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"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also."
(John 15:20)
Who are these persecuted ones? They are the brave souls who endure harsh, malevolent treatment from pagan unbelievers and the misguided religious as well. They are persecuted not because they have been objectionable, difficult, lacking in wisdom, seeking martyrdom, or even noble. (Source: Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 112-14). They are true followers of Christ, pursuing Him and righteousness. Lloyd-Jones wrote, "That was why the Pharisees and the scribes hated our Lord. It was not because He was good; it was because He was different." (Source Ibid., p. 116-117)
We are never more like our Lord and the Early Church than when we are persecuted. There are so many verses in the Bible that speak to this subject of persecution. Here is one: 1 Peter 2:20-21: "For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps."
In Matthew 5:12, Jesus gives us clear commands on how we are to respond when we are persecuted for our faith: "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad." To do what our Lord commands us, we must die to self, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and obey the Beatitudes. Our inclination is to frown and retaliate when we are mistreated, but Jesus says to rejoice and be glad.
Let us look closer at these two commands. First, we are to rejoice, chairo, which means to be glad. It is a present tense verb, meaning we are to do this each time ongoingly, not just in one instance. It is an active voice verb, meaning we produce the action, and thirdly, it is in the imperative mood; it is not a suggestion of Jesus but a clear command to rejoice when persecuted. This word chairo is also used in Acts 5:40-41 to describe the apostles' response to mistreatment. They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name.
Second, Jesus commands us to be exceedingly glad, agalliao. The idea here is one who jumps, skips, and shouts for joy (Source: MacArthur, The Beatitudes, p. 213). It is a present passive imperative. The passive voice means the subject is acted upon. And what is supposed to be inside us when we are suffering? Exceeding joy! You and I as followers of Christ are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad when we are persecuted for righteousness' sake and for the name of Jesus, when we are mistreated, passed over for a promotion, denied privileges, physically or emotionally harmed, or about to die. In the words of James 1:2, we are to "count it all joy when we fall into various trials." The word for joy is chara, the root word used in Matthew 5:12.
1 Corinthians 4:12 says, "And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure."
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