“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Matthew 5:12
The stunning statements just keep on coming. After the invitation to enter the kingdom of God which leads to reviling and suffering in this world, the Lord tells His audience knowing God is cause for great rejoicing.
Rejoice The Greek word means to be favorably disposed, to delight
in God’s grace. Literally, it means to experience God’s grace or favor and to be conscious of it in your life. The Lord says the heart He has described will experience God’s favor and grace.
And be exceeding glad The Greek word means to be so glad that one jumps in celebration. One cannot control his joy. It is not just to be joyful in a moment but to experience life long joy in one’s life.
For great is your reward in heaven This phrase is often misread. Many read this to be joyful over persecution, That is not what the Lord says. He focuses His audiences eyes on the rewards they will receive in heaven for their faithful, humble service to God. Reward is the result of making the right decision. To obey God meekly, to listen to His words, to come to Him in His way is the right decision. Follow Him even as it leads to suffering and reviling. Why? Because the great reward of God in heaven so overwhelms the small amount of suffering in this life that one will never regret that decision. Paul tells us the same thing. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)
There is another thought here that cannot be overlooked. The greatest reward of coming to God His way is to have eternal fellowship with God. This creates joy. That is why the Lord said to the paralyzed man, “ “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
This is the joy, the rejoicing that comes from becoming a child of God, of entering His kingdom the only way possible – forgiven!
For so persecuted they the prophets We are in a war. Standing with Jesus draws the fire of the enemy. This is not unique to you or me, it happens to every faithful believer. For the third time in two verses the Lord uses the word persecuted. Follow Him and you will be hated and chased. People will want to destroy you just because of the uniform you wear. ”Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.” The Lord does not mention His suffering in the beatitudes. At this point that is future but once again He sets the example. You and I know that we have the opportunity to share not just in the suffering the prophets endured but we have the joy of participating in the suffering that the Lord endured for us. Faithfulness always leads to persecution.
Which were before you Many have come before us who believed God. Their faith was counted as righteousness. All of them suffered in some way. They are examples to us. We look at them and take heart. One day we will be gone but we can set an example of faithful suffering for Christ for those who are left behind. They can look at our suffering and think if we can endure, they can too. They will find, as we do, that it is not other’s examples that is their strength but it is Christ – He is the one who gives us strength to endure. They can remember, as we do, that God sees what they are going through and will reward it above all we can ask or think.
Rejoice and be very glad!