Matthew 5:10-12, Beatitudes 8-9

Tod Kennedy, December, 2004 and January, 2005

The Beatitudes are part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7.
The topics of His sermon are blessed, the Law, anger, reconciliation, adultery, divorce, vows, revenge, love

Key Verse of Matthew 5. Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

1.     Outline of Matthew 5

a.   Characteristics of Kingdom people, the repentant people, or the righteous remnant (Matthew 5:1-16).

b.   Christ’s relationship to the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-19). Christ fulfills the Law.

c.    Kingdom righteousness contrasted with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20).

d.   Illustrations of Kingdom righteousness contrasted with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:21-48).

                                                  i.      Personal conflicts (Matthew 5:21-26).

                                                ii.      Man and woman relationships (Matthew 5:27-32).

                                              iii.      Vows (Matthew 5:33-37).

                                              iv.      Retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42).

                                                v.      Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

Matthew 5:10, Beatitude 8, Persecuted for Righteousness

General help for understanding the beatitude: the first line of each beatitude gives the present qualification or desired attitude and activity. The second line gives the future blessing or reward that will be experienced in the future kingdom of heaven on earth. Jesus says that those who possess these characteristics are or shall be fortunate or happy or gain favor from God.

Matthew 5:10
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

10 μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

The basic meaning of Matthew 5:10. Those persecuted because they live righteously according to God’s standard will share in the honors and rewards of the coming kingdom.

1.     Introduction: Those in Israel who accepted John’s baptism were turning from Judaism as taught by the scribes and Pharisees.  John called the bankrupt system a system of vipers in Matthew 3:7. The believers from John’s baptism were saying that they had found something better. The pseudo-righteousness proclaimed by the religious elite had nothing to offer. As a result these believers were alienated from the nation.

2.     Persecution for the sake of righteousness means because of righteousness or because they live a righteous life—one that is very different from the unbelieving nation of Israel.

3.     Persecution has often been the lot of those adhering to God’s standard.

a.      Persecuted is the Greek word dioko, Strong’s #1377, (diwkw) to move rapidly and decisively, to pursue, prosecute, persecute. The form is perfect passive participle, masculine nominative plural.

                                                              i.      The participle is here used as a noun and is the subject of the sentence. Persecution is the dominant idea in the subject people, believers characterized by persecution.

                                                            ii.      The perfect participle emphasizes the past action that continues into the present (intensive use).  The passive voice indicates that the subject is persecuted by others. Believers are pursued or chased in order to bring harm to them because of their righteous lives that are clearly different from the unbelievers around them.

                                                          iii.      Their righteousness was different from the world’s righteousness. Is that true for us?

4.     Righteousness (dikaiosune, Strong 1343) is the right thing according to a standard. The standard at the time of Jesus’ sermon was the Bible and his teachings.

a.      The Old Testament Mosiac Law: Exodus 20-23.

b.     John in Matthew 3:7 had spoken out against the false righteousness of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

c.      In Jesus’ time the nation of Israel had rejected the biblical standard of righteousness and had followed the rule of self righteousness promoted by the religious leaders. This pharisaic system found ways around the straight forward biblical instructions.

d.     Jesus explanation of the Old Testament as found in this sermon and other parts of the gospels. For example, Matthew 5-7.

5.     Jesus was teaching that believers in him and his kingdom of heaven are and will be a persecuted people because they will be following a different standard of righteousness—a standard clearly different from that of the religious Jews led by the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees.

a.      1 Kings 22: has the story of Micaiah the prophet. He told the truth to King Ahab (Israel) and to King Jehoshaphat (Judah): they would be defeated by the Aramaeans.

b.     Matthew 12:1-8, records that the Pharisees attacked Jesus because they picked grain and ate it on the Sabbath. They held to a system of organized and consolidated religious righteous. Jesus taught and practiced a godly righteousness.

c.      In Matthew 12:9-14 Jesus healed a man’s paralyzed hand. He did the righteous thing. He was attacked by the Pharisees.

d.     In Matthew 12:15-37, the Pharisees attacked Jesus and said he did what he did by Satan’s power.

e.      Hebrews 11:35-40 records a very general summary of the persecution of OT believers.

f.       Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:12, warned that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

6.     The key verse is Matthew 5 is verse 20 which contrasts biblical righteousness with the scribes and Pharisees righteousness. Followers of Jesus who do the right thing—biblical righteousness—are open to attack by others

7.     Church age believers also receive much persecution because they live righteously.

8.     Summary Beatitude 8, Matthew 5.10. Persecuted for righteousness.

a.      God’s righteousness is different from the world’s righteousness.

b.     Jesus was teaching that believers in him and his kingdom of heaven are and will be a persecuted people because they will be following a different standard of righteousness—a standard clearly different from that of the religious Jews led by the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees.

