Persecuted for Righteousness

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

Each of the eight beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount builds on the previous one. They define what a true follower of Jesus is and does. This last beatitude is a shocker, especially following the one on peacemaking. One would think peacemakers should be loved and appreciated, not persecuted.

Jesus explains this paradox in the statement, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the second time Jesus makes this assertion, the first ending the first beatitude and now this closing the last. These bookends are attestation of citizenship, confirming both the goal of salvation—the kingdom of heaven—and the restoration of righteousness as the character of its citizens. Kingdom citizens will be persecuted in this world. When Jesus prayed for His own, He explained: “The world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).

True believers will be persecuted simply because they are identified with Jesus and live out their faith. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). To his unbelieving brothers, Jesus declared, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil” (John 7:7). Because Jesus is a rebuke to the world, His followers must also suffer His rejection. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18, 19).

In other words, believers do not need to do anything to be hated and persecuted; they just need to be identified as Christ’s people. That means that they are righteous, living in an unrighteous world. Verses 13 and 14 explain that true righteousness establishes believers as salt and light in the world. Salt restrains evil and preserves the culture from the effects of evil. Light exposes evil and reveals the truth. Note, Jesus did not exhort His followers to be salt and light; they already are by virtue of their relationship to Him. It is on Christ’s account that they are reviled, persecuted, and falsely accused (vv. 11, 12).

This simple truth exposes all false Christianity. How do mere professors respond to persecution? Some will deny Christ, but, “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). Others will compromise and soften the truth: “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works” (Titus 1:16). True saints will endure: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved [a true believer ‘kept by the power of God unto salvation,’ (1 Peter 1:5)]” (Matthew 10:22; Hebrews 10:23–39).

Pure in Heart

The sixth beatitude is another difficult statement. What is purity? How may one gain such purity? There is in religion a notion that purity can be attained by strict devotion to religious principles. Some go so far as to assert that one may attain to sinless perfection, using such verses as this to prove their point. Such advocates point to their external religious practices as evidence of their claims. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day would be quick to claim and pridefully acknowledge this status for themselves. Jesus, however, presses the point that the purity here described is that of the heart, an inward condition as opposed to outward practice.

It may be that the Lord was referring to Psalm 18 in setting forth this and the previous beatitude. Verse 26 states, “With the purified you show yourself pure.”  The passage continues by stating that God saves a humble people while resisting those who are proud and haughty. The Lord requires truth in the inward parts: “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being” (Psalm 51:6). True inward condition is set against outward conformity, which, if practiced, entitles a person to be declared ritually pure. God’s argument with Israel was that outward conformity to ritual standards, while it made one acceptable in the community, was not sufficient to make one right with God.

The Old Testament ritual system was designed to present the inflexible standard of holiness and to provoke the practitioner to realize his utter insufficiency to meet the standard. Sadly, the natural man deceives himself into thinking that his outward conformity to rules is enough to make himself acceptable to God, even while his own heart condemns him (Jeremiah 17:9). Ritual purity, properly understood, was to promote a longing for true purity of heart before God. However, such a state is possible only through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice and fulfillment of all the types and shadows.

One must also keep in mind that no one this side of glory can be called pure in the purest sense. Nevertheless, in Jesus Christ one is positionally pure while growing in practical holiness, awaiting the coming of Christ, when all His people will be as pure as He is pure. That this ultimate purity is the focus of the verse is evident by the promise attached: “He shall see God.” John plainly states that “no one [on this sin-plagued earth] has ever seen God” (John 1:18). In spite of the many false claims to the contrary, human sinfulness makes viewing God impossible. In addressing Moses’ petition that God reveal Himself, the Lord said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). However, when the redeemed saints are finally and fully sanctified, purified, and glorified, “they shall see His face” (Revelation 22:3). The psalmist anticipates this glorious time: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalm 17:15).

Merciful

The fifth beatitude (Matthew 5:7) presents a shift from the first four characteristics that identify the qualities necessary for one to enter the realm of salvation. Mercy belongs to and marks one who is truly saved. The error into which many fall is interpreting this state of blessedness as the necessary prerequisite for one to be shown mercy from God. Such a view is the error of merit-based salvation. There is simply no Scripture to support this notion. Rather, the verse reveals that foremost characteristic that identifies one transformed by grace.

Mercy is compassion, a spirit of kindness and benevolence shown to others in their afflictions and sufferings. It allows one to weep with those who weep. Biblical mercy is a holy disposition as contrasted with the maudlin sentimentality born of natural soft-heartedness, which often ignores the requirements of justice. Jude warns, “And have mercy on some, making a distinction” (Jude 22). No one can escape justice ultimately. Sentimentalism often seeks to sympathize with those who deserve justice and the misery attendant. True mercy is reserved for those whose just deserts have been removed by the sacrifice of another, Jesus Christ. Divine mercy first satisfies justice then extends compassion to the undeserving but graciously justified soul.

Mercy for the believer is not a feeling but a duty requiring obedience based on and demonstrating true Christian love. It is the fruit of the Spirit and is commanded in the Word. “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17). It is evidenced by doing good.

It is the reward promised that has many confused: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Old writers resolved the issue by arguing that the words must be seen in the light, not of condignity (what is deserved), but of congruity (what is given but not deserved). In other words, mercy received is not a reward deserved by the merciful. If that were so, it should read, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive justice.” That is the error of Rome. Rather, this beatitude works only within the sphere of one already saved. It is the principle that what one sows, he reaps. “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21).

There are three areas where mercy-showing believers are rewarded. First, there is an inward benefit. “A man who is kind benefits himself” (Proverbs 11:17). Second, a mercy-shower will be shown mercy by others. James shows the principle by way of contrast: “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). Third, God is merciful to merciful believers in a practical way: “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure.” However, “with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous” (Psalm 18:25, 26).