The Beatitudes
Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7 are called “The Sermon on the Mount”.
The opening part of the Sermon is called “The Beatitudes”. Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate or blissful. The beatitudes are 8 blessings as written in Matthew 5:1-12. Poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), mourning over our sins (Matthew 5:4), meek (Matthew 5:5), righteous (Matthew 5:6), merciful (Matthew 5:7), pure (Matthew 5:8), peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), and bearing disgrace for Christ (Matthew 5:10-12). Today, let us study the last one.
Matthew 5:10-12
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
First, persecution is the sign that we are the citizens in the kingdom of heaven.
2 Timothy 3:12, 13 says
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Second, persecution is the sign that we have great rewards in heaven and the sign that we are the true prophets.
Luke 6:26 tells us about false prophets, who are spoken well of by everyone.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
2 Timothy 4:3 tells us about what people want to hear from false prophets.
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
People speak well of them because false prophets say only what sinful people are pleased to hear.
On the other hand, the true prophets speak God’s word and rebuke people for their sins. When God’s will is contrary to their love toward darkness, some might turn to be persecutors.
Therefore Persecution is the sign for the true prophets. Let us rejoice and be glad when people insult, persecute and falsely say all kinds of evil against us! And let us continue to seek first his kingdom and righteousness in Sydney and Australia and the world.
Paul who received many persecutions while he preached the gospel said in Romans 3:16,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
Amen! The gospel is from God. Even though we face some unbelief and persecutions, we know powerful is the gospel, and great is our reward. Amen.
In Romans 8:18, Paul confesses his faith in surpassing glory after sharing Lord’s suffering.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Amen.
Our future glory surpasses any present sufferings we may have. Even “not worth comparing”!
Therefore let us confess the faith that Moses had, as written in Hebrews 11:26.
26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Moses refused the treasures of Egypt and chose disgrace for Christ instead. By faith, he knew disgrace for Christ is of great value than the treasures of Egypt. Do you bear disgrace for the sake of Christ? Let us look ahead to our reward in heaven by faith! Jesus says to us, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (12a) Our reward in heaven is of greater value than any treasures in the world. Amen.
In 2 Timothy 4:7, 8, Paul confessed his faith that there is the crown of righteousness for him.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Amen!
Jesus said in Revelation 3:11.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
We have been doing good jobs to let others know Jesus. God knows our labour. And He never forgets what we did for Him. But the devil wants to disqualify us and take the crown away. The devil knows our weaknesses and attacks them through temptation and deception. We are in the spiritual war. Let us not lose the crown that we are qualified for. Amen
Let us pray!
Lord, thank You for Your Word today.
Thank You, Lord, for teaching us 8 blessings in Matthew 5:1-12. Let us live the most blessed life today and every day according to Your Word, Lord. Let us be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), mourning over our sins (Matthew 5:4), meek (Matthew 5:5), righteous (Matthew 5:6), merciful (Matthew 5:7), pure (Matthew 5:8), peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), and bearing disgrace for Christ (Matthew 5:10-12).
We regard disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of the world, Lord. We rejoice and are glad over persecution because we look ahead to our reward. Help us all continue to fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith and receive the crown of righteousness awarded by You on that day.
We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
