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Matthew 5:1-2, 11-12
In Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus states (NKJV), “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” As in Matthew 5:10, this is not a blessing for everyone who is persecuted, but for those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake. The reward is a reward that is to be excited for, and great it is – in heaven (Matthew 5:12), as is the reward given to the prophets.
This is a promise of a great reward in heaven for those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake (Matthew 5:11-12).
Those who believe in Jesus are going to experience persecution, but this is not to be ashamed of as the reward given is the same as is that of the prophets. God does not differentiate between the faithfulness of a prophet and anyone else, as believing in Jesus is believing in Jesus. Jesus explains this in a parable of the workers in the vineyard and the wages they receive as He tells in Matthew 20:1-16. He declares in Matthew 20:14b-15a (ESV), “I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”
This again is hard for some to believe that one’s reward in heaven for a degree of persecution is the same as another’s for a different degree of being persecuted for Jesus’ sake. The truth is, Jesus does not play favorites. He loves us all equally for putting our faith in Him and declaring with our mouths and believing in our hearts that He died for our sins and rose from the grave (Romans 10:9-10). Pecking orders are the ways of man to rate ourselves better than others, as is the ways of the Pharisees that John the Baptist spoke of in Matthew 3:7-12. The Apostle Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:28 (NIV), “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Dear LORD,
A prophet’s reward is waiting for all who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake. Jesus tells us that everyone who puts their faith in Him will be persecuted as He too was persecuted (John 15:20). This is not a reason to be sorrowful but is a time to rejoice and be exceedingly glad as Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:12. Please help us to see the great rewards that You have waiting for us who put our faith in Jesus, even through persecution, for the reward is great! In Jesus name I pray, amen.