Matthew 5:12 (DRB)

Passage

Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:

Matthew 5:12 Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "glad", "rejoice", "reward", "very", "great", "heaven", "persecuted", and "prophets". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "glad" and "rejoice", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Blessed are ye when they shall revile..." into verse 13's "You are the salt of the earth...", so "glad" and "rejoice" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "glad" and "rejoice" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.