Imagine with me someone coming to Jesus and saying, “You know, Jesus, since I have started to follow you my life has started to collapse. At work my former friends have stopped talking to me. In fact, they have excluded me from all their activities. Others are pointing fingers at me and calling me one of those crazy Jesus people.
“My boss told me yesterday I was finished next week. When I went home, I saw that my company was advertising an opening for my position. It looks like my wife may lose her job because of her trust in you. My children…my children are mocked and ridiculed every day because we have chosen to follow you. They show such courage even though what they are going through is awful.”
How do you think Jesus would respond to such a story? I think that, first of all, he would embrace the man. Together they would weep. Jesus would say, “I understand. It is hard – extremely hard. My own people did it to me as well.”
But Jesus would not stop there. He would also share what you and I might consider a shocking message. In his own words (from the Beatitudes): “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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 5:1-12).”
Maybe we can rewrite the passage to read: “Blessed are you when you are bullied because of righteousness for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people pick on you, chase you away, and tell lies about you because of me. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and sitting in a corner despairing about life; rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they have persecuted many others who have gone before you in this life of faith.”
How can a person feel blessed when they are bullied for doing what right? When we find ourselves in trouble for doing the right thing, are we not supposed to feel sorry for ourselves, say “Life is not fair!” and “God has let us down”? Is that not what we are suppose to say?
What does it take to move from feeling sorry for ourselves to feeling blessed?
To understand the necessary mindset, let me take you to a question that Jesus asks after stating the commitment he desired from those who claimed to be his disciples. The passage comes from Matthew 16. The context is Peter’s statement that Jesus is the Messiah. After Peter’s affirmation, Jesus begins to explain that for Him to be the Messiah means he will be betrayed and killed by the religious leaders. At that point, Peter takes Jesus aside and tells him he has got it wrong. Bad things will not happen to the Messiah. How could it be possible for the Anointed One of God to suffer? Jesus rebukes Peter harshly, telling him that he has become the mouthpiece of Satan.
Then Jesus addresses the issue of commitment. In light of what Jesus says about his own suffering, the commitment on the part of the disciples may have wavered. If the Messiah suffers, what is going to happen to us his followers? Here is what Jesus says: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Jesus is speaking to people who can’t imagine that the Messiah would have to suffer. The disciples saw for Jesus and themselves fame and fortune. Jesus turns their thinking upside down. He says that if they want to follow him, they have to be prepared to die with him and for him. The reference to the cross implies a willingness to experience physical death. His call to self-denial means to set aside self interests, personal agendas, ambitions and desires for the sake of Jesus. But Jesus gives a promise: Lose your life for his sake (or give your life to him) and you will find it. The life we find in Jesus is a life that begins now and lasts forever.
Given that Jesus is the one who gives life that lasts forever, why would anyone not want to follow him? Jesus puts it in the extreme. “Let’s say it was possible for you to gain the whole world – all the power, all the pleasures, all your desires fulfilled, everything you could imagine was at your disposal – yet you lost your soul. What good would it do you? Is there anything in this world worth the misery and agony of losing your soul? The answer is implied. There is nothing in this world worthy enough for you to lose your soul.
In the face of persecution, the person who continues to boldly follow Jesus has said, “I believe you, Jesus. I am willing to lose all for you – even my own life. What good will it do me if I escape persecution, discover comfort but deny you and lose my soul?”
To such a person Jesus says, “You are blessed.” That person is blessed from two perspectives: Blessed by God for making the courageous and wise decision of follow Jesus no matter what. God looks at the courageous, yet suffering Christian and smiles. Their lives are a testimony to his existence. Through their willingness to experience suffering, they display through their choices the greatness and immeasurable value of God. According to Hebrews 11 those who are willing to suffer and hold on in faith even when everything is going wrong become God’s heroes. We read “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:16b).”
God blesses the person who is persecuted and that person receives the natural blessing that come from doing what we know is right even if the outcomes are not what we desire. There is something freeing and energizing about having the courage to do what is right even when we know we may suffer for our decision. Such courage frees us from the opinions of others, frees us to be men and women of faith and character rather than people who submit out of fear or a desire to belong. Courageous followers of Jesus become new heroes of the faith. God uses courageous people to change our world. To such people Jesus says in Matthew 5: 12: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
In Canada persecution is rare. Instead of persecution we find ourselves struggling with temptation. Temptation takes many forms and shows up in variety of ways. A way to bring clarification to a particular temptation or issue you may be facing is to ask. “If I wanted Jesus more than anything how would I deal with this issue? Do I want him more than a particular relationship? Do I want him more than my desire to save face? Do I want him more than wealth, or security, or acceptance, or a destructive behaviour pattern?
The author of Hebrews issues a challenge in light of the heroes of the faith – people who had the faith to face persecution, people who followed God no matter what. His challenge is found in 12: 1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
May we determine, like those before us, to follow Jesus no matter what. Whatever gets in our way of following him, we will set aside.