Blessed are the Persecuted

It's easy for us to forget that an estimated 260 million of our Christian brothers and sisters are living in places around the world where they routinely experience high levels of persecution.  There were more Christians martyred for their faith in the 20th century than in all the previous nineteen centuries combined – and the global persecution of Jesus' followers continues in the 21st century at a devastating rate.   Why would Jesus say "blessed are the persecuted?"