Latest / Reformed Thinking / Blessed Are the Persecuted: The Cross-Shaped Blessedness of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:10)

Transcript

Blessed Are the Persecuted: The Cross-Shaped Blessedness of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:10) · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the deep dive where we take
0:03
God's word, gather our sources, and try to understand what it
0:06
means to be living under the reign of Christ in the world
0:08
today. Today we are focusing on what
0:11
many consider the climax of the Beatitudes, a statement that
0:14
sounds completely contrary to every natural human instinct
0:18
about success or happiness. We are looking at Matthew 5.10.
0:23
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's
0:25
sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
0:28
Our mission today is clear. We have to wrestle with Christ's
0:32
radical redefinition of blessedness.
0:34
We need to figure out why suffering for one's faithfulness
0:36
to God is presented here not as an unfortunate accident or, you
0:39
know, some kind of theological contradiction, but is actual
0:43
evidence of divine favor. It's a paradox we really have to
0:46
sit with. It is, and to approach this, I
0:48
think we first have to establish a clear contrast.
0:50
We need to measure Christ's statement against the common,
0:54
everyday definition of what it means to be blessed or well off.
0:57
Yeah, you have to set the stage. What's the default thinking?
1:00
Well, when we look at our culture or even just our
1:02
neighborhoods, blessedness is first and foremost measured by
1:06
comfort and security. That's so true.
1:08
It's when life appears to be trouble free.
1:11
The definition of a good life is 1 without friction, without any
1:14
deep personal or social struggle.
1:17
If things are smooth, you know. If there is a predictable ease
1:19
to life, then the assumption is that you're blessed.
1:22
And that leads directly to material metrics.
1:26
Blessedness very quickly becomes associated with prosperity and
1:30
wealth. If a person is visibly
1:32
successful, if they lack nothing in a material sense, the
1:36
prevailing assumption, and this is even inside some circles of
1:39
the church, is that they must be enjoying God's special favor.
1:42
Oh, absolutely. Material gain is seen as a
1:44
direct sign of divine approval. And it tied very closely to that
1:47
is social status. Blessedness is often gauged by
1:50
respect and approval from others.
1:51
We want to be admired. We want to be applauded or to
1:54
hold a high social standing. If you're accepted by your peers
1:57
and you have some kind of cultural influence, that is seen
2:00
as the mark of a blessed person. And this whole framework, this
2:03
whole way of thinking just creates a direct contradiction
2:05
with this final beatitude. When the focus shifts to outward
2:09
success or social comfort as the primary measure of God's favor,
2:13
we fall into a mentality that just fundamentally
2:16
misunderstands God's economy. The so-called prosperity message
2:20
is probably the most obvious example of this, equating
2:23
material ease directly with spiritual health.
2:25
It's a 1 to 1 correlation in that way of thinking.
2:28
So Christ's statement on persecution does something well.
2:31
It's immediate and jarring. It just completely overturns
2:34
these natural assumptions. If blessedness meant ease and
2:37
acceptance, then the most persecuted person should
2:40
logically be the least blessed. But Jesus declares the opposite.
2:44
He does, and the distinction really lies in the word itself,
2:47
makarioi, which we translate as Bless it.
2:50
We have to understand this as more than just a subjective
2:52
feeling. It's not about feeling happy in
2:55
that moment. OK, so if it's not an emotion,
2:57
what is it? How do we define Macario in the
2:59
context of God's favor? It denotes an objective state of
3:02
favor and approval from God. It's a divine verdict.
3:06
Jesus is declaring this condition being persecuted as
3:10
genuinely fortunate and privileged because God has
3:13
already rendered his approval. So it's not you are blessed
3:15
because you feel good about being persecuted.
3:17
No, not at all. It's you are in a state of
3:20
blessedness, a state of divine favor, and that is true even
3:24
while you're being persecuted. God's verdict rests upon those
3:27
the world looks at in regards as pitiable or foolish or maybe
3:31
misguided. This means the paradox is rooted
3:34
entirely in one's objective standing before God, regardless
3:37
of the painful circumstances that are visible to the world.
3:40
A persecuted believer might be outwardly afflicted, suffering
3:43
loss or slander or exclusion, but inwardly they stand under
3:47
the settled approval of God. Their status rests on His
3:50
verdict, not on their comfort level.
3:52
That is the necessary premise for all of this.
