The Kingdom Movement

A Literary & Pastoral Study Guide to the Gospel of Matthew

The Inspiration of Matthew,

by Caravaggio

On the King's Errand

Devotional Reflections on Matthew's Gospel

Wartime Ambassadors:  Mt.5:11 – 12

^5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

          Can you imagine being Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq?  (as of this writing on March 7, 2007)  He has served in numerous posts in Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, and most recently, the city of Baghdad.  What a tough assignment!

          Being an ambassador to another country during wartime can be demanding.  Yet that’s the post Jesus asks us to fill.  His kingdom – a kingdom of a whole different sort, and not to be at all confused with what the U.S. is doing in the Middle East – is breaking into this world, and even expanding.  His kingdom is the transformative reign of the truly good God in true peace and justice.

          Jesus therefore talks about being persecuted peacemakers in the last two beatitudes (in Mt.5:9 – 10).  To be a peacemaker in the sense that Jesus means it refers to both vertical and horizontal relationships.  Vertically, we declare peace between God and humanity in Jesus.  Horizontally, we declare peace between people in Jesus.  Jesus brings us peace in both ways.  Jesus calls people to respond to both.

In and through Jesus, God is establishing peace with humanity.  Yet the irony is that many in this world won’t actually like it.  Many would rather keep Jesus at a distance.  Many would rather continue an explicit or implicit war against Him. 

On a human level, during wartime, warring nations close their embassies in one another’s lands.  The fact that God in Christ has established and maintains an embassy, into which people can become citizens of His new kingdom, will irritate them to no end.  They would rather stop diplomatic relations altogether.  And the other powers and authorities in this world probably won’t take kindly to people acknowledging Jesus as their Lord, switching allegiances, and being part of his new community.  For example, parents who are hostile to Christ don’t want their kids to become Christians.  Governments hostile to Christ don’t want their citizens becoming Christians.  But it’s an outpost of God’s love.

So being Christ’s ambassadors during this spiritual wartime is sobering.  We might be mocked, insulted, or looked down upon.  People will say, ‘You’re throwing away what we worked so hard for.’  Pressure will mount from many sides.

In the face of this, Jesus calls us to maintain our composure, deepen our trust in him, and continue to press on ‘for the sake of righteousness’ (v.10) and ‘because of [him]’ (v.11).  He knows how hard the assignment can be at times.  But he says that we are blessed, that our spiritual reward is great, and that we stand in a great company of predecessors, the prophets.