Persecution

              

                “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. (Matthew 5:11-12)

                Let’s start with the obvious. This does not say that we should take pleasure in being abused by others. It is not a call to be masochists. Insults, persecutions, and lies aren’t meant to produce rejoicing. Instead, it’s the stuff behind the insults, persecutions, and lies that should make us rejoice. It’s what’s behind or beneath the insults, persecutions, and lies that should lead to rejoicing. Jesus was insulted, persecuted, and lied about. The prophets were insulted, persecuted, and lied about. Those who have been associated with God have been insulted, persecuted, and lied about.  Frequently, the abuse came from other people who claimed to speak for God or to belong to God. Later generations venerate those abused

                This means that unless we provoke the mistreatment to glorify ourselves, which makes us imposters, we’re in good company. That is one reason Jesus gave for why we should rejoice and consider ourselves blessed. Of course, if our goal is to glorify ourselves, weare imposters, and that’s a different story.

                The second reason Jesus tells us to rejoice is that those persecuted because of Jesus can expect a reward in heaven. He even suggests that the reward is great and may be on par with the reward given the prophets. He doesn’t say what the reward will be. One possible reason is that rewards are individual. What you get may not be the same as what Isaiah got. Another reason is that we might not currently see the reward as a reward. A third is that we might come to think of the reward as more of a prize than God, who is our greatest reward. No matter what it is, it is to be great. As hard as persecution is to endure, the reward will be greater.