“Martyrs For Christ“
[By Cameron Piner]
Matthew 5:10-12 (NASB) – “10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.””
This statement of Jesus is rather strange. You will be happy (i.e. “blessed”) and should “rejoice and be glad” when you are persecuted? Why? How? Well, one reason that He gives is “for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We can be persecuted in small ways, which will also result in us being blessed, but look at what the author of Hebrews says about the persecution of the prophets who were before us: “…and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. 39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised…” (Hebrews 11:35-39, NASB).
The prophets, who were before us, were persecuted so much that they often were killed for their faith. But they are not the only examples of persecution that we get to be compared to, because Jesus says, “24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” (Matthew 10:24-25, NASB). – Jesus, our Master, was maligned, so we will be maligned as well.
But, Jesus wasn’t just maligned, He was crucified. Peter talks about this example of Jesus for us in 1 Peter 2:21-24 (NASB), “21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps… while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” – Jesus, our Example, suffered and died for us, so we might be called to suffer and die for Him.
We have a word for people who do this very thing. When someone dies for something that they believe in, we call them a “martyr.” The word “martyr” used to simply mean “witness” or “one who testifies.” However, the word has come to refer almost exclusively to those who have suffered and died because of their testimony, because of their stand for their faith.
There are many examples in scripture about those who were martyrs for Christ. There are also many examples throughout history of those who were martyrs for Christ. In 1563, a man named John Foxe published a book that contained a compilation of various people who had been martyrs for their faith in Christ. The book was originally named, The Acts And Monuments, but it quickly became better known as: The Book of Martyrs. If you read this book (and I would certainly recommend it), then you might be disturbed by the horrific things that people did to these Christians. Yet, these martyrs are blessed. These martyrs can be happy, rejoice, and be glad! Because they were persecuted for Christ’s sake.
However, not everyone who is persecuted, or even burned at the stake, will be blessed. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NASB), “3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” Jesus says, in Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB), “21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Peter repeatedly talks about the difference between simply suffering for our own reasons and suffering FOR Christ (1 Peter 2:19-20; 3:14-17; 4:12-19).
It is not enough to be persecuted or even to be a martyr, if all of that is just done for ourselves. Rather, we are to love, do the will of God, and be willing to suffer and die FOR CHRIST. Or, as Jesus put it, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness… Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:10-11, NASB). Are you being persecuted because of who YOU are, or because of who you are FOR JESUS? If you are being persecuted for Jesus, then you are blessed because “…[yours] is the kingdom of heaven… your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12, NASB).