BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED, Chapter 3 of The Church and The Gospel  Pages 26 to 36 “Not of the World” Shortly after Jesus was born, wicked men began to seek His life. And among His first sermons Jesus told His followers that they, too, would be persecuted. In His first recorded sermon Jesus said: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matt. 5:10-12) Within three years they had persecuted His disciples and crucified Christ Himself. All of the Apostles were soon killed and many of the disciples were put in prison or slain. These persecutions by the people of the world were expected and even prophesied. It appears that whenever the Lord is teaching His people, the devil is nearby to cause trouble. James wrote: . . . know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)