now we have a few different passages to look at together a couple from John's gospel spent a lot
of time in John's gospel recently and then we'll be back in Matthew so here in John chapter 3
and at verse 16 we read we're going to read down to verse 21 we read there for God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world
through him whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only son this is the verdict
light has come into the world but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds
were evil everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their
deeds will be exposed but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly
that what they have done has been done in the sight of God and then John chapter 15
and beginning at verse 18 down to verse 25 where Jesus says if the world hates you keep in mind that
it hated me first if you belonged to the world it would love you as its own as it is you do not belong to
the world but I have chosen you out of the world that is why the world hates you remember what I told
you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will persecute you also
if they obeyed my teaching they will obey yours also they will treat you this way because of my name
for they do not know the one who sent me if I had not come and spoken to them they would not be guilty
of sin but now they have no excuse for their sin whoever hates me hates my father as well
if I had not done among them the works no one else did they would not be guilty of sin as it is they
have seen and yet they have hated both me and my father but this is to fulfill what is written in
their law they hated me without reason and now our beatitude which is in Matthew chapter 5 and from
verse 10 to verse 12 blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of me rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you
I want to begin with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer he said this suffering is the badge of true
discipleship now Bonhoeffer as you may know was someone who was imprisoned and tortured and ultimately killed
for opposing Hitler and the Nazi regime during the second world war
that regime that rejected Jesus and rejected the values of Jesus saw Bonhoeffer and those like him in the
confessing church as voices to be silenced they were standing on the side of Jesus so they needed to be got rid of
I came across a statistic this week a very sobering one
that between the years 2000 and 2010 it is estimated that there were one million Christian martyrs
one million people killed because of their faith
and today you can read of stories of religious persecution in different parts of the world
where even the the covid pandemic is being used as a as a weapon to deny poor suffering Christians from
getting aid and relief as they have already been denied work or land or freedom
so especially if you're a part of the clue our next missions night in December will focus attention on work
for the persecuted church
so that'll be a Wednesday night at the beginning of December and we're going to pray for the persecuted church
shortly
think how challenging the idea of persecution is
for our day and for where we are we live in a culture of comfort
that's very risk averse we like our comfort and security
and we live in a time where any kind of inconvenience is unwelcome even at the most moderate level where
you know we lose internet connection and it's oh it's a disaster
so you think about persecution and our gut instinct
most likely
is to think of how to avoid it
so this final beatitude continues to challenge us
just as the others have
so we're going to think about three things together that Jesus teaches us here about persecution
first of all the reality
of persecution this is very much a when not an if
it's interesting to notice maybe you noticed it as we were reading the change of vocabulary so
so the main body of the the beatitudes
blessed are those blessed are those but in verse 11
blessed are you
when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of things about you so here's an emphasis
deliberately from Jesus to the disciples right in front of him you will face persecution
they are being told loyalty to Jesus
brings rejection
not recognition and acclaim
to pursue righteousness to aim for
integrity
mercy
to be concerned for justice
to live looking to practice mercy
and to live out God's standards
while we would expect to be
applauded perhaps as as model citizens
will actually Jesus says
put you in the firing line
because we find ourselves in the heat as Christians of spiritual battle
and and our lives of righteousness when they are lived before the world challenges the moral indifference that we see around us
challenges the conscience of people and that is not something
that is popular
and that's the consistent teaching of Jesus
that's why we read those passages in John's Gospel so we read
in John chapter 3
we read that sort of the famous
Gospel verse about
God's
love
for the world that those who would believe
would have eternal life
but Jesus goes on to say that though he is
his light and though he has come to give love and to bring life
people prefer darkness
they actually hate
the light they hate Jesus they don't want to feel
exposed
and Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount will say to the church you are the light of the world
and so a similar thing happens
with Jesus as with his followers
and then in John 15
