Pure > Peace-loving > Persecuted

Good communicators are careful to put sentences in proper sequence. Otherwise what they convey can be muddled and confused. Consider: Dog chases cat. Cat eats dog food. Cat and dog fight. Dog sees cat. Only by changing the order of these statements do they make sense.

Jesus ordered His statements too. Consider this portion of the Beatitudes.

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. (Matthew 5:8–10)

The order is this: first pure, then a peacemaker, then persecuted. The order of the first two is confirmed by other Scripture such as, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

That persecution follows purity and peaceableness is also described here: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Spurgeon also notes the significance in the order of Jesus’ words. He says that purity must be in place lest “our peaceableness is not a compact with sin, or toleration of evil.” This is not about making peace at any cost, but by doing it the way Jesus would do it. That means that godly peacemakers set themselves against anything that is contrary to God and His holiness. That means purity must be a settled matter in my soul before I am fit to make peace with and between others, or introduce them to peace with God.

This is appealing, yet the next verse speaks of persecution. As Spurgeon noted, no matter how peaceable I am in this world, I will be misrepresented and misunderstood. This should not be a surprise. Response to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is filled with division and misunderstanding. Although He loved people perfectly, even died for them, He was “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He said that I should not be surprised if I am also rejected. 

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. (John 15:18–19)

Purity means I will see God. Seeing God as He really is becomes part of being more like Him. John wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

As purity and seeing Him lead me to a greater likeness to Christ, my desire grows to want people at peace with each other, but also at peace with God. In any effort to proclaim or share how that peace is possible, I will meet resistance. Sinful hearts do not want to hear messages that challenge them to admit sin or give it up. Therefore, they attack the messenger. Godly people love peace, but may receive resistance.

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Lord, grant me the grace to be pure in heart. Continue giving me insight into who You are and what You are doing. Continue building my desire to see others at peace with You and with one another. I know that this will mean being misunderstood and even hated. I need grace for that too.