“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 5:10
The eighth beatitude is different than the previous seven beatitudes because of its length. Beatitudes 1–7 are short with an ‘a’ line that states who the blessed person is and a ‘b’ line that states what the blessing is. The eighth beatitude begins similarly to the previous seven in verse 10. There is the ‘a’ line (“blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”) and there is the ‘b’ line (“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”). Unlike beatitudes 1–7, however, Jesus expands upon the eighth beatitude in verses 11–12. We know that verses 11–12 are expanding the eighth beatitude and are, thus, part of the eighth beatitude because it speaks of the same blessed person—the persecuted one.1
Because of the additional content in the eighth beatitude, there are four elements to the eighth beatitude that need explaining: (1) the meaning of “blessed,” (2) the meaning of being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and because of Jesus, (3) what it means to receive the kingdom of heaven and a reward in heaven, and (4) an explanation of the command to rejoice and be glad. This article will look at each element individually and then (5) bring everything together for an explanation of the meaning of the eighth beatitude (click the hyperlinks to jump to the section you desire).
I. The Meaning of “Blessed”
The term “blessed” that occurs at the beginning of all the beatitudes is μακάριοι, the plural form of the adjective μακάριος. Although it has become common to hear μακάριος translated as “happy” (such as in the CEB), the term “happy” is much too shallow and superficial. In the New Testament and especially in the Gospel of Matthew, μακάριος is best understood as being the privileged recipient of God’s favour which results in a deep-seated joy. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature (BDAG) states the focus of μακάριος can either be on happiness/joy because of one’s circumstances or the focus can be on privilege that results in happiness/joy (BDAG, s.v. μακάριος).
In the Gospel of Matthew and in the beatitudes, the focus of μακάριος is on being the privileged recipient of God’s favour, rather than the joy or happiness, which is a result of God’s favour (also see Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount, 42; Donald Hagner, Matthew 1–13, 91).
We see this idea of being the privileged recipient of God’s favour that results in a deep-seated joy in many passages throughout the New Testament and the Gospel of Matthew. Note the following two passages from the Gospel of Matthew: 13:16–17 and 16:15–17.
In Matthew 13:16–17, Jesus tells his disciples that they are “blessed” (μακάριοι) because they have seen and heard Jesus, his mighty works and his teaching:
“But blessed [μακάριοι] are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
—MATTHEW 13:16–17
Jesus is not simply saying that his disciples are “happy,” but that they are the privileged recipients of God’s favour in that they get to see and hear Jesus and understand what it is that they see and hear! This seeing, hearing, and understanding results in a deep-seated joy of seeing, hearing, and knowing God’s messiah who is in the process of setting up the Kingdom of Heaven.
Another powerful passage that demonstrates Jesus’ understanding of μακάριος is Matthew 16:15–17:
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed [μακάριος] are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’”
—MATTHEW 16:15–17
After asking his disciples who they think he (Jesus) is, Simon Peter answers that Jesus is the messiah (“Christ”), who is “the Son of the living God.” Jesus then tells Peter that he is “blessed” (μακάριος). Jesus is not telling Peter that he should now be happy that he got Jesus’ question correct; rather, Jesus is telling Peter that he is the privileged recipient of God’s favour in that the Father himself revealed to Peter the identity of Jesus. This revelation will result in a deep-seated joy because now Peter knows who Jesus truly is.
Thus, we can conclude that the term “blessed” (μακάριος) in the Gospel of Matthew means to be the privileged recipient of God’s favour that results in a deep-seated joy. Regarding the eighth beatitude, Jesus says that those who are persecuted “for righteousness’ sake” and “because of me” are the privileged recipients of God’s favour, resulting in a deep-seated joy. Let us now turn to the meaning of “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” and because of Jesus and then we will discover how the persecuted are privileged recipients of God’s favour.
