Inevitable Insults

Inevitable Insults

Read: Matthew 5:11-12

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

Matthew 5:11

“Scars are the price which every believer pays for his loyalty to Christ.”

—William Hendriksen

IN WORD Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are you if people insult you.” He says “when.” It is a given. Those who live as disciples in this world will get on the nerves of their culture. There is an inherently abrasive relationship between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men. Why? Because God and men are rivals for the same throne.

Jesus is an offense to the ego of this world. In our natural selves, we see ourselves as lords of our own lives. When those lives are dysfunctional, we seek to mend them. We apply self-help techniques, psychological therapies, religious philosophies—anything to pull ourselves up. We think we need improvement and that we can do it ourselves or with a little help from our friends.

But Jesus did not come into the world to improve us. He came to rescue those who are lost, broken, and helpless. Therein lies the offense. The world cannot accept a Savior until it admits it needs saving. To live compatibly with the Christ violates the human ego.

IN DEED Our gospel message should have no offense but Christ Himself—it should always be presented in a winsome way on our part. But even so, though some are saved, much of the world will rail against the gospel. It challenges man’s authority in his own life and insists that there is another Lord far more worthy. “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,” Peter says (1 Peter 4:12). Know that our Savior is a threat to the prideful self-sufficiency of man. Expecting nothing else, we will be well equipped when such trials come.