Matthew 5:10–12

Be careful! There will be enemies.

Verses 3–10 all start with the same word. Some translations use the word ‘happy’. Other translations use the word ‘blessed’. Verses 11-12 explain more. They show the reactions of non-Christians to real Christians. Verses 13-16 make a contrast. They describe the Christians’ reactions. They live in the world. Many other people in the world do not believe. These verses give the right reaction to these people. They show how Christians should behave in that world.

There will always be persecution for real believers. Jesus taught this. He emphasised the fact in three ways:

• Persecution is evidence. It shows that a person is a citizen of God’s kingdom.
• Jesus spoke about ‘when’ not ‘if’ persecution will happen.
• History shows that persecution will happen (verse 12).

Here, Jesus was speaking about a certain type of persecution. It is when people say bad things against you (verse 11). All believers must experience it at some time. This is the least form of persecution. Many Christians (believers) experience much worse things.

Sometimes, Christians suffer for the wrong reasons. It can be because of their sin. They may be stupid or not wise in their words or deeds. They may insist that only their group is right. Jesus was not thinking about any of these things.

Here, it is persecution because of a person’s right beliefs. It is because of a person’s good behaviour. Jesus called these things persecution. Today, non-Christians may laugh at those who practise love. They may laugh at those who are ready to forgive. Also, there are Christians at work. They will want to work all day. They will refuse to tell lies. These things may cause other people to laugh at them.

Jesus tells us that we must not just continue. There is something more. When there is persecution, we must be happy and glad (verse 12)! There are three reasons for this. They are things about persecution.

· It gives us evidence that we really are Christians (verse 10).

· It helps us to be more sure that we are God’s children.

· It means that we will have a reward one day. The reward then will be much greater than any suffering that we have now (verse 12).

Questions

1. Think about your own life. You may have told someone that you are a Christian. People made things hard for you because of this. What things in this passage could encourage you?
2. Have non-Christians caused difficulties for your local church? If they have, why was this?
3. The Church in the West today rarely seems to have persecution. Why do you think that this is true?