II. The Meaning of Persecution “for Righteousness’ Sake” and “Because of Me”
Jesus says that those who are persecuted are the privileged recipients of God favour. But it is not persecution for any reason that makes one blessed, but persecution for two specific reasons: righteousness and Jesus. I will first determine what Jesus considers persecution, then I will treat each reason for persecution so that we can fully understand who the blessed person is.
A. What It Means to Be Persecuted according to Matthew 5:10–12
Jesus begins the eighth beatitude by stating that it is the persecuted disciple who is blessed (Matt 5:10). Jesus defines persecution three ways in verse 11: “Blessed are you when (1) others revile you and (2) persecute you and (3) utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
The first way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is when “others revile you.” The verb “to revile” (ὀνειδίζω) can refer to rebuking someone (Matt 11:20; Mark 16:14; James 1:5), but most frequently refers insulting and mocking as it does in Matthew 5:11 and as done by the criminals crucified with Jesus:
“So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, “I am the Son of God.”’ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled [ὀνειδίζω] him in the same way.”
—MATTHEW 27:41–44 (also see Mark 15:32; Luke 6:22; Rom 15:3; 1 Pet 4:14)
Thus, the first way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is by receiving insults and mockery by non-believers.
The second way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is when “others . . . persecute you.” The verb “to persecute” (διώκω) in verse 11 is the same verb that is used in verse 10 (“Blessed are those who are persecuted [διώκω]”). However, the meaning of διώκω in verse 11 is more nuanced than that used in verse 10. In verse 11, the verb takes on its baser meaning, which is “to pursue.” The idea in verse 11 is that people (non-Christians) will pursue disciples of Jesus to their detriment, for the purpose of harming or hurting them. Thus, διώκω in verse 11 encompasses everything from physical harm (Acts 5:40–41), death (Matt 10:21–23), prison sentences (Acts 22:4–5; Rev 2:10), even economic harm, such as business boycotts or hindrance in trade (Rev 13:16–17).
Thus, the second way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is when others pursue them to their harm.
The third way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is when “others . . . utter all kinds of evil against you.” This third way of persecution is different from the first in that here lies are intentionally and maliciously spoken about disciples of Jesus for the purpose of discrediting them, destroying their reputation, and harming them by bringing civilians and the government upon them to beat, kill, or imprison them. The early Christians frequently had evil spoken against them. They were accused of cannibalism in a misrepresentation of the Lord’s Supper. Emperor Nero also blamed Christians for a devastating fire in Rome that led to persecution.
Thus, the third way that disciples of Jesus are persecuted is when others spread malicious lies about them to their detriment.
B. The Two Reasons for Persecution: Righteousness and Jesus
There are two reasons disciples of Jesus suffer persecution. The first reason for persecution is “on account of righteousness” (ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης). The preposition ἕνεκεν indicates the reason for the persecution, which is righteousness (δικαιοσύνη). “Righteousness” (δικαιοσύνη) in Matthew 5:10 refers to personal righteousness or right living as God defines uprightness and rightness and as a result of one’s relationship with God, having the same meaning of δικαιοσύνη (“righteousness”) in the fourth beatitude (Matt 5:6; click HERE to see my analysis of the fourth beatitude). The idea of δικαιοσύνη (“righteousness”) referring to right living is clearly seen in Matthew 6:1, which states δικαιοσύνη is something someone does, not something someone is:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness [δικαιοσύνη] before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
—MATTHEW 6:1
Living one’s life according to God’s instructions and precepts, such as sexual purity, honesty, self-control, and many of the qualities listed in the beatitudes, frequently invites persecution. Although living a righteous life can inspire some people, more often than not it invites the hatred of those who hate God and who love sin, resulting in persecution. This is a point that the apostle Peter makes:
“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.”
