Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted Because of Righteousness (Matthew 5:10)

Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted Because of Righteousness

 Matthew 5:10 

In the upstream of the Amazon River in Brazil is the confluence of Rio Negro (Black Water) and the mainstream of the Amazon River. The two rivers merge there, but the two streams flow as they are, not mixed with each other, for about four miles. This happens because of their differences in density, speed, temperature, etc. One river has two different streams running separately. If the human history is compared to a river, it has also two streams that do not mix with each other, but flow side by side all the way from the beginning to the end without separation. One of the two streams is “God’s righteousness,” and the other is “human sin (righteousness).” These two streams are the essential nature of the world history and people’s lives that we see through the Bible and our individual experiences. God’s righteousness and human sin cannot be mixed with each other. One is crystal-clean water and the other is red as crimson (Isaiah 1:18). Between the two streams are always breathtaking tensions, many conflicts, and struggles. Nevertheless, the two never separate from each other, but flow as one river. It’s because of God’s love to man that these two incompatible streams can run together such a long time. And after all, God’s love devours human sin, and the two will become one. It is not being mixed with each other. God’s love is overcoming human sin.

 

In the last sermon I delivered, we thought about “righteousness.” Jesus is “God’s justice.” It is because Jesus reveals God’s justness. Jesus is also “our justice.” It is because Jesus is food of righteousness that justifies us sinners. God gave us Jesus as food of righteousness, but still Jesus is purely God’s righteousness. This righteousness is God’s holy ground that should not be violated in any way. It cannot be changed. It cannot be mixed with other ‘righteousness.’ Its perfectness and absoluteness cannot be compromised. In this sense, God’s righteousness flows together with human sins, but it is not mixed with our sins at all. We people also have our own “holy ground.” We may call it “supreme value” that we cannot give up or compromise. Archaeologists study human history through excavating sites and analyzing artifacts and remains. There are also scholars called biblical archeologists. As suggested by the name, they do archaeological studies in order to prove the historicity of stories in the Bible. But pure archaeologists want to keep their discipline as pure science apart from biblical stories. They don’t want that their academic purity is damaged by the external purpose of historical research of the Bible. To them, pure archaeology is a kind of holy ground and their supreme value. Holy ground is not limited to such professional areas. In the United States of America, which is a multiracial country with unique history, freedom, human rights, and equality are treated as holy ground. Nobody can talk about these values lightly or carelessly. In a sense, freedom, human rights, and equality are the righteousness and the supreme values pursued by this country. Individuals also have their own holy grounds. They have something as precious as their own life, say, beloved family or properties earned through lifelong toil and pain. It can be noble mentality such as pride and patriotism. In the same way, the tragic loss or damage of supreme value is also treated as a holy ground. Natural disasters, wars, death are some of them. Individuals may also have painful memories or wounds that should be treated very carefully. When we step into such a holy ground, we must behave in a very polite and respectful manner. If we don’t follow the rules of the holy precinct, we may enrage somebody and fall into a big trouble.

 

In Jesus’ days, the Jews had such holy grounds. They had the temple in Jerusalem, and Moses’ Law. They also conducted circumcision, and kept elders’ traditions. Their pride was unrivaled as Abraham’s descendants and God’s chosen people. The Jews maintained and practiced these holy grounds in the name of “Lord God.” These were their supreme values and their “righteousness.” Of course, nobody could resist kneeling down before the Holy Name of God. As a matter of course, the temple and the law bearing the name, and the priests, scribes, and elders appointed by the name enjoyed the same authority as that of God’s name. And with this power, they filled their greed secretly. Jesus scolded their hypocrisy. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness!” (Matthew 23:23). “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!” (23:25). Their holy ground was not Lord God. Even it was not the temple or the law. Their holy ground was their greed and indulgence. In order to satisfy their greed, they neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness, for which God appointed them. Going further, they crucified Jesus, who was God’s righteousness. The charge that they pressed against Jesus was “blasphemy.” It was because Jesus professed that he was Son of God and that he would rebuild the temple. It was because Jesus violated the Sabbath rules, and associated with sinners, tax collectors, and Gentiles. Jesus violated their “holy ground.” Yes, he did. But what Jesus violated was not God’s holy things. What Jesus violated was their holy ground, which was their “greed.” Jesus disclosed their supreme values that they hid and enjoyed behind the name of God. Jesus did something unforgivable to them.

