Happy Are the Persecuted

If you don't know me, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church,

and it is my great joy and privilege to preach God's word to you this morning.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. We've been in the Beatitudes for the

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

last six weeks. This is the seventh and final week we are in the Beatitudes.

We'll be focusing today on the eighth Beatitude from verses 10 to 12, but I will read the entire

section verses 1 to 12 before we start. Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we confess that living in this world sometimes can feel like

being on a treadmill where the course of this world is always seeking to take us backwards.

So Lord, we seek this morning to be addressed by you from your word,

that we may not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but instead be transformed by the

renewal of our mind. Increase in our hearts this morning through the ministry of your word,

a heavenly mindset that our deepest longings would be for the hope of eternity, not

for the comforts and pleasures of this world.

Make us a people who would be glad and rejoice to be persecuted for the name of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you are able, please stand to honor God as we read from his word.

Matthew 5, 1 to 12.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

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.

Blessed are the people of heaven, for they shall be called sons of God.

Biblical truth that has been borne out by thousands of years of history.

Speaking of the persecutions and the sufferings that Christians endure, and speaking of the persecutions that he himself endured,

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3 verse 12,

2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

not some but all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus and not might be persecuted but

will be persecuted because of the universality and the inevitability of persecution for Christians

all over the world it is necessary for us to be prepared by this eighth and last beatitude

Jesus means to comfort us and to console us blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven if you are persecuted for righteousness sake then you are

not to be pitied you are to be envied because you are the happy fortunate blessed one how so Jesus

teaches us that all who see Christ's kingdom and his righteousness will be persecuted but we can

rejoice for our reward is great in heaven so first we'll talk about the reality of persecution secondly

about the reason for persecution namely righteousness and thirdly we'll talk about the response to

persecution rejoicing first I want to convince you of the reality of persecution apart from the tens of

thousands of Christians who were killed under the Roman Empire some of which is recorded in our New

Testament there have been countless more Christians killed for their faith and I've shared this with you

on multiple occasions four million Christians were killed by Genghis Khan four million by Tamerlane 1.2

million Armenians most of whom were Christians were killed by the Ottoman Empire and if you think that's

a long long time ago in a far away place 20th century was the worst scholars estimate about 12 million

Christians were killed under the Soviet Union 106,300 Christian pastors were were killed in Russia alone

scholars estimate that Christians who died from secular anti-religious violence in the 20th century number

over 25 million worldwide which is more than all the previous years in church history combined

according to open doors USA and I think I have a graphic to show for this hundreds of millions of

Christians face extreme persecution in countries like North Korea Somalia Yemen Eritrea Libya Nigeria

Pakistan Iran Afghanistan Sudan and India one in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide

one in five in five in Africa and two in five in Asia last year alone four thousand seven hundred and

forty six sorry four thousand four hundred and seventy six Christians were murdered seven thousand

six hundred and seventy nine churches or church properties were attacked four thousand seven hundred and

forty four Christians were imprisoned for their faith

now I readily concede that the persecution in the US is not as intense as the persecutions elsewhere in the world

but that doesn't mean that there aren't milder forms of persecution even here it's not only being stoned to death

that counts as persecution he says in verse 11 blessed are you when others revile you persecute you and utter all

kinds of evil against you falsely on my account persecution can involve simply being reviled

insulted excluded slandered

and I know firsthand that that happens to Christians and I know secondhand from talking to many of you

that people here in Cambridge and Boston often insult and speak ill of Christians

you believe that the Bible is God's word

you believe that this world was created

isn't that so primitive hasn't science made God unnecessary to our understanding of the world

you believe that marriage and romance should be between one man and one woman

you believe that abortion is sin

last month

president Trump commissioned a new task force on eradicating anti-Christian bias

and many Americans and media outlets collectively

roll their eyes

they openly wondered

Christianity is the largest religion in the world

and largest religion in the U.S.

how can there possibly be anti-Christian bias in the United States of America

I can understand why people think that way but if you think that way you are mistaken

the fact that some political elites invoke God's name and Christianity to get votes from Christians

doesn't mean that they are actually Christians

for the true Christians who subscribe to the historic biblical faith

growing anti-Christian bias has been obvious for many years

Aaron Wren is a cultural analyst and an author of the book Life in the Negative World

Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture

his book has been featured on many national platforms including liberal media outlets

that usually don't cover such topics like the New York Times

he describes the years leading up to 1994 as the positive world

when being a Christian was a net social positive

and Christian moral norms were pervasive and upheld in society

this was the time of the moral majority and the Christian religious right

that dominated the culture wars and the politics

and then he describes 1994 to 2014 as the neutral world

when society increasingly took a neutral stance toward Christianity

and traditional orthodox Bible-based Christianity became one of many religious options

in a pluralistic world

it neither enjoyed broad support nor was it widely opposed by the culture

starting in about 2014

shortly before 2015 Obergefell vs. Hoge's legalized same-sex marriage

Wren argues that we entered the negative world

where being a Christian is a social and professional negative

particularly among elite circles

like the ones that many of you guys are in

this is when Christians being a Christian

meant being associated with the bad guys

Christian moral norms were increasingly viewed as harmful

regressive and as a threat to the public moral order

I can mention many concrete examples of this

in 2011 Vanderbilt University banned 15 faith-based groups from campus

for their refusal to follow their school's new policy

of mandating that all student organizations must accept any student

regardless of their religious beliefs or affiliation

as leaders of their campus groups

so a staunch atheist who opposes God

and thinks that Christ

maybe was a myth and a legend and didn't even exist

can become a leader of the Christian campus group

that was mandated by Vanderbilt University

out of those 15 faith-based groups that were banned

almost all of them were Christian groups

with the few exceptions of some of the Mormon groups

that were kicked out

University of Iowa followed suit in 2018

in 2014 Bowdoin Christian Fellowship was kicked off campus

for upholding traditional Christian sexual ethical standards

for its student leaders

in 2017 when reformed Christian pastor Timothy Keller

was selected for the prestigious Princeton Theological Seminary's

prestigious Kuiper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology

and Public Witness

many students, alumni, and faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary

protested because of Keller's commitment to complementarianism

the belief that men are called to lead their households

and that men are called by God to be elders and to lead churches

despite the fact that that has been the historic view of the church

for most of the last two millennia

Princeton gave into pressure and rescinded the award

despite the fact that Tim Keller has really been

an exemplary, thoughtful, and compassionate

public theologian for decades

in Massachusetts

in Massachusetts

pro-life pregnancy resource centers

many of them explicitly Christian

that's where they get their pro-life convictions

that try to help women in crises pregnancies face enormous political backlash and pressure

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Governor General Healy are on the record for saying that they want to shut down

every single one of these crisis pregnancy centers in Massachusetts

and throughout the country

since 2023 Massachusetts has been spending millions of taxpayer dollars

to fund the campaign to steer women away from these crisis pregnancy centers

and to other places where they can get abortions instead

on Easter 2023

an arsonist burned down a church building here in Cambridge

persecution is very real, my friends

it's worse in other parts of the world

so let us not be caught complaining about persecution that we experience

because it's really nothing compared to what most of the world experiences

but exists here

and it has existed everywhere in every age

because that is what the Bible says

that is the reality of persecution

now let's look at the reason for persecution

verse 10 tells us

blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake

sometimes I admit

Christians are persecuted for being obnoxious

or rude

that's not what this verse is talking about

even when we disagree with people

we are commanded by God's word

to not be quarrelsome

to correct our opponents with gentleness

if we are persecuted because we are

disagreeable and quarrelsome

we are not blessed

as this verse talks about

it says in 1st Peter 2 20

for what credit is it

if when you sin and are beaten for it

you endure

but if when you do good and suffer for it

you endure

this is a gracious thing in the sight of God

if we are persecuted for our own wrongdoing

and our own misbehavior

then the consolations and the promises

that this beatitude offers do not apply to us

if we are maligned by people

because we are violent and abusive

or because we steal and are dishonest

or because we meddle in other people's affairs

then we should be ashamed

says 1st Peter chapter 4 15 to 16

yet if anyone suffers as a Christian

let him not be ashamed

but let him glorify God in that name

that's the point

if you suffer for being a Christian

if you suffer for righteousness sake

Jesus says in verse 11

blessed are you when others revile you

and persecute you on my account

on account of your allegiance to Jesus

then we should rejoice and be glad

when we are persecuted

what then is righteousness

for which we are going to be persecuted

in order to answer that question

we need to again observe the structure

of the Beatitudes

that I have pointed out to you

a few times before

there are 8 Beatitudes total

verses 11 to 12

are an expansion of Beatitude number 8

verse 10

we know because of

it's dealing with the same content

and because of the change in the pronouns

and this division is confirmed

by the repetition of the promise

theirs is the kingdom

in verse 3 and verse 10

in the first Beatitude

and the last Beatitude

this is the only repeated promise

and it serves to bracket

the Beatitude together as a unit

as a single unit

and once we recognize

that there are 8 Beatitudes

we also can see

that there are 2 distinct halves

because the last Beatitude

of each half

mentions the word righteousness

in verse 6 and verse 10

verse 6 is

blessed are those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness

meaning those who lack righteousness

but long for righteousness

and then verse 10 says

blessed are those who are persecuted

for righteousness sake

meaning those who are now

full of righteousness

and are persecuted on account of it

so this emptiness

and fullness

capture the themes

of the two halves

of the Beatitudes

the first four Beatitudes

deal with emptiness

being poor in spirit

mourning

being meek

those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness

and then the second half

deals with being full

being full of mercy

being pure in heart

full of your devotion

to God

purity in heart

being a peacemaker

because your peace

that you have from God

in Christ

overflows toward others

and lastly

being full of righteousness

being persecuted

for righteousness sake

so then

being persecuted

for righteousness sake

entails

all of the preceding Beatitudes

righteousness

is described

it describes

the kind of people

that are described

in the Beatitudes

they are the righteous ones

we are persecuted

for being merciful

when the world

wants us to

resist

governing authorities

we don't like

but instead

we submit to them

as the Bible

commands us to

and then we're reviled

for it

when the world

wants us to

retaliate

against people

who wrong us

who believe

wrong

offensive things

and then we forgive them

and we show them mercy

we're despised

by the world

and condemned

as weak people

we are persecuted

for being pure in heart

because to be pure in heart

is to will

one thing

namely to please God

the world

instead

wants us to

conform

to its sinful patterns

to its own ideas

of morality

and the public good

but the people of God

take another course

and for that reason

we are spoken of

as evil

we are persecuted

for being peacemakers

when we proclaim

the gospel of peace

and invite people

to be reconciled

to God

people who are

by their very nature

enemies of God

reject us

the world

wants us

to point fingers

and pass blame

on our enemies

but when we instead

obey Jesus' command

and love our enemies

and pray for them

as the Bible commands us

then we are slandered

as a result

Jesus summarizes

in Matthew 5

17 to 20

that righteousness

in short

is obedience

to all of the scriptures

all of the commands

of God

which Jesus expounds

and fulfills

!

in the rest of the Sermon

on the mount

but why would people

persecute us

for righteousness?

why do they do that?

isn't righteousness

a good thing?

isn't righteousness

eminently reasonable

and doesn't it promote

human flourishing?

yes it does

so why does the world

persecute us for it?

because the sinful world

is diametrically

opposed to God

and scriptures

make that clear

John 3

19 to 21

is illuminating

and this is the judgment

the light has come

into the world

and people love

the darkness

rather than the light

because their works

were evil

for everyone

who does wicked things

hates the light

and does not come

to the light

lest his works

should be exposed

but whoever does

what is true

comes to the light

so that it may be

clearly seen

that his works

have been carried out

in God

when you are in darkness

your eyes dilate

right

to allow in

as much light

as possible

because that's the only way

you can see anything

in the dark

but then as soon as

you step out

into a brightly lit room

or out into

a sunny day

it's

you can't open your eyes

it's blinding

because you can't handle

the influx of light

your body

your eyes

are still adjusted

to the darkness

in a similar way

people who are

accustomed to darkness

and accustomed to sin

cannot stand the light

why do assaults

and robberies

rapes

and murders

all usually happen

at night

because people use

the cover of night

cover of darkness

to do evil

sinful people

hate the light

because they don't want

their sinful works

to be exposed

and this is why

Christians are persecuted

for righteousness sake

if you are a woman

who dresses

modestly

and prioritizes

the imperishable

inner beauty

of a gentle

and quiet spirit

rather than dressing

scantily

and provocatively

putting on

elaborate ornaments

to attract attention

to external beauty

your female friends

might call you

a prude

if you are

chaste

and refuse

the sexual advances

of a man

who is not

your husband

then you might

be called

frigid

or cold

because the light

of your chastity

exposes the darkness

of illicit sex

you will be persecuted

for righteousness sake

if you are

hanging with your

bros

and everybody's

betting on sports

and gambling

and getting drunk

and getting high

but you refuse

to do that

you might

get sober

shamed

I had to look up

all these words

because I didn't

know what they were

trying to stay relevant

you know

Google knows a lot

because the light

of your self-control

and purity

and sobriety

exposes the darkness

of debauchery

and indulgence

if there's an outcast

family member

that nobody

in your extended

family wants

to talk to

and they always

work hard

to work around

to exclude them

and then you

extend a hand

of love

and reconciliation

and invitation

your family

might resent you

and call you

disloyal

weird

holier than thou

because the light

of your peacemaking

exposes the darkness

of hatred

and ostracism

if you try

to be a good

steward

of your financial

resources

and you prioritize

simplicity

rather than luxury

generosity

rather than

splurging on yourself

then people

might call you

frumpy

and look down

on you

for lacking

class

or lacking

style

and so on

this is inevitable

those who live

in darkness

hate

the light

James 4

4

says

you adulterous

people

do you not

know that

friendship

with the world

is enmity

with God

therefore

whoever wishes

to be a friend

of the world

makes himself

an enemy

of God

you can't

have both

you cannot

serve both

God and money

you cannot

serve two

sovereigns

you're either

a friend

of God

and an enemy

of the world

or a friend

of the world

and an enemy

of God

brothers and sisters

we are commanded

in scripture

to love

and pray

for our enemies

we are not

commanded

to confuse

our enemies

for our friends

1 John 2

15 to 17

says

do not

love the world

or the things

in the world

if anyone

loves the world

the love

of the father

is not in him

for all that

is in the world

the desires

of the flesh

the desires

of the eyes

and the pride

of life

is not

from the father

but is from

the world

and the world

is passing away

along with its desires

but whoever

does the will

of God

abides

forever

we do not

belong

to this world

brothers and sisters

we belong

to another world

to another kingdom

to another king

we do not

follow the prince

of the power

of the air

the ruler

of this world

Satan

no we

follow Christ

the king

who has authority

over heaven

and the earth

the clearer

our allegiance

to Jesus Christ

in our lives

the fiercer

the world's

persecution

will be

for this reason

if we're not

facing any persecution

we should take

the opportunity

to examine

our lives

I think there

are several

possibilities

for what might

be happening

if we're not

getting persecuted

one

it may be

that we are

worldly Christians

you become

conformed

to the world

instead of

being transformed

by the renewal

of your mind

there's very little

friction between

the world

and us

that's

worldliness

theologian

David Wells

puts it this way

in his book

God in the Wasteland

worldliness

is what makes

sin look normal

in any age

and righteousness

seem odd

do you love

the things

of this world

if the sins

of this world

look normal

to you

if they look

good and pleasing

to you

and if the teachings

of the Bible

seem strange

to you

seem otherworldly

to you

that's a telltale sign

that you'll become

a worldly Christian

if so

you will not

be persecuted

because you are

of the world

and you must repent

two

it's a second option

it may be that you are

an incognito Christian

a secret Christian

that doesn't share

his or her

beliefs with anyone

it is no coincidence

that right after

this last beatitude

Jesus talks about

not putting our lamp

under a basket

but instead

putting it on his stand

so that he can shine

its light

and give light

to everybody

in the house

so that our good news

that our faith

in the good news

and the good works

that we do

as a consequence

might shine

before others

it's intentionally

in that order

have you hidden

your Christian convictions

under a basket

does anybody

know

that you are a Christian

at your workplace

or at your school

if nobody knows

you're a Christian

of course

they're not going

to persecute you

for being a Christian

or for being righteous

and maybe that's

precisely your intention

but if you're doing that

then you miss out

on the comforts

and the blessings

of this beatitude

three

it may be

that you are

just not persecuted

yet

if you are living

out your faith

in public

as we all should

and your allegiance

shows

then I assure you

that you are

moving the needle

in one direction

or the other

1 Corinthians 1

23-24

says this

preaching Christ

crucified

is a stumbling block

to Jews

and folly

to Gentiles

but to those

who are called

both Jews

and Greeks

Christ

the power

of God

and the wisdom

of God

if you proclaim

the gospel

you're doing

either one

of these two

things

you're either

putting a stumbling

block in front

of people

who will oppose

God

or you are

preaching

and demonstrating

the power

of God

and the wisdom

of God

you're going

to move

the needle

one way

or the other

so

if you're

proclaiming

the gospel

and you're

not being

persecuted

it may be

because

the people

around you

that you're

bearing witness

to are

being moved

in the right

direction

because they're

actually coming

nearer to Christ

or if they're

going to reject

Christ

it's in a matter

of time

sooner or later

you will be

persecuted

this is the reality

that we must

come to terms

with

if we're

trying to

win

the affection

and the approval

of this sinful

world

we will

not

be

a thriving

Christian

it's

futile

for us

as Christians

to try

to win

the acclaim

and the

applause

of this

world

even if

you get

it

I assure

you

it will

not

last

very

long

Jesus

told us

that the

world

will

hate

us

John

15

18

to 20

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

the

sinful

world

persecuted

Jesus

and executed

him

on

the

cross

and

if

we

are

to

follow

Jesus

we

also

must

take

up

our

cross

daily

and

follow

him

and

sometimes

you

will

even

be

persecuted

by

your

fellow

Christians

so-called

Christians

the

nominal

Christians

the

worldly

Christians

just

as

Jesus

was

most

intensely

persecuted

by

his

own

fellow

Jews

Luke's

version

of the

beatitude

sets up

a powerful

contrast

in Luke

6

22

to

26

there

Jesus

says

very

similar

thing

blessed

are

you

when

people

hate

you

when

they

exclude

you

and

revile

you

and

spurn

your

name

as

evil

on

account

of

the

son

of

man

rejoice

in

that

day

and

leap

for

joy

for

behold

your

reward

is

great

in

heaven

for

so

their

fathers

did

to

the

prophets

and

then

he

continues

with

a

woe

but

woe

to

you

when

all

people

speak

well

of

you

for

so

their

fathers

did

to

the

false

prophets

when

the

sinful

world

speaks

well

of

you

and

loves

you

and

acclaims

you

that

is

not

something

to

be

happy

about

or

be

proud

of

it's

something

to

be

worried

about

such

a

person

is

not

to

be

pitied

but

such

a

person

is

not

to

be

envied

but

pitied

so

why

brothers

and

sisters

do

you

seek

the

affection

and

the

approval

of

this

world

we

set

ourselves

up

for

so

much

spiritual

stagnation

and

grief

because

we

want

the

world

to

accept

us

and

love

us

as

its

own

when

Jesus

tells

us

that

we

are

not

of

the

world

he

has

taken

us

out

of

the

world

so

do

not

be

surprised

1st

Peter

4

12

to

13

says

at

the

fiery

trial

when

it

comes

upon

you

to

test

you

as

to

something

strange

were

happening

to

you

but

rejoice

in

so

far

as

you

share

Christ's

sufferings

fiery

!

trials

tribulations

!

persecutions

the

hatred

of the

world

are

the

love

of

the

world

and

the

approval

and

the

applause

of

the

world

that

is

abnormal

that

should

surprise

us

that's

the

reason

for

persecution

righteousness

now

finally

let's

look at

the

response

to

persecution

rejoicing

when

we are

persecuted

for his

sake

Jesus

says

in

verse

12

rejoice

and

be

glad

for

your

reward

is

great

in

heaven

for

so

they

persecuted

the

prophets

who

were

before

you

Jesus

is

not

here

telling

us

to

be

sadistic

people

that

enjoy

being

persecuted

for

its

own

sake

we

are

grieved

by

persecution

we

mourn

for the

persecutors

and pray

for them

because

they

know

not

what

they

do

but

we

rejoice

nonetheless

for

reward

because

your

reward

is

great

in

heaven

and

here's

the

secondary

reason

how do

we

know

that

our

reward

will

be

great

in

heaven

for

so

they

persecuted

the

prophets

who

were

before

you

we

see

numerous

examples

in

scriptures

of how

prophets

were

treated

they

were

persecuted

and

they

were

killed

but

these

prophets

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

10

41

will

receive

a

prophet's

reward

of

course

the

chosen

servants

of

God

the

prophets

of

the

Lord

will

receive

a

great

reward

and

so

if

we

are

being

treated

like

them

then

we

can

rest

assured

that

we

too

will

receive

that

reward

because

we

are

identified

with

them

we

share

their

company

and

their

reward

in

order

to be

Christians

rejoice

when we

are

persecuted

we

must

be

people

who

live

by

faith

and

not

by

sight

we

must

be

people

whose

longing

and

whose

hope

in

eternity

is

deeper

and

stronger

than

our

desire

for

the

comforts

and

the

pleasures

of

this

world

this

is

the

secret

to

faithful

perseverance

for

Christians

this

is

the

secret

to

endurance

till

the

end

keeping

in

view

of

the

end

Hebrews

11

compels

an

impressive

list

of

faithful

saints

many

people

call

that

the

hall

of

faith

and

there's

a

common

thread

that

runs

through

all

of

them

and

binds

these

saints

together

and

that

is

faith

and

hope

Abraham

Isaac

and

Jacob

lived

as

strangers

and

exiles

on

the

earth

why

because

they

were

seeking

a

different

homeland

because

they

desired

a

better

country

that

is

a

heavenly

one

because

they

were

looking

forward

to

the

city

that

has

foundations

whose

designer

and

builder

is

God

and

then

it

mentions

Moses

why

did

Moses

refuse

to be

called

a

son

of

Pharaoh's

daughter

choosing

rather

to be

mistreated

with the

people

of God

than

to enjoy

the

fleeting

pleasures

of

sin

why

did

Moses

do

that

because

he

says

he

considered

the

reproach

of

Christ

greater

wealth

than

the

treasures

of

Egypt

for

he

was

looking

to

the

reward

in

heaven

on

what

are

your

spiritual

eyes

fixed

my

brothers

and

sisters

is

it

fixed

on

this

world

or

is

it

fixed

on

the

world

to

come

is

it

fixed

on

the

kingdom

of

earth

and

all

the

trinkets

that

it

offers

or

is

it

fixed

on

the

kingdom

of

heaven

and

the

eternal

imperishable

treasures

that

it

offers

this

explains

why

the

saints

of

old

rejoice

when

they

were

persecuted

for

Jesus'

sake

in

Acts

in

Acts

5

40

41

when

the

apostles

are

beaten

for

proclaiming

Jesus

and

they

are

charged

never

to

preach

in

the

name

of

Jesus

again

as

they

are

released

they

go

out

rejoicing

it

says

that

they

were

counted

worthy

to

suffer

this

honor

for

the

name

in

155

AD

when

Christian

pastor

Polycarp

was

being

burned

alive

for

his

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

before

he

died

he

thanked

God

in

prayer

saying

that

he

was

counted

worthy

to

suffer

for

his

name

for

a

more

modern

example

Richard

Wermbrand

a

20th

century

Romanian

pastor

he

was

imprisoned

and

tortured

under

an

atheist

communist

state

in

Romania

but

then

he

wrote

later

on

about

his

fellow

Christians

in

Romania

this

way

I

have

found

truly

jubilant

Christians

only

in the

Bible

in the

underground

church

and

in

prison

why

are

these

persecuted

Christians

so happy

why

do

they

rejoice