Matthew 5:10

Friday, 15 November 2024

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

“Blessed – those having been pursued for righteousness,
For theirs, it is, the kingdom of the heavens” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted the blessing of the pacificatory. Now, He continues with, “Blessed – those having been pursued for righteousness.”

The word translated as pursued, diókó, is introduced here. It signifies to put to flight, pursue, and so forth. For example, this is how it is used in Luke 17 –

“Then He said to the disciples, ‘The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, “Look here!” or “Look there!” Do not go after them or follow [diókó] them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.’” Luke 17:22-24

When one pursues another, it means he intends harm, embarrassment, etc. Think of the Pharisees pursuing Jesus from town to town to harm His ministry. Thus, it is a type of persecution. In this case, this is the only time the word is used in the perfect tense. The perfect tense signifies an action completed in the past but which has ongoing effects. They had persecuted, and that continues unabated.

The idea is that the person is willing to continue to undergo persecution even after his first ordeal. He doesn’t just proclaim righteousness and then quit when tough times come, but he continues on, slugging it out in his pursuit of what is right. Jesus says of this type, “For theirs, it is, the kingdom of the heavens.”

One must consider the context. There is right and there is right. Just because someone pursues a cause that is right in his eyes, women’s rights or the abolition of slavery, for example, doesn’t mean they will inherit the kingdoms of the heavens. Though noble in societies’ eyes, such a pursuit does not merit restoration with God.

If it did, it would mean that salvation was of self-works that came by self-motivation. But this is what liberal churches have taught for eons. Someone fights a noble cause, and his picture is hung up in a church as a hero of the Christian faith. Rather, what Jesus is referring to is someone like Noah or Lot –

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:4-9

These men saw wickedness, knew that it was against the moral code of God, and they strove to set things in a proper way. Both are rewarded for their struggle against ungodliness. The people around them reveled in doing what was contrary to human morality as described in Romans 1. This is what the Lord is referring to. These were people of faith who proclaimed their faith, even when being pursued for it.

Life application: We need to make sure our moral compass is one that is properly aligned with Scripture. At the time this commentary is written, a presidential debate is going on in the United States.

People on the left say it is a noble cause to abort children, even until the moment of birth. They say it is a noble cause to have open borders and to give money to those coming in while withholding money due to their citizens. They say it is right and acceptable for society to pay for gender-changing surgeries on young children while denying the parents the right to protest. Are these morally in line with Scripture?

People on the right have made concessions to get more votes on many of the se issues, but they are doing their best to keep the nation from devolving into the complete chaos that the other party would bring. The narrative of Genesis 6, which Jesus refers to in His own speeches, is coming.

The job of those who are pursued for righteousness is to vote for the most suitable party and then to work within that party, if elected, to continue to calm the uproar of wickedness from the inside. It is not to sit on one’s hands and say, “My vote doesn’t matter anyway.”

That is an easy copout, but as Billy Graham said, “Bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.” If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. All must stand before God and explain why they did not pursue righteousness. It is true this is not an easy battle. Ground may be lost, but it can also be gained again.

Lord God, help us to understand our position in regard to moral issues. If we are not speaking against them, we are implicitly condoning them. May we not be afraid to stand up for what we believe when it is a clear violation of what You have set forth. Give us wisdom and fortitude in these things. Amen.