From Harassment to Happiness (Matthew 5:10-12; Luke 6:22-26)

Happiness is not supposed to show up in the same sentence as persecution, yet Jesus puts them together without flinching. We’re back in the Sermon on the Mount, listening closely as Jesus says the truly happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake and those who are reviled and lied about because of Him (Matthew 5:10-12). We slow down and define terms, because this isn’t a command to chase conflict or wear suffering like a badge. It’s a promise that real joy can exist in the heart of someone who is harassed for doing what is right.

We also draw a bright line that many of us need: persecution is not the same as punishment. A childhood story about flipping an apartment building’s power switch and then getting chased makes it painfully clear why motive matters. If you’re “being pursued,” make sure it’s for faithfulness, not foolishness. From there, we connect Jesus’ words to 1 Peter 4, where Peter tells believers not to be surprised by trials, to rejoice when they share in Christ’s sufferings, and to refuse shame when they suffer as Christians, not as troublemakers.

Finally, we widen the lens to the global reality of Christian persecution and the hard questions it raises about cost, courage, and endurance. Then we contrast the world’s version of happiness with a haunting moment from Muhammad Ali’s later life: having the world, and realizing it was nothing. Jesus offers something stronger than fading applause: the kingdom of heaven and a reward that lasts. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review, and tell us what helps you hold on to joy when following Christ gets costly?

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Transcript

Happiness In The Beatitudes

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Well, today we're back on the hillside listening as Jesus delivers his famous Sermon on the Mount. He's now delivering the longest of his beatitudes. Remember, the beatitudes are stepping stones to true happiness. Beatitude means genuine happiness. We're in Matthew chapter five now and verse ten, where Jesus says, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Jesus is saying here that genuine happiness can take place in the heart of someone who's being persecuted. Now the word he uses for persecuted is passive. In the original language, this is suggesting the persecuted person is willingly allowing themselves to be mistreated, perhaps even martyred. You could translate the word harassed. Now, listen, is Jesus really saying here happy are the harassed?

Persecuted For The Right Reason

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Well keep in mind, he adds this little phrase harassed for righteousness' sake. This word carries the idea of being chased or pursued. Now you just need to make sure you're being chased for doing the right thing and not the wrong thing. I remember when I was a young boy, my best friend, another missionary kid, he and I would explore the woods near the uh subdivision where we lived in the summertime until it grew dark. There was this apartment complex on our way home, and the box that controlled the electricity for that entire building was in a little lobby downstairs. One day we were walking through that little lobby, and we noticed that box. We looked around, made sure nobody was was around, and I pulled that big gray handle down and that entire building went dark. The lights went out. We ran away. Well several days later we were back again, and this would be the last time I pulled that prank, and I do mean the last time. Two men, one dressed in army fatigues, happened to be standing on the balcony just above the wall outside that lobby where the switch box was located. Well they heard that electrical lever slam down as I pulled it. They saw their building grow immediately dark, and then they watched two young boys sprint out underneath their balcony where they were standing, and I remember hearing them shout Hey you and well we ran even faster, but I turned and I saw one of the men leap over the balcony railing, land on his feet, and begin to run after us. Well we had enough of a head start to outrun him. If we hadn't,

Punishment Versus Persecution

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I wouldn't have lived long enough to grow up and become a Bible teacher with you today. Well I was being chased, but for the wrong reason. If I'd been caught, I wouldn't have been persecuted, I would have been punished. There's a big difference between punishment and persecution. Jesus doesn't say here happy are the are the irritating. Happy are those who make a nuisance of themselves. Happy are the unethical, the arrogant. No, he says, Happy are those who are persecuted because they are living godly lives. The Apostle Peter writes in his first letter back here in chapter four and verse twelve, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. See, this is the kingdom promise that Jesus is giving back in Matthew chapter five. Well Peter continues here in verse fourteen. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed. Well, that word blessed is Macairias, that's the same word Jesus uses in the Beatitudes. You are truly happy. Peter writes, You're happy because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as

Peter On Insults And Glory

SPEAKER_00 5:00

a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler, and I would say that that refers to somebody turning off the electricity in an apartment building. Yet, Peter writes, If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God. Beloved, much of the world views the term Christian as a derogatory term. The followers of Jesus Christ were first referred to as Christians by the Gentiles of Syrian Antioch, and let me tell you, that name was not a compliment, it was an insult. Little Christs, they were called over in Acts chapter 11 and verse 26. And to this day, following Christ might lead to insults, suffering, persecution, maybe even the loss of life. And I want to point out now that Jesus does not say here in Matthew chapter 5, happy are those who are persecuted, period. No, no, persecution by itself doesn't make anybody happy. No, Jesus says here in verse 12, rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven. People all around the world today are making a decision to follow Christ, and they're suffering difficult consequences on earth. The promise is great reward in heaven. The final question was this are you willing to be

The Kingdom Promise And Cost

SPEAKER_00 6:52

imprisoned and to be thrown out of your home for Christ? Wow. Well, let me tell you, no matter what these new Christians will experience, one hundred years from now, their happiness will know no boundaries in the glory of Christ's presence. Well, with that, Jesus finishes delivering these eight beatitudes, eight steps to true, genuine happiness. The world will say

Muhammad Ali And Empty Fame

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that happiness depends on how much you can get out of life. Jesus says that happiness is when you follow him through life. The world says blessed are those who are trouble free. Jesus says, Blessed are those who endure trouble for my sake. Many of you might remember the career of three time heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali. He dominated the world of boxing for years when I was growing up. In fact, his face was featured on sports magazines more times than any other athlete. I remember reading that when Ali was an older man, Gary Smith, a sports writer, went to his country estate to interview this aging athlete. He was met at the door by a an old bent figure with slurred speech, a combination of Parkinson's disease and frankly too many punches to the head. Ollie escorted Gary out to a barn that had been that had become this museum of his of all of his accomplishments. It was filled with mementos and trophies. There were life sized giant pictures of him punching the air and holding championship belts high over his head. He had earned millions of dollars in these championship fights. But as he walked over closer to some of those giant photographs, Gary noticed white streaks running down them. It was from pigeons who'd nested in the barn while they'd made their contribution, and Ali noticed too, and he sort of scowled at them, almost as an act of closure, he shuffled over to the wall, and one by one he turned those huge framed photographs around to face inward. He finally finished. He went to the open barn door where he gazed out over the countryside and he muttered something under his breath, and Gary said to him, Excuse me, what did you say? And Ollie said, Well, I was I I was saying I had the world and it was nothing. It was nothing. Happiness. Well it came and went. Listen to what Jesus Christ is saying here to to all who follow him. People who who won't be making many headlines, probably won't be making millions of dollars, gonna be often overlooked, ignored, even treated unkindly, people like you, who who might not mean much to the world today, just as

Hope Now And Joy Forever

SPEAKER_00 10:17

I don't. One day Jesus says the world, which will be a new heaven and a new earth, is going to belong to you. And let me tell you, when it belongs to you and you reign with Christ, it won't be nothing. It will be something amazing. And just knowing our future, according to Jesus here in his sermon, according to his word, that's enough to give us hope and joy to get through it today. Think about it. Happiness now, genuine happiness now, and genuine happiness and heaven forever. Well, as you joyfully serve Him today, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.