3:54
We have to reject the subjective, culture driven idea
3:57
of blessing and adopt this objective, God declared status.
4:01
If we fail on that point, the rest of the beatitude makes no
4:04
sense. It just sounds like
4:05
romanticizing pain. Which it absolutely is not.
4:08
OK, so let's move to the specifics of the condition
4:10
itself. Jesus is not offering a silver
4:13
lining for just any kind of misfortune.
4:15
He defines the suffering very carefully.
4:18
We need to unpack this term persecution.
4:20
What kind of suffering actually qualifies under this
4:23
declaration? We need to look closely at the
4:25
language. The underlying Greek verb here
4:27
is dicho. Dicho, yes, and it's basic sense
4:30
is to be pursued, to be chased or harassed.
4:33
So it's active. It's not a passive state of
4:36
being disliked. Someone is doing something to
4:38
you. Precisely, and the significance
4:40
really comes from the form of the verb here, which points
4:43
toward intentional and sustained hostility.
4:46
OK, sustained. So we aren't just talking about
4:48
1 bad day at the office or a singular argument with a
4:51
neighbor. No, we are talking about a
4:53
settled pattern of opposition, repeated or ongoing acts where
4:57
disciples find themselves targeted.
4:59
It describes a lifestyle where, because of their allegiance to
5:02
Christ, they become objects of persistent opposition.
5:06
The world isn't just momentarily annoyed, it is actively pursuing
5:09
their discomfort or even their destruction.
5:11
That makes the scope of the opposition much clearer now in
5:16
our current context, especially here in the West, where, you
5:18
know, overt physical persecution might be less common than in
5:22
other parts of the world. What specific forms does this
5:25
hostility take? We need to give the listener
5:27
some concrete ways to identify this pattern.
5:30
Well, the scope is quite wide, and Matthew 5.11 and 12
5:34
immediately expand on it. It includes overt actions like
5:38
legal sanctions and physical violence, of course, but it very
5:41
definitely includes the full spectrum of verbal attacks and
5:44
social exclusion. OK, let's break that down.
5:47
Verbal attacks being. Insults, lies, slander,
5:50
reviling. This is the more sophisticated
5:52
form of persecution that's common in many modern societies.
5:55
The calculated destruction of someone's reputation.
5:58
The deliberate misrepresentation of their motives.
6:01
The use of misinformation to marginalized them.
6:03
So when faithfulness to Christ leads to losing a professional
6:07
standing or being labeled with some kind of culturally toxic
6:10
terminology, that would fall under this category of verbal
6:13
hostility. I believe so, yes.
6:15
And then you have social exclusion or marginalization.
6:17
What does that look like? That's the pattern of being
6:19
intentionally overlooked for a promotion, being excluded from
6:22
social groups, or finding yourself functionally isolated
6:26
because your moral framework makes other people
6:28
uncomfortable. The opposition targets the
6:30
disciples status and their connections just as effectively
6:33
as physical harm might target their body.
6:35
But none of this suffering, none of these forms of hostility,
6:39
qualifies for the blessing without that critical qualifier
6:42
attached for righteousness's sake.
6:45
Without that phrase, the blessing just vanishes.
6:47
It does. This is what restricts the scope
6:49
making the suffering morally and theologically significant.
6:52
We have to define this righteousness.
6:54
It's not about general niceness or some vague humanitarian
6:57
impulse. Righteousness here is defined as
6:59
a life that is aligned with God's revealed will and
7:03
obedience that touches both our inner motives and our outward
7:06
behavior. A pattern of life that Jesus has
7:08
actually been describing in the preceding Beatitudes.
7:10
Poverty of spirit, meekness, hungering for justice, mercy,
7:14
purity of heart. It's all connected.
7:17
Precisely. It's a life that mirrors the
7:19
character of the King and this is critical.
7:22
This must be a Christ shaped righteousness.
7:25
It's not vague moralism or just being a good citizen.
7:28
The suffering is incurred on my account.
7:31
As Jesus says later in Matthew, the righteousness that provokes
7:34
hostility is the one that arises from a direct allegiance to him,
7:39
visibly reflecting the will of God that has been revealed in
7:41
Christ. This brings us to a really
7:44
crucial boundary marker. What suffering is excluded from
7:48
this blessing? Because, you know, if someone is
7:49
having a hard time, they can be pretty quick to label it
7:52
persecution. And that discernment is
7:55
absolutely essential. This beatitude specifically
7:57
excludes self-inflicted suffering.