we read there and that's just after that that wonderful section where Jesus said I'm the vine and you are the branches and that
call to abide in him and to bear fruit and then he goes on immediately to talk about
well the world hated me so don't be surprised when they hate you
he says to his followers
you've been chosen out of the world by God's grace saved by grace so you no longer belong to the world so that the world
rejects you
and so Jesus teaches the disciples and teaches us that if we want to represent
the Lord Jesus Christ if we want to represent his righteousness
and
some will be drawn to the light
like if you're out in the dark you switch on
a light and you'll see insects being drawn to the light
but others
will want to extinguish the light
so they can continue
to to live in the darkness of
their sin
without having that guilt
being exposed
the consistent message of the Bible
is that spiritual warfare is real
and there are no neutral countries
there is no middle ground that we can find
and we can trace that conflict right through
the Bible and indeed through church history
there is Adam
made in the image of God
living in God's perfect world
with Eve
and the enemy comes
Satan
who wants to destroy and divide
and lead them into sin
we see
the conflict between
spiritual good and spiritual evil there with
with Moses and Pharaoh
who wants to resist God and resist God's plan
we see it with Israel and the nations
Israel is called to be a light to the nations
but the nations want to extinguish and eliminate the people of God
and the purposes of God
and sadly to Israel too often fail to be that light
we see it with King David
who has to face the opposition of the giant Goliath
who would defy God and the armies of God
we see it when Jesus arrives in the world
and King Herod wants to kill him as an infant
and we see the powers of his day
colluding together to have Jesus crucified
just as God's saving plan had ordained
and then we see in the book of Acts
and through the rest of the New Testament
that the church is attacked and persecuted
by the religious authorities and by the powers of Rome
and so we see that story continue
so it's important that as Christians we recognise that we must on the one hand pursue righteousness
and we must expect that to be costly
in our workplace
to pursue honesty and integrity
to avoid the gossip or the backbiting
in your classroom
to maintain the moral values that the Bible lays out
to live in our society
wanting to be guided by biblical truth
is going to mean people will take pot shots at us
and that's a hard thing
Jonathan Dodson in his book
Our Good Crisis
says the only way we're going to do this
is when we decide
to bank everything
on the truth
that Jesus loves us
and that belonging to him
and his kingdom
is worth it
Let's think now for a few moments about the nature of persecution
because it's important for us to recognise in these verses
that there is a kind of persecution that is blessed
and there are different forms that persecution takes
So first of all let's think about this
what persecution is and is not blessed
Jesus is not saying
every time we suffer that we are blessed
when we are persecuted because of our unrighteousness
If we do wrong and we face consequences
if we sin and we face consequences
is that persecution?
No, that's punishment
and that's a different thing
So we're not blessed if we're persecuted because of our unrighteousness
and we're not blessed if we're persecuted due to our self-righteousness
So we know what that looks like when we're judgmental towards others
when we are offensive towards others
Yes, there is the offense of the gospel
but we don't want to be personally offensive and vindictive to others
We don't want to be proud in the way that we talk to and about others
It's why in the letter of 1 Peter so much is about character and speech
as we live as exiles, as we as Christians are foreigners
then it's important that we show honour to people
It's important that we give people proper respect
and that we speak about our truth with gentleness
We look to persuade people with our humility and kindness
So we're not blessed if we're persecuted because we're self-righteous
What persecution is blessed though?
It's when we're persecuted because of righteousness
In other words, when we are loyal to Jesus
When we are loyal to the values of Jesus
and when we look to live those out with the character of Jesus
then we are blessed even as we are persecuted
Jesus, just a few verses later in chapter 5 and verse 16
will say, in the same way
Let your light shine before others
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven
So we are to shine at a light in the darkness
To be persecuted means to be mocked or despised
to be alienated or snubbed
To be humiliated for trying to live that way
For trying to live as a follower of Jesus
We are familiar with the concept of being guilty by association
I still remember as a naive first year student
wearing a certain set of football colours
in the wrong part of Glasgow
And because of an association with a particular football club
receiving the shouts and the insults that go with
People reject Jesus
People reject his gospel
So they will reject and persecute those who are loyal to Jesus and the gospel
We are persecuted by our association with the Lord Jesus
So when we suffer, we want to suffer because we are doing God's will
That's the suffering that's commended when we are doing good for the sake of Jesus
What forms can persecution take?
