“BLESSED are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So we come to the eighth and last Beatitude, and we seem to have come a full circle. The blessing attached to the first Beatitude is the same as this last one - for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To belong to the Kingdom of Heaven is the greatest blessing of all. In this blessing is included all the rest of the blessings which are mentioned in the Beatitudes and includes all the blessings that come to the true believer in Christ. What greater blessing can there be than to be a member of God’s kingdom, and so know heaven as our home, God as our ruler and Father, and know that eternal life is ours with all the joy and quality of life this is. To be a member of the kingdom of heaven is to possess eternal salvation and to be inheritors of eternal glory and joy.

Why is it a blessedness to be persecuted because of righteousness? Surely there is no joy or happiness is being persecuted. Persecution means pain and sorrow. Our flesh shrinks from pain. Human beings avoid any sort of pain, whether in body, mind or heart, because it is hard to bear, and destructive of happiness. Yet we are told here that we are blessed when we are persecuted because of righteousness.

The joy is not in the persecution itself. All persecution is painful wherever it comes from, and whatever the cause. The blessedness is in what such persecution which Jesus is speaking about here means and reveals. If we are persecuted for righteousness then this shows that our faith and profession is real. If we are persecuted for righteousness then it means that we are showing genuine Christ-likeness in our living and our life. Being persecuted for righteousness means we are members of the kingdom of heaven, that is why the kingdom of heaven belongs to us. If we are being persecuted for righteousness we show we are disciples of Christ. Christ was hated by the world and persecuted more than any other person, so if we share in such persecution, though not to the same extent, we show that we are true disciples. The reason is that only true followers of Jesus are persecuted because of righteousness.

Our joy is an inner joy, which is the assurance of everlasting joy to come. Paul speaks of the glory that shall be revealed in the saints of Christ, and he goes on to say that suffering is part of the Christian journey in this life, but that the suffering is worth it because of the glory which we shall know when God calls us home to his eternal kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The joy also is that we experience an earnest of that kingdom of heaven even in this life. We know the love of God which passes knowledge. We know heavenly communion with Christ spiritually because we have been raised to heavenly places in Christ. Although we see through a glass darkly, that is rather like looking through frosted glass, we do see the spiritual realm of God spiritually, and the glory of this we would not trade for the world, whatever the persecution.

Having said all this we must be careful that we understand what the righteousness is that is being spoken about here. It can be summed up by saying it is the Christian character which is the sum of all the qualities which Jesus sets before us in the Beatitudes. This righteousness is to be like Christ and live with the character of Christ. The trouble is that we can be persecuted as Christians, and it may not be because of righteousness, but because of something else. This is not what is blessed, and we need to be aware of this.

Some Christians imagine they are being persecuted for righteousness, but in reality the persecution is because of some political ideal. They stand up against some government policy, and find themselves in trouble. This political action may be good in itself, but it has nothing to do with righteousness which Jesus is speaking about here. Christians also may receive persecution because of false zeal. They are so busy correcting others that they become judgemental and so obnoxious, and people turn against them. This is not true righteousness, but the false righteousness of the Pharisees. There are many other simply human things about our person and action and behaviour which causes people to dislike us and react adversely towards us, but this has nothing to do with righteousness spoken about here.

What is true righteousness? We have an example of it in Daniel. Because he served the living God he acted justly, and governed with the love of God in his heart. Such action always causes problems in our sinful world because it is light shining in the darkness, and the darkness resents this. Daniel did not campaign he just lived the love and law of God. Yet he had many enemies who hated him because his justice and honesty showed up their dishonesty and devious practice. So these enemies plotted against Daniel, and this resulted in his enemies getting Darius to outlaw the worship of Jehovah. In spite of danger to his life, Daniel quietly carried on his worship of God. This is righteousness, and because of it he ended up in the Lion’s den. His friends also showed the same righteousness. They would not bow down to the golden image, because it was an idol. This did not mean they were rebels, or plotting subversion. In fact they were the best citizens, but they put God first. They ended up in the fiery furnace.

This persecution is caused by the action of the devil. When he sees people giving their obedience to God as Lord and God, and living for him, Satan acts to cause them pain and suffering. He works up hate against them, and so persecution follows. By such godly living, the kingdom of Satan and darkness is threatened, and so Satan attacks, and seeks to oppose this threat. So when a person is showing true righteousness, which is to live for Christ and put Christ first, and to seek to be Christlike, there will always be persecution for righteousness.