8:00
If a person is suffering the consequences of their own sin,
8:02
their own harshness, their own foolish choices, or their own
8:05
genuinely quarrelsome behavior, that is not blessed persecution.
8:09
We see that warning echoed pretty clearly in the New
8:11
Testament, don't we? Absolutely.
8:13
Peter addresses this head on. He warns against suffering as a
8:16
criminal or a murderer, or an evildoer, or even as a meddler
8:20
in other people's affairs. We must not confuse just
8:23
punishment for wrongdoing, or even just the natural
8:25
consequences of behaving badly with persecution for Christ.
8:29
Yeah, if we act rudely or foolishly and people respond
8:31
negatively, that's just that's just a basic consequence.
8:34
It's not divine favor. Right.
8:36
And it means we have to seriously examine our own
8:38
conduct. When opposition arises.
8:40
We have to ask the hard question, Are we suffering
8:43
because we stood for Christ's truth or because we delivered
8:46
Christ's truth with arrogance or rudeness or just poor judgment?
8:49
The blessing only applies to the former.
8:52
Matter requires repentance, not comfort.
8:54
From Matthew 5.10. Correct.
8:56
We also have to exclude suffering that comes from
8:58
confusing our cultural preferences with biblical truth.
9:01
If we cling to mirror human tradition, or if we make moral
9:05
stands on issues that the Bible is silent on and that causes
9:08
friction, well, that friction doesn't qualify as persecution
9:12
for righteousness's sake. So the suffering has to be the
9:15
inevitable pressure that's created when the Kingdom of
9:17
heaven presses into a world that's still operating under the
9:20
values of rebellion. The opposition has to stem from
9:24
fidelity to the gospel, not from our own personal clashes or a
9:28
lack of wisdom. So to sort of put a cap on this
9:31
section, the criteria are strict.
9:33
True blessed persecution arises when a believer's righteous life
9:38
visibly reflects the will and character of God revealed in
9:41
Christ, and that life is now fundamentally out of step with
9:44
the culture around it. This suffering is morally
9:47
significant because of its 'cause.
9:49
That sets us up for the next crucial point.
9:52
We noted earlier that Jesus placed this beatitude at the
9:55
climax of the list, right after describing peacemakers.
9:58
That placement seems to strongly suggest that persecution isn't
10:01
an exception, but the natural expected outcome of Kingdom
10:05
living. The placement is so important.
10:07
The Beatitudes are not a random collection of virtues.
10:10
They form a systematic portrait of the citizen of God's Kingdom.
10:13
When the King describes the ethic of his reign and the
10:16
Sermon on the Mount, he includes persecution as the predictable
10:19
result of living according to that ethic.
10:21
Let's look again at the structural setup.
10:22
You call it the Kingdom bracket. The Kingdom Bracket is a
10:25
brilliant literary and theological device.
10:28
The first Beatitude blessed are the poor in spirit, and this 8th
10:32
beatitude blessed are those who are persecuted share the
10:35
identical promise, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
10:39
And this promise is stated in the present tense.
10:41
Theirs is the Kingdom. So what does this bracketing
10:45
tell us about discipleship? It signifies that all the
10:48
qualities described in between, from meekness to mercy to
10:51
purity, are the consistent characteristics of those who
10:54
already possess the Kingdom. The whole span of the Christian
10:57
life, which begins with that initial fundamental humility,
11:00
that poverty of spirit, culminates in predictable
11:02
hostility from the world. So the life of a citizen of
11:05
Christ's Kingdom begins with admitting complete spiritual
11:08
bankruptcy before God, and it ends, or at least continues,
11:11
with experiencing conflict with the world.
11:14
It's the poor in spirit who end up facing the world's hatred.
11:17
And that means persecution is not some kind of interruption
11:20
that delays the kingdom's arrival.
11:22
It's actually a sign that the Kingdom is already present and
11:25
active in one's life. The opposition arises because
11:29
the new rule is taking effect in a domain that is still resistant
11:33
to it. The primary reason then, that
11:36
persecution is expected is this inherent and unreconcilable
11:40
opposition between the Kingdom of Heaven and what Scripture
11:43
calls the present evil age. They just operate under 2
11:46
completely different sets of principles.
11:48
The friction is inevitable. The world and the Kingdom of
11:51
Heaven hold opposing values, opposing priorities and opposing
11:55
idols. The world's systems tend to love
11:57
radical autonomy, self assertion, independence from any
12:00
external divine authority, and the unrestricted pursuit of
12:03
selfish pleasure. These are often enshrined as
12:06
fundamental rights or even virtues in our current age and
12:08
the Kingdom. The Kingdom commends the
12:10
opposite poverty of spirit, meekness, submission, self
12:13
denial, mercy, purity and peacemaking.
12:16
These virtues are often viewed by the world as weak or foolish
12:20
or restrictive. So when Christ's rule takes root
12:23
in a person's life and they begin to live according to that
12:25
Kingdom ethic, they immediately become out of sync with the
12:28
surrounding cultures deepest, most cherished values.
12:32
The friction is unavoidable because the contrast is not
12:35
abstract. No, it becomes very concrete in
12:38
decisions that genuinely affect one's life.
12:41
You can think of truth telling in a commercial environment that
12:43
prefers deception, or upholding biblical sexual ethics in a
12:47
world defined by expressive individualism, or arguing for
12:51
the sanctity of life when the culture sees it as disposable.
12:54
A young believer, for instance, who refuses to participate in a
12:57
dishonest business practice or who speaks of the exclusivity of
13:01
Christ in a pluralistic setting, may quickly find that their
13:04
righteousness attracts not applause but resentment and
13:07
opposition, maybe even dismissal from their job.
13:09
That resentment, that deliberate hostility, is the outward
13:13
expression of an inward clash. The Kingdom of God has broken
13:16
into that person's heart, but the Kingdom of darkness is
13:19
clinging to its territory in the world around them.
13:22
The righteous life exposes the world unrighteousness simply by
13:26
being present. As our sources note, light
13:29
necessarily reveals darkness. Furthermore, Jesus makes it
13:32
clear that this experience puts us in continuity with a very
13:35
specific, and I would say honorable lineage.
13:38
Yes, the lineage of faithful suffering persecution places
13:42
believers in continuity with Christ himself.
13:45
He experienced rejection and hostility.
13:46
First he warned his disciples, If the world hates you, know
13:50
that it has hated me before it hated you.
13:52
A servant is not above his master.
13:54
If they persecuted the king, they will persecute the subjects
13:57
who share his character. And even before Christ, this was
13:59
the pattern for the faithful messengers of God.
14:02
The Beatitude mentions the prophets.
14:04
The testimony of the Old Testament is that those who
14:07
spoke God's truth faithfully were rarely celebrated by the
14:10
ruling class or the popular majority.
14:13
They were marginalized, they were attacked, and sometimes
14:15
they were killed. This establishes that living
14:19
under God's gracious rule has always meant being out of step
14:22
with the prevailing system is the normal, expected life of
14:25
God's people in a fallen world. This moves us into a really
14:28
interesting area. If suffering is so difficult,
14:31
why is it called blessed? This is where the theological
14:33
confirmation comes in. Persecution acts as a kind of
14:36
diagnostic tool that confirms our deepest spiritual realities.
14:40
It acts as an acid test for genuineness.
14:43
Persecution confirms the real nature and significance of the
14:45
believers obedience. It forces the question, is your
14:48
faith costly? How does it function as a
14:50
diagnostic tool, practically speaking?
14:52
Well. It reveals whether a believer's
14:54
righteousness is a private sentiment or a public stance
14:57
that genuinely effects their decisions and their
14:59
relationships. If your righteousness never cost
15:01
you anything, no reputation, no comfort, no money, is it real
15:05
enough to be noticed by a hostile world?
15:07
It tests the measure of 1's allegiance, yes.
15:10
The willingness to suffer loss rather than compromise a
15:13
standard of righteousness proclaim something powerful to
15:16
the world and to the believers own heart, that the unseen
15:20
Kingdom is more real to them than the visible rewards of
15:23
conformity. When you're faced with the
15:25
choice between a promotion that requires dishonesty and standing
15:28
for truth, the choice to suffer the loss for truth declares
15:31
where your citizenship truly lies.
15:34
Let's explore the first major confirmation that persecution
15:37
provides, which is our union with the crucified and risen
15:39
Christ. This is just central to the
15:41
theology of the cross. Persecution is a concrete way
15:45
that a believer's mysterious union with Christ is revealed
15:48
and authenticated. The world recognizes and
15:51
believers the characteristics of Christ and predictably responds
15:54
to them as it once responded to Him.