Verse 11 is helpful in this
It says, blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me
So we have drawn and we will later draw attention to
the physical persecution that's mentioned there
because we are aware today
that we have brothers and sisters in other parts of the world
who are being attacked and being imprisoned
and being denied basic rights and being martyred today
Now that's not our experience
Most of us will not experience physical persecution
But Jesus does refer to emotional persecution
And maybe that's something we identify with
where we are demeaned because of our faith
where we're cut out of
conversations, miss out on opportunities
where we are shamed
because we're Christians
And there is also verbal persecution
perhaps a whispering campaign
perhaps it's slander
or outright lies
because we want to follow Jesus
Persecution can be obvious
or it can be subtle
it can be public
or it can be private
But as a church
as Christians
we need our eyes wide open
Jesus teaches
it's inevitable
We follow after all
a persecuted
cross-carrying saviour
So again to go back to Peter
he said
don't be surprised
by the fiery trials
And in all that
as we are aware
that persecution is something
that is real for the Christian
we also need to recognise
again that our response matters
In our community discipleship groups
we're spending time in
in 1 Peter
and again we're seeing
time and again
that call to honour and gentleness
and to bear up under suffering
for the sake of the gospel
And as we do so
we remember that we are following
in the footsteps of Jesus
Jesus again
in the Sermon on the Mount
chapter 5 verse 44
said
I tell you
love your enemies
and pray
for those who persecute you
And Jesus of course
practised what he preached
Do you remember as Jesus
was there on the cross
being mocked
having been savagely beaten
and now hung up to die
prayed
Father forgive them
they don't know what they're doing
Jesus died on the cross
out of love for his enemies
If you're a follower of Jesus
you are once an enemy
and it was out of sheer love
and grace
that Jesus came to reconcile you
to make enemies
into friends
So Jesus
loved us
when we were
persecuting him
when we were resisting
him and his will
And it's so important
to remember
that Jesus has done that
to give us strength
and to recognise too
that he promises
to be with us
to give his Holy Spirit
to help us
so that we can love others
that we can pray
for others
that we can honour
those
who mean
ill
against us
Now the last thing to say
the radically challenging thing to say
is that Jesus calls us
blessed
when we are persecuted
and he calls us
to
in verse 12
rejoice
in persecution
rejoice and be glad
because great
is your reward
in heaven
for in the same way
they persecuted
the prophets
who were before you
now how counter-cultural
is this
this isn't
this isn't Jesus saying
run
from
persecution
but embrace it
rejoice
when you are persecuted
now how in the world
can we do that
Jesus gives us
two reasons
in verse 12
the first reason
is
the reward
of the kingdom
of heaven
the Beatitudes
have got as it were
a kingdom of heaven
sandwich
verse 3
first Beatitude
blessed are the poor
in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven
the last Beatitude
blessed are those
who are persecuted
because of righteousness
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven
and then the other
Beatitudes in a sense
are the filling
this is
what we receive
now
and we look forward
to in the future
as those who are part
of the kingdom
of heaven
as we rejoice
in suffering
out of loyalty
to Jesus
he's saying to us
that you will be comforted
and you will
inherit the earth
when you hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
you will be filled
you will be shown
mercy
you will see God
you will be called
sons of God
the reward
of the kingdom
of heaven
is how we can rejoice
in persecution
and that requires
a very different
perspective
to recognise
that here
we may lose
but in heaven
there is gain
ultimately
the reward
is God
himself
and so we want
our trajectory
our perspective
to be that we want
to live for him
and to see him
as our great reward
so we can rejoice
in persecution
because of the reward
of the kingdom
of heaven
but then we can also
rejoice
because when we are
persecuted
as followers of Christ
it's a sign
of our genuine faith
that's why Jesus says
look it was the story
for the prophets
in the Old Testament
anybody who wants
to follow after
God's ways
follow after Jesus
will face this
Acts chapter 5
verse 41
the apostles
left the Sanhedrin
rejoicing
because they'd been
counted worthy
of suffering disgrace
for the name
suffering disgrace
for Jesus
at the end of the day
in God's eyes
the persecuted church
is on the right side
of history
mocked
attacked
despised
even killed
but those who are
loyal in battle
receive that medal
of honour
which is the crown
of life
John Stott
in his book
on the Sermon
on the Mount
says that the ways
of the God
of Scripture
seem topsy-turvy
to people
that's nowhere
I think more
clear than
here
to go back
to Bonhoeffer
who we began
with
he says this
discipleship
means
allegiance
to the suffering
Christ
and it is
therefore not
surprising
that Christians
should be called
upon to suffer
in fact
it is a joy
and a token
of his grace
in closing
let me encourage
you as I want
to encourage myself
examine
your allegiance
and your loyalty
is it to
Christ
or is it
to
comfort
are you
ready
to stand
up for
Jesus
to embrace
persecution
as reality
for the sake
of living
as
the people
of God
and as
we reflect
on that
remember
the Saviour
who went
into battle
for us
the one
who suffered
and was
persecuted
and was
killed
for us
the one
who stands
with us
so we're not
asked to do
this in our
own strength
these are
ideals
for the
people of
God
to follow
those who
are filled
with the
Spirit
those who
have the
presence
of Jesus
the Saviour
those who
have our
Father in
heaven
who watches
over us
blessed
are those
who are
persecuted
because of
righteousness
for theirs
is the
kingdom of
heaven
and
.