Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5 Vs. 12

 The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Rejoice, and be... Is the command that grows out of the blessedness of the believer. The phrase “Rejoice”, and “be exceeding glad” means even more, exult! “Great is your reward in heaven” focuses attention on the eternal destiny of all things.

partakers of Christ’s sufferings

Christian Suffering

Eight Facts about Christian Suffering:

1. Suffering is not strange or unusual for Christians (1Pet. 4:12; 2Tim. 3:12).

2. One should rejoice when a partaker of the sufferings of Christ (1Pet. 4:13; Mat. 5:10).

3. The greater the suffering the greater the joy and glory (1Pet. :13; Rom. 8:17-18).

4. Besides the greater glory to come the Christian has the Holy Spirit upon him now to enable him to endure (1Pet. 4:14; Rom. 8:26-27).

5. Christian sufferings glorify God (1Pet. 4:14; Rom. 8:17-18).

6. It is an honor, not a shame, to suffer as a Christian (1Pet. 4:16).

7. Though sufferings begin with Christians, they end in an eternal weight of damnation to the ungodly (1Pet. 4:17-18).

8. Sufferings should be borne by Christians, in patience as in the will of God, realizing that God is always faithful to His own in their sufferings (1Pet. 4:19; 1Cor. 10:13).

Ten Rewards for Christian Suffering:

1. Greater glory in heaven (2Cor. 4:17)

2. Eternal consolation (2Cor. 1:7)

3. Making Jesus known (2Cor. 4:11)

4. Life to others (2Cor. 4:12)

5. Making grace manifest (2Cor. 4:15)

6. Guarantee of judgment (2Thes. 1:5)

7. Reign with Christ (2Tim. 2:12)

8. Spirit upon us (1Pet. 4:14)

9. Glory to God (1Pet. 4:16)

10. Great joy (1Pet. 4:13-14)

Christian suffering does not consist of:

1. Suffering for murder (1Pet. 4:15)

2. Suffering as a thief (1Pet. 4:15)

3. Suffering for being an evildoer

4. Suffering for being a busybody (1Pet. 4:15)

5. Suffering for any crime listed in Rom. 1:18-32; 1Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21

Christian suffering does consist of:

1. Persecution for righteousness (Mat. 5:10; 13:21; Mark 10:30; John 15:20)

2. Raveling's and slander (Mat. 5:11-12; 10:25; Acts 13:45; 1Pet. 4:4)

3. False accusations (Mat. 10:17-20)

4. Scourging for Christ (Mat. 10:17)

5. Rejection by people (Mat. 10:14)

6. Hatred by the world (Mat. 10:22; John 15:18-21)

7. Hatred by relatives (Mat. 10:21-36)

8. Martyrs (Mat. 10:28; Acts 7:58)

9. Temptations (Luke 8:13; Jas. 1:2-16)

10. Shame for His name (Acts 5:41)

11. Imprisonments (Acts 4:3; 5:18; 12:4)

12. Tribulations (Acts 14:22; 2Thes. 1:4)

13. Stoning (Acts 14:19; 2Cor. 11:25)

14. Beatings (Acts 16:23; 2Cor. 11:24-25)

15. Being a spectacle to people (1Cor. 4:9)

16. Misunderstanding, necessities, defamation, and despising (1Cor. 4:10-13)

17. Trouble, affliction, distresses, tumults, labors, watching, fasting, and evil reports (2Cor. 6:8-10; 11:26-28)

18. Reproaches (Heb. 13:13; 1Pet. 4:14)

19. Trials (1Pet. 1:7; 4:12)

20. Satanic opposition (Eph. 4:27; 6:12)

However, Jesus’ words encouraged His followers, for they would be walking in the train of the prophets, who also were misunderstood and persecuted (Mat. 5:12; cf. 1Kgs. 19:1-4; 22:8; Jer. 26:8-11; 37:11-16; 8:1-6; Dan. 3:1-30; 6:1-28; Amos 7:10-13).