15:56
It's a shared reproach. We are walking the same path as
15:59
the Master. The world's hostility is
16:01
essentially the overflow of its hatred for him, redirected
16:04
toward his followers. Our suffering is incurred in His
16:07
service and for His sake. This is a deep Reformed insight.
16:11
Genuine union with Christ inevitably yields conformity to
16:14
Him. We are joined to a suffering
16:17
Lord, and that conformity includes participation in his
16:20
sufferings. As Paul writes, if we are
16:22
children, then we are heirs. But if indeed we suffer with
16:26
Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.
16:28
The suffering confirms the relationship.
16:31
If we are truly identified with Christ, our lives will reflect
16:34
the pattern of His rejection before His acceptance.
16:37
And this is so crucial, though, to maintain theological clarity.
16:41
We have to constantly state that persecutions are signs, not
16:44
causes of salvation. They testify that Christ's
16:47
finished work has taken hold of us.
16:49
They do not add any merit to a sacrifice or earnest a place in
16:52
the Kingdom. Right.
16:53
They're evidence, not payment. They're simply observable
16:56
evidence that our allegiance is genuine and that we are
16:58
intimately identified with the one who was rejected by the
17:00
world. The second confirmation then
17:02
flows directly from this Union, our present Kingdom belonging
17:06
and our royal citizenship. The promise for theirs is the
17:09
Kingdom of Heaven is stated in the present tense, giving us an
17:12
objective statement about our status right now.
17:14
This confirms an objective, unshakable status.
17:18
Persecution functions as a seal of authenticity because the
17:22
hostility stems from the very fact that believers no longer
17:25
fit comfortably within the world system.
17:28
They are aliens and strangers belonging to another order of
17:31
reality. So to the outside observer, the
17:33
persecuted person might look like a failure, someone who's
17:36
marginalized or defeated. But Christ declares that they
17:40
are in reality royal citizens of His heavenly Kingdom right now,
17:44
in the midst of their affliction.
17:45
Exactly. They have been transferred from
17:48
the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of God's beloved Son.
17:51
Their citizenship is settled in heaven.
17:53
The Beatitude declares that God's reign is already actively
17:56
at work in their lives, making their current loss or discomfort
18:00
morally significant. Because it is tied to the royal
18:02
identity. Their pain is a royal pain.
18:05
That completely reframes the entire experience of suffering.
18:08
It shifts it from being just a personal set back to being a
18:10
marker of citizenship. It does.
18:13
It means that the world's rejection is inversely
18:16
proportional to God's approval. The greater the hostility
18:20
received for righteousness's sake, the clearer the evidence
18:23
that one has truly crossed the line into Christ's realm.
18:26
OK, so we've established the theological foundation for this.
18:29
Now, what are the practical implications?
18:31
What does this mean for how we live and for what we should
18:34
expect? This beatitude really forces us
18:37
to reshape our expectations about life in this current age.
18:41
It demands a major adjustment to our default settings.
18:44
Persecution has to be viewed as the expected consequence of
18:48
living under Christ's rule, not some unforeseen anomaly or a
18:51
sign of failure. If we expect ease and comfort,
18:55
opposition will lead to massive disillusionment of potential
18:57
spiritual collapse. Yeah, if a young believer is
19:00
taught that God will always provide material comfort and
19:02
social acceptance, the very first time they face slander for
19:05
refusing to compromise on a moral issue, they're going to
19:08
feel betrayed by God. This beatitude inoculates US
19:11
against that kind of disillusionment.
19:13
It sets realistic expectations. It reminds us that the Church's
19:17
present condition is that of the Church militant, still fighting
19:20
in enemy territory, not yet the Church triumphant, enjoying its
19:24
final rest. Its normal condition is one of
19:27
conflict, weakness, and often marginalization from the
19:30
dominant culture. This directly challenges any
19:33
form of Christian cultural triumphalism, the idea that
19:35
God's favor is measured by visible dominance or societal
19:39
acceptance. It is a profound check on that
19:42
idea. If we measure God's favor by how
19:44
easily our Christian values are accepted by the world, or by how
19:48
many people we attract through cultural relevance, we are
19:51
forgetting the logic of the cross.
19:53
Faithfulness will sometimes shrink crowds, and it will
19:55
provoke hostility because the truth we speak convicts a world
19:58
of sin. The litmus test then becomes not
20:01
are we popular, but are we faithful to the King?
20:04
And are we faithful in a way that is noticed?
20:07
We have to ask ourselves that diagnostic question again.
20:10
Is my righteousness real enough to be noticed and costly enough
20:13
to to be opposed? If we blend in too seamlessly
20:15
with the surrounding culture, we may need to question the depth
20:18
of our allegiance to Christ's distinct reign.
20:21
But the Beatitude offers more than just a call to accept pain.
20:24
It provides a guarantee of future vindication.
20:28
And this is the true basis for the paradoxical joy we are told
20:31
to embrace. This moves the believers gaze
20:34
from the present loss to the future glory.
20:37
The promise of the Kingdom carries a strong future
20:39
dimension, assuring believers of a great reward in heaven.
20:43
Matthew 5.11 and 12 immediately follow this by saying rejoice
20:48
and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
20:51
This great reward speaks of a public acknowledgement.
20:54
The world casts them out and speaks evil against them, but
20:56
God promises to honor them openly.
20:59
The persecuted are pointed forward to a day of public
21:01
vindication where they will be openly honored by their king.
21:05
Think of the reversal. Those who were slandered on
21:07
earth will be praised in heaven. The final verdict belongs to the
21:10
judge of all the earth, the assurances that He will reverse
21:12
and overturn every unjust sentence that has been passed
21:15
against His people. Our present light affliction is
21:18
momentary compared with the eternal weight of glory that is
21:20
being prepared for us. And this certain hope of eternal
21:23
glory is the only reason that persecution can be born with
21:27
paradoxical joy. It is a joy rooted not in the
21:31
pain itself, but in the certainty that the pain links
21:34
them more closely with their suffering Lord and confirms
21:37
their title of future glory. This perspective exposes the
21:40
absolute folly of compromising righteousness today just to
21:44
avoid temporary persecution. If the Kingdom is already
21:47
theirs, if they already possessed royal citizenship, no
21:50
earthly loss of reputation, of status, of comfort, can
21:53
impoverish them in any real sense.
21:55
They're suffering a temporary discomfort while holding the
21:58
title deed to eternal glory. The promise is that nothing
22:02
gained by compromise could ever equal what is lost by
22:05
sacrificing one's relationship with Christ in his coming reign.
22:08
So we've covered the full structure of this radical
22:10
statement to summarize the core paradox we've wrestled with
22:13
today. True blessedness is defined by
22:15
God's objective approval, our present status as royal
22:18
citizens, and our allegiance to Christ, even when that
22:21
allegiance incurs loss and hostility from this current evil
22:24
age. It is a calling to embrace the
22:26
pattern of the cross before the crown.
22:29
It confirms that the life of another world, the Unseen
22:32
Kingdom, is already actively at work in the Believer, provoking
22:36
friction with the world they currently inhabit.
22:39
We talked about how the willingness of believers to
22:42
suffer loss rather than compromise righteousness
22:44
proclaims that the unseen Kingdom is more real to them
22:48
than the visible rewards of conformity.
22:50
This is really where the rubber meets the road for us right now.
22:53
This raises a serious and a searching question for every
22:56
citizen of the Kingdom. If you're righteous living, your
23:00
consistent pattern of biblical ethics, your truth telling in
23:03
your professional life, your stand for sexual purity, if that
23:07
is not currently attracting any friction or opposition
23:10
whatsoever in your life or your local context, does that suggest
23:13
something about the nature of your obedience?
23:15
Does it mean your righteousness is not a public stance that
23:18
touches real decisions and affects the comfort level of
23:20
those around you? That is a question with
23:23
prayerfully considering as you reflect on the cost of
23:25
discipleship in the light of Matthew 5.10.
23:28
We must be careful not to invite persecution, of course, but we
23:31
must also be careful not to assume that peace and acceptance
23:34
are always signs of divine favor.
23:36
In this current age, sometimes opposition is the clearest sign
23:40
of God's favor. Thank you for taking this deep
23:42
dive with us into the radical logic of the final Beatitude.
23:45
We encourage you to reflect on these themes of royal
23:48
citizenship and the paradox of the persecuted as you seek to
23:51
live faithfully under Christ's rule.