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THE BEATITUDES:
Blessed Are You When They Revile...

By William J. Stewart

This week, we come to the last of the beatitudes given by Jesus in the sermon on the mount. Jesus revealed the wonderful hope of His people in saying,

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

In our consideration of Matthew 5:10 last week, we looked at the promise of persecution to the children of God. Again, Jesus acknowledges that persecution will come, and this time mentions a couple specific examples of how we may be persecuted.

The Greek word oneidizo (revile, NKJV), may otherwise be rendered "...defame, rail at, chide, taunt..." (Strong's) How can it be a blessing to have people "...say all kinds of evil against you..."?

First, let us realize the circumstances surrounding such defamatory words. The Lord mentions two items which must be true of the reviling, if it is to be a blessing to us. The evil spoken against us must be false! It does neither us nor the Lord's cause any good if we are reviled for evil conduct. Peter wrote:

...what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? (1 Peter 2:20)

Later, this same apostle would affirm:

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you... (1 Peter 4:14a)

This is the very thing which the Lord stated - if we are spoken fo against, not only must the charges be false, but the cause must be the Lord's. Evil words spoken against us for our own cause is of no value, but if it be for Jesus' sake, there is great profit in this.

On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. (1 Peter 4:14b)

Many of these same beatitudes are found in Luke's gospel. But, in addition to the blessings, Luke also records a few "woes" spoken by the Lord. Among them, we find this:

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)

“...if we are spoken against, not only must the charges be false, but the cause must be the Lord's.”

Hearing folks speak well of us may stroke the ego some, but if all speak well of us, that indicates that we fail to stand for anything. Only the one who will compromise and capitulate to every desire of every man will be universally spoken well of. Jesus said this was the way of the false prophets.

Conversely, the prophets of God, long before our time, were reviled and persecuted. He assures us "...for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:12) We are in good company, if we are reviled, persecuted and have evil spoken against us.

What is it that makes this such a great blessing and constitutes sufficient reason to willingly be the focus of other men's ill will and even hatred? Hear the jubilant conclusion to the beatitudes:

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven... (Matthew 5:12)

Heaven awaits those who faithfully serve the Lord in this life. It is not merely a great reward among great rewards, but is the greatest reward - not worthy to be compared with any earthly treasure.

Paul, considering the glories of heaven, wrote:

...I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

Whatever this life brings, heaven will be worth it all. How wonderful to be a Christian - a recipient of so many great blessings. If you are a child of God, consider once more what is your's:

Wonderful indeed! But friend, if you are not a child of God, then you will miss out on all this and more! Turn to the Lord, and be richly blessed.


Article Navigation:
04.12.2009 | Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted
04.26.2009 | Woe, Woe, Woe

Answering The Atheist

By William J. Stewart

Complaint:
When did the Temple curtain rip? Was it before Jesus died (Luke 23:45-46) or was it after His death (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark 15:37-38)? Is there a contradiction?

Response:
Two items are mentioned back to back in all three synoptic gospel accounts; the veil of the temple tearing and the death of Jesus. Which came first? Who is right, Luke or Matthew and Mark?

Might it be that a careful reading of all three accounts would indicate to us that the death of Jesus and the tearing of the veil of the temple occurred at the same time? That would certainly account for one writer mentioning the torn veil before, but two others mentioning it after Jesus' death. If the events were simultaneous, then the record makes absolute sense.

It should be noted that none of the writers use any definitive type language to indicate that one event preceded the other. The thought that the records necessitate an order, either way, is unsubstantiated.

There is no contradiction.

This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible.