Matthew 5:10-16

The Persecution of the Godly, And the Blessedness That Is Seen To Be Theirs As A Result. They Will Therefore Be Like The Prophets Of Old Who Were Also Persecuted, And Will Be The Salt Of The Earth And The Light Of The World (5:10-16).

It will be noted that we have not included Matthew 5:10 in the above series of beatitudes, even though it appears to follow precisely the same pattern, and in spite of the fact that at first sight it appears to be the tail end of an inclusio made up of ‘theirs is the Kingly Rule of Heaven' in Matthew 5:3; Matthew 5:10. And yet there is good reason for not doing so, for once examined more carefully it will be seen that it does not actually strictly follow the same pattern as the previous verses.

The previous seven beatitudes are all of a kind. They have indicated the present spiritual condition of those whom God has blessed, including aspects such as poverty of spirit, a state of mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, an attitude of mercy, purity of heart and the heart of a peacemaker. It is not a question of anyone choosing between them. All have in varying degrees been worked into the hearts of those who have been blessed by God. But this ‘eighth' beatitude, very much refers to something done to people in the past, even though still effective in the present time, and is therefore not strictly parallel to them. It is very much ‘the odd one out'. Rather than having in mind the present position of His disciples as the other beatitudes do, it has in mind what has happened to people who are seen as connected with the past (they ‘have been and are persecuted'). They also were ones blessed by God, but they are not specifically those addressed in Matthew 5:3.

Thus Matthew 5:10 is neither referring to anyone's spiritual condition, nor is it looking at the present, both of which are an essential aspect of Matthew 5:3. Its conformation with them is thus in form not in substance. It does not fit into their pattern.

The exclusion of it from the list of beatitudes is further supported by the fact that it fits better into the context if it is seen as introducing what follows, for, as can be seen from the chiasmus below, it fits very adequately into the pattern of the following verses. Furthermore, seeing it in this way also fits in with the idea of the  seven  previous ‘blessings' as paralleling the  seven  ‘woes' of chapter 23. Had the beatitude in Matthew 5:10 exactly paralleled the other seven these considerations would have had to be thrust aside, but in view of the total difference in approach from the other seven these other considerations must be seen as gaining considerable weight.

Thus it seems more probable that we are to see Matthew 5:10 as forming a very suitable continuation link between the seven blessings, and His following words which deal with the persecution of those to whom He is speaking, that is, as its being the introduction to Matthew 5:10, rather than as being simply an eighth blessing of a slightly different kind to the others. And as we shall see His words in Matthew 5:10 do actually form an important introduction to the theme that follows.

(We have no ardent quarrel with the majority who wish to make it an eighth rather distinctive beatitude, something which might be seen as supported by its parallel ending to that in Matthew 5:3, for after all, the two statements referring to the present possession of the Kingly Rule of God would make a good inclusio. Nevertheless in our view the overall evidence is against it and it interferes with the argument).

So we would suggest that its exclusion from the previous list would seem to be supported by two facts:

1). This beatitude is different in emphasis from the other seven, referring to something that is done to blessed ones, rather than to an attitude that they are to maintain.

2). This beatitude does not refer to the present in the way that the other seven beatitudes appear to do, but specifically refers back to the past. Had it been intended to be one of a group of eight why should there be such a largely unnecessary change of tense?

Certainly its likeness to them in structure emphasises how closely the seven beatitudes are to be linked with it and what follows, but in view of the change of tense the persecuted and blessed ones of Matthew 5:10 do not appear to be identical with the blessed ones of Matthew 5:3 (who are in fact referred to in Matthew 5:11). We can talk of timeless presents and the perfect taking an aoristic force as much as we like, but the question still remains as to why such a shift had to be resorted to. if it was a continuation of the beatitudes, why not simply have Matthew 5:10 as a timeless present as well?

The question then that we must ask is why there was such a change of tense? And if it is not part of an inclusio why does it end with the same phrase as Matthew 5:3?

In fact the first question is answered if we look at the balance of Matthew 5:10. This small passage opens with - ‘Blessed ones those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake', - and ends with - ‘so (as in Matthew 5:11) persecuted they the prophets which were before you'. The parallel is clear. The former is then followed by, ‘for theirs is the Kingly Rule of Heaven, while the latter is preceded by ‘for great is your reward in Heaven'. Again the parallel is clear. The parallels and the balance are unmistakable. The whole emphasis of the passage is then based on Matthew 5:10 introducing people who have been persecuted in the past. The idea is that having outlined how His disciples have been blessed He turns that idea of God's blessing on the persecuted ones of the past, in order to introduce the idea to the disciples that they too must expect to be persecuted. Matthew 5:10 thus includes the prophets, it includes famous martyrs of the past (see Hebrews 11), it includes John the Baptiser who has been persecuted and still is being persecuted, and it includes some of John's disciples, who must surely also have suffered to some extent for their faithfulness to John, and were still doing so. These are shown to enjoy a similar blessedness to the people being described in Matthew 5:3, and that in a phrase which is similar to and follows the pattern of Matthew 5:3, while at the same time being intended to be introductory to Matthew 5:11; Matthew 5:12 then goes on to make the contrast with the prophets more specific.

In view of the fact that the disciples had not yet been persecuted their persecution could not simply be described in the same form as the previous beatitudes, for it had not happened. So we may see Jesus as devising this way of continuing the general pattern of the beatitudes by following them with a beatitude on persecution which clearly refers to those persecuted in the past, in such a way that it could then lead on to introducing the future persecution of the disciples, something which He was well aware was coming. It also had the intention of introducing the persecution of those in the past as an encouragement to the disciples. A blunt introduction of the disciples' coming persecution without the encouragement of the fact that it had already been experienced by others might have been something that He saw as too abrupt. And besides He probably wished positively to give them that encouragement. Matthew 5:13 can then be seen as explaining, by contrast, what will cause men to wish to treat them so badly. No one is more hated by the ungodly than those who act as salt and come bringing light.

The mention again of ‘for theirs is the Kingly Rule of Heaven' then brings out that the prophets, and martyrs, and John and his disciples, will not lose out on the Kingly Rule of Heaven either, indeed they will have the same blessing as the current disciples in Matthew 5:3. And if it be argued that the Kingly Rule of Heaven was not for them we simply point out that in Matthew 8:11 it is made quite clear that figures from the past will also sit down in the heavenly Kingly Rule of Heaven.

This interpretation further explains the difference between ‘for righteousness' sake' in Matthew 5:10 and ‘for My sake' in Matthew 5:11. John after all came ‘in the way of righteousness' (Matthew 21:32) and the blood of the prophets was ‘righteous blood' (Matthew 23:35). See also Matthew 13:17 where the ‘righteous men' certainly include those who have suffered in God's name. So they suffered ‘for righteousness' sake', for the carrying forward of His purpose of deliverance (see on Matthew 5:6), while for Jesus' disciples there was the greater joy and privilege that they suffered ‘for His sake'. Note also how this places Jesus in a position at least on an equality with that of ‘righteousness' (is this last a circumlocution for God on the same basis as the use of ‘Heaven'?).

By this means Jesus is seen to be bringing together the saints of the past and the present, while putting the main emphasis on those in the present, that is, His listeners, yet at the same time demonstrating that they are now being called on to carry on the witness (light) and preserving influence (salt) of the prophets. For Jesus' new community this is evidence that they do not stand on their own. They are rooted firmly in the past, as the past is rooted firmly in them (Hebrews 11:40).