—1 PETER 4:3–4
The second reason disciples of Jesus suffer persecution is “on account of me,” Jesus (ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ). Once again, the preposition ἕνεκεν is used and it indicates a second reason for the persecution of Jesus’ disciples; Jesus says persecution comes “on account of me” (ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ; Matt 5:11). Disciples of Jesus are hated and persecuted because of their attachment to Jesus—their belief in Jesus as God, King, and saviour and their commitment to Jesus’ teachings and way of life—as well as because of their hatred of Jesus. Jesus himself was clear that his disciples would suffer the same fate as himself because of their attachment to Jesus and hatred for Jesus:
“You will be hated by all because of my name [i.e., because of your confession of my name] . . . . A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” (MATTHEW 10:22, 24–25)
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (JOHN 15:18–21)
Charles Quarles summarizes persecution on account of Jesus well:
“Most moderns are willing to recognize Jesus as a good moral teacher, but insistence on the exclusive claims of Christianity, particularly the confession of Jesus as God, Savior, and King, remains offensive. Contemporary disciples must be willing to follow Christ faithfully and boldly affirm His identity despite the cost.”
—Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount, 73
C. Summary of Persecution
Jesus says that the blessed person is the one who is insulted, mocked, maliciously lied about, and pursued with harmful intent for the sole reason of being a disciple of Jesus: believing what Jesus says about his personhood and work and living one’s life according to his instructions.
III. What It Means to Receive the Kingdom of Heaven and a Reward in Heaven
Jesus makes two promises in the eighth beatitude to those who are persecuted: they will receive the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:10) and they will receive a reward in heaven (5:12). Let’s look at each in turn.
A. Receiving the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5:10)
Like the first beatitude (click HERE), the last beatitude claims that those who are the privileged recipients of God’s favour (“blessed”) are blessed “because” (ὅτι) “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10). Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are persecuted, which is accurately reflected in the NET translation of the eighth beatitude: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them” (Matt 5:10, NET)
To “have” or to “obtain” the kingdom of heaven means two things. First, to have/obtain the kingdom of heaven means to enter the kingdom of heaven and become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. For example, Jesus says:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven [will enter the kingdom of heaven].”
—MATTHEW 7:21, emphasis added (also see Matt 5:20; 18:3; 19:23–24)
Second, to have/obtain the kingdom of heaven means to inherit the kingdom of heaven, meaning the persecuted will own the kingdom of heaven alongside of Jesus. Note two important passages here:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (MATTHEW 25:34; also see 1 Cor 6:9–11; 15:50–57; Gal 5:19–21)
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (ROMANS 8:16–17, emphasis added)
The Father hands over the kingdom to his Son Jesus and to all who are united to Jesus through belief in Him.
The final question that must be answered is ‘what is the kingdom of heaven that the persecuted will enter and inherit?’ Patrick Schreiner gives a helpful definition of the kingdom of heaven:
“The kingdom is the King’s power over the King’s people in the King’s place”
—Patrick Schreiner, The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross, 18 (italics original)
The kingdom of heaven is a real, material, kingdom that will fully manifest itself on earth as it is in heaven upon the return of Jesus. It is ruled by Jesus and those who are united to Jesus. The kingdom of heaven that Jesus inaugurated at his first coming and will consummate at his second coming encompasses the entire created order (Romans 4:13–17, note that the term “world” in verse 13 is the Greek κόσμος, which is better rendered “universe”: “heir of the universe”). Thus, the kingdom of heaven encompasses the entire created order with the New Jerusalem at its centre (Rev 21).
B. Receiving a Reward in Heaven (Matt 5:12)
In Matthew 5:12, Jesus tells his disciples to “rejoice and be glad” that they are persecuted “because” (ὅτι) they will receive a reward in heaven: “your reward is great in heaven.” Jesus does not specify what the reward will be for those who are persecuted, so we would do well not to be dogmatic about the specifics of the reward. What is certain is that “the severity of the penalty suffered for faithfulness to Jesus will be offset by the enormity of the reward enjoyed in heaven” (Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount, 75).