 

Jesus also has a holy ground. What is it? Simply saying, it is “love.” In Luke 9:52-56, Jesus wanted to stay a night in a Samaritan village. But the villagers didn’t welcome Jesus and his people. Greatly offended, Jesus’ disciples James and John asked Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” Hearing this, Jesus rebuked them. In KJV, Jesus said in addition, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them!” Against the Samaritan villagers who refused to give a room for the tired travelers, the anger of James and John is fully understandable. Still, Jesus’ rebuke against them is very stern. He is almost saying, “Are you crazy?” Jesus made it clear why he came to the world. “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them!” Of course, Jesus came to save lives. But we may think this is only for “the disciples” who follow Jesus, not for merciless people like the Samaritan villagers. They may deserve fire from heaven. But Jesus’ thought is different. Jesus shows his mercy to everyone. It is Jesus’ righteousness, Jesus’ holy ground, and Jesus’ supreme value. In fact, this being rejected in Samaria is nothing compared to what Jesus would suffer in Jerusalem. There, Jesus would be arrested, tried, dragged out of the city gate, and crucified there. Jesus knew all these, but he went to Jerusalem. It was for finishing his work to save people’s lives. For Jesus, this love of salvation was his righteousness to be completed at all costs, even at the cost of his life.

 

Jesus’ disciple Peter loved Jesus, but he didn’t share Jesus’ righteousness. In Jesus’ heart were always sinners in the world that he would like to save. Out of his love to them, Jesus always came to them, spent time with them, taught and served them, and after all, sacrificed his life for their lives. Peter, as Jesus’ disciple, should share the Lord’s heart of love. But Peter’s interest was not Jesus’ righteousness. His interest was just Jesus. One day, Jesus went up a high mountain, and showed Peter his glory shining like the sun. Seeing this, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make shelters for you here” (Matthew 17:1-4). Peter didn’t want to go back to people in the world. Forgetting the world, he would like to enjoy peacefully the glory of heaven with Jesus. When Jesus was about to be arrested, this time, Peter drew a sword and fought with people (John 18:10). He was afraid of losing Jesus, so he tried any means to keep Jesus from the world. When Jesus was arrested and everything looked over, Peter gave up Jesus and denied him. He forsook Jesus, and hid himself among people in the world (Luke 22:54-62). Polish novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote a novel titled “Quo Vadis.” The title Quo Vadis means “Where are you going?” According to Christian traditions, Peter, who had been preaching the Gospel in Rome, encountered risen Jesus on his way of fleeing from the persecution in the city. Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?” Then, Jesus answered him, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again!" Hearing this, Peter returned to Rome and continued his preaching, and at last, he was crucified upside down. Peter always thought himself special as Jesus’ best disciple. He wanted to be separated and distinguished from the world. However, he had to find himself all the same as people in the world. Greatly disappointed with himself, Peter went back to Galilee and became a fisherman, his old job. Jesus called Peter again, and sent him to the world so that he would serve Jesus’ lost souls. When Peter came to the world in order to be with and serve sinners, whom he had hated and feared so badly, he truly became a very special being distinguished from the world. He joined the stream of righteousness that was flowing together with the muddy stream but was not mixed with it.

 

In today’s text, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” In the Bible, we can find some exemplary people who were persecuted because of their righteousness, and then were blessed at the end. In Luke 17:26-30, Jesus mentioned two persons, which are Noah and Lot. And the same persons are also mentioned in 2Peter 2:5-8. Interestingly, both Noah and Lot saw God’s judgments, one with water and the other with fire. In their days, the stream of the world was extremely muddy. The Bible says, “People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark” and “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building” (Luke 17:27-28). This is how Jesus describes the last days just before God’s judgments. From the human point of view, the days were not muddy. Rather, they were peaceful and prosperous. They were full of joy and excitement. But Jesus is meaning that people living in those days were ungodly, filthy, and lawless. And in those day, Noah and Lot were righteous men, and preachers of righteousness. They preached God’s coming judgment while being tormented by people’s godlessness. They suffered more because of their preaching. They suffered a lot because they proclaimed God’s judgment in their most peaceful, joyful, and prosperous days. And at the last days, they were saved when the unrighteous were punished. We believers cannot separate ourselves from the world. At the same time, we cannot be mixed with the world. We must keep preaching God’s righteousness to the world so that they wake up from their ungodly lives. I believe this is God’s judgment upon the believers. We suffer today for God’s righteousness. Through the suffering, we give up our peace and joy in this world and hold onto God’s righteousness as Jesus demonstrated to his disciples. Jesus obeyed God and loved sinners. Because of this rightouesness, he had to suffer in every drop of his blood and every piece of his flesh. I thank God for giving us Jesus, God’s righteousness, to be our righteousness. I pray that we may also become the righteous pleasant to God and edible to people so that God can consume us to save the world.