9.     Lesson from Beatitude 8, Matthew 5:10, Persecuted for righteousness

a.      Because we have a God’s standard of righteousness which is different than the world system’s standard, we can expect criticism, rejection, physical persecution, and even death because we hold to this different standard.

b.     It is a fact of life—Paul warned of this in 2 Timothy 3:12—that in this present world godly believers will be persecuted.

Matthew 5:11-12, Beatitude 9, Persecution because one is identifies with Jesus Christ

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

11 μακαριοι εστε οταν ονειδισωσιν υμας και διωξωσιν και ειπωσιν παν πονηρον ρημα καθ υμων ψευδομενοι ενεκεν εμου
12 χαιρετε και αγαλλιασθε οτι ο μισθος υμων πολυς εν τοις ουρανοις ουτως γαρ εδιωξαν τους προφητας τους προ υμων

1.     While verse 10 singles out those who live a biblical righteousness, this beatitude focuses on persecution simply because one is a believer in Christ.

2.     All three verbs are aorist, active, subjunctives. The subjunctive mood indicates the possibility of this action and in this context the action is highly probable. This persecution will be verbal, physical, and mental.

a.      Insult is oneidizo (3^rd plural aorist act subjunctive), to reproach, revile, defame, to speak against with abusive words. Strongs #3679.

b.     Persecute is dioko (3^rd plural aorist active subjunctive), to pursue, persecute. This is the same word used in verse 10.

c.      Say is eipon (3^rd plural aorist active subjunctive), to speak, say. Falsely is the word pseudomai, to lie and to deceive, in the participle form used as an adverb. They falsely say. There is no truth to what they say. People will lie with their accusations.

3.     The phrase “because of me” indicates that this persecution comes because someone is a believer and follower of Jesus the Messiah.

a.      John 9 is an historical illustration. John 9:22 and 34 is the climax when the Pharisees kicked the blind man, now healed man out of the synagogue.

c.      Jesus warned his disciples of rejection and persecution in John 15:18-25.

d.     John 16:2 gives another warning that Jewish people will persecute the disciples.

e.      John 17:14-16 records Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. He says the world hates them.

f.       Jesus later predicted that terrible persecution would fall upon Jewish people and especially Jewish believers during future Daniel’s 70^th week (Matthew 24). Paul followed up on this in 2 Thessalonians 2 where he wrote about the future Tribulation period.

4.     The church, too, has been clearly taught to expect persecution because we are believers in Christ and follow his righteousness (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-19).

5.     The history of the Christian church is a history of persecution. Early church, Middle Ages church, Reformation church, Post-Reformation church, and the twentieth and twenty-first century church.

a.      Early church.

                                                              i.      Stephen, Acts 7.

                                                            ii.      James was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12).

                                                          iii.      Disciples. Historical tradition notes that most of the disciples were killed because of their faith.

b.     Fox’s Book of Martyrs gives the stories of many Christians who were lied about, imprisoned, tortured, and killed simply because they were believers in Christ—Christians.

c.      Modern church history is full of persecution of Christians.

                                                          iv.      Current history records the persistent persecution of believers in Christ. I suggest that you check with the Voice of Martyrs publications and web site.

Matthew 5:12. Persecuted because one identifies with Jesus Christ by faith

12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

12 χαιρετε και αγαλλιασθε οτι ο μισθος υμων πολυς εν τοις ουρανοις ουτως γαρ εδιωξαν τους προφητας τους προ υμων

1.     Matthew 5:12 concludes with the command for general conduct or for repeated conduct.

a.      The two verbs are in the present imperative, second person plural.

                                                            v.      The present imperative gives general or repeatable instructions.

                                                          vi.      Rejoice (chairo) and be glad (agalliao) suggest that believers ought to be glad and exult in the fact that they are so identified with Christ that they are worthy to be persecuted because they are identified with him.

2.     There is reward in heaven for believers who are persecuted because him.

a.      The direct interpretation is for those disciples awaiting the kingdom of heaven, but Paul (Romans 8:17-18), Peter (1 Peter 4:13-14), and James (James 1:2, 3, 12) say the same thing to church age believers.

3.     The prophets set the pattern. They were rejected, criticized, and killed.

4.     But these believers will be rewarded by God in heaven for their faithful proclamation of Jesus.

5.     Matthew 5:11-12. Persecuted because one identifies with Jesus Christ by faith

a.      Summary

                                                              i.      Believers in Messiah Jesus who proclaim him and his word will be persecuted in the same way the prophets were persecuted. The world at large rejects him and rejects those who serve and proclaim him.

                                                            ii.      Jesus tells them to rejoice and exult because they are so identified with him and his message. And because of this, God will, in heaven, reward these faithful believers for their faithful identification and service while they were on earth.

b.     Lesson

                                                              i.      Church age believers will also be persecuted because of identification with Jesus Christ and for their proclamation of him and his word. This is cause for thanksgiving, rejoicing, and blessing because we are so honored.