We can also be fairly confident that the reward may surround a reversal of fortune. Divine reversals are common in the beatitudes. For example, those who are poor will inherit the kingdom (5:3), those who mourn will be comforted (5:4), and those who hunger and thirst will be satisfied (5:6). Thus, it is quite likely that the reward will be a reversal of persecutions suffered that far exceeds anyone’s expectations.
“Human insult will be replaced with divine commendation. Human rejection and harassment will be replaced by divine acceptance and favor. Earthly punishment will be replaced by eternal bliss.”
—Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount, 76
IV. An Explanation of the Command to Rejoice and Be Glad
The eighth beatitude is unique in that it is the only one where Jesus issues a command:
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
—MATTHEW 5:12
The two commands “rejoice” (χαίρετε) and “be glad” (ἀγαλλιᾶσθε) together mandate disciples of Jesus who are persecuted to be super-joyful.2 Not only are the persecuted to be super-joyful, but they are to be consistently and continually super-joyful. The two imperatives χαίρετε and ἀγαλλιᾶσθε are both in the grammatical present tense, indicating that the actions of rejoicing and being glad should be done all day every day; it is consistent, continual, and characterizes Jesus’ disciples. Acts 5:40–41 is a good example of what Jesus is commanding:
“when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing [χαίρω] that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
—ACTS 5:40–41
Jesus is not commanding his disciples to be super-joyful because of the horrible things happening to them, but “because your reward is great in heaven.” The future reward for enduring persecution is the reason for the rejoicing and joy.
Jesus offers clarification regarding persecution resulting in rewards with the last clause “for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:12). Jesus’s language in the eighth beatitude assumes that his disciples will be persecuted. First, he says “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you . . .” (Matt 5:10). Jesus does not say “if” you are persecuted, but “when” you are persecuted, suggesting the inevitability of persecution. Second, Jesus likens his disciples to the prophets of God that came before them, claiming that his disciples should expect to be persecuted because the prophets were persecuted: “for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:12). Finally, prophets receive a special reward for being a prophet of God:
“The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.”
—MATTHEW 10:41
Jesus is saying that just like the prophets were persecuted yet received a wonderful reward, so His disciples should expect persecution and a wonderful reward. Because of this, persecuted disciples of Jesus should be super-joyful.
V. The Meaning of the Eighth Beatitude (Matt 5:10–12)
Now that we understand (1) what it means to be blessed, (2) what it means to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake and because of Jesus, (3) what it means to receive the kingdom of heaven and a reward in heaven, and (4) why the persecuted should rejoice, we are able to understand the meaning of Jesus’ eighth beatitude: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In Matthew 5:10–12, Jesus says that those who are persecuted by insults, harm, and malicious lies because they are disciples of Jesus who live according to Jesus’ instructions are privileged recipients of God’s favour (blessed) in that they enter and inherit the kingdom of heaven, which is a real material kingdom that encompasses the entire created order, consists of God’s people, under the rule of Jesus (theirs is the kingdom of heaven) and will receive a yet-unknown reward in heaven. As such, Jesus’ persecuted disciples must be consistently and continually super-joyful!
- Some scholars argue that verses 11–12 are a ninth beatitude because it begins with “blessed are.” This is most likely incorrect, however, because (a) the blessed person is the same in verses 10 and 11 and (b) verse 11 begins with “blessed are you.” The antecedent to “you” is the persecuted person from verse 10, connecting verse 10 and verses 11–12 together. It should also be noted that none of the previous beatitudes use the pronoun “you,” suggesting verses 11–12 are not a ninth beatitude, but are part of the eighth. ↩︎
- The second term, ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, is actually more intensive than χαίρετε (“rejoice”). ἀγαλλιᾶσθε (from ἀγαλλιάω) can be understood as “to be exceedingly joyful” or “overjoyed” (BDAG, s.v. “ἀγαλλιάω”). ↩︎