In His final Beatitude, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Jesus could never be accused of false advertising or hiding the negative in the fine print. He makes it very clear in this Beatitude that persecution is a POSSIBILITY if you choose to be His disciple. In this lesson, we’ll examine three things we can learn about persecution from this Beatitude and consider whether or not we are being persecuted, as well as the implications if we are and if we are not.

Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Lesson Resources:

Craig L. Blomberg. Matthew. The New American Commentary, Vol. 22. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing, 1992.

Sellers S. Crain, Jr. Truth for Today Commentary: Matthew 1-13. Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 2010.

Warren Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/dioko.html

https://religionnews.com/2020/06/17/evangelicals-perfected-cancel-culture-now-its-coming-for-them/. Accessed January 27, 2025.

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-10-23/judge-sides-with-california-baker-over-same-sex-wedding-cake#google_vignette. Accessed January 27, 2025.