaven. Perhaps this understanding helps us make sense of those who are martyred and had a sense of peace about them in the process, like Stephen in Acts chapter 6. This knowledge of honor and approval of God coupled with a reward in heaven may make the momentary pain worthwhile.
Let’s look at some other words in this verse. Persecuted means to be pursued with haste, hunted down, overtaken, or troubled. Righteousness means judicial approval, and in the New Testament, it almost exclusively means the approval of God. Who as a follower of Christ wouldn’t want God’s approval on their lives?
The last word to look at is my theme word for the year Kingdom. It means a realm in which a King sovereignly reigns. It can mean the reign of Christ in the heart of believers, as well as a literal kingdom where Christ is King. The New Testament uses the word kingdom in three ways. 1. The kingdom of God in a believer’s heart. 2. Referring to the united body of believers as a kingdom ruled by Christ. 3. The future kingdom prepared for believers after death.
If we keep reading Matthew 5, verses 11 and 12 give us more insight into why you are blessed in persecution. To be persecuted for Christ places us among some of the great heroes of our faith. The prophets who were often mistreated and misunderstood but obeyed God’s command on their lives anyway. The Apostles many of whom gave their lives to further the gospel and of course our Lord himself. Remember Jesus is talking to the disciples all of whom were persecuted in one way or another. I think Jesus was giving them something to hold onto in those dark moments of persecution.
The idea of being blessed for being persecuted is a blessing that we won’t fully understand or receive in this life, but the anticipation of the promise that waits for us makes it bearable. God is faithful to his word. If you are persecuted, He will bless you; and a blessing from God is the best kind there is.
Heaven will be full of persecuted people, those who gave their lives, to those who were mistreated, insulted, and misunderstood. God will be there smiling telling us how pleased He is that we loved Him more than our own comfort and even our own lives. To those who have given the greatest sacrifice to God, we honor you here and can’t wait to meet you in the Kingdom of God.
