Matthew 5:12 (GNV)

Passage

Reioyce and be glad, for great is your reward in heauen: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousnes sake: for theirs is the kingdome of heauen.

Matthew 5:11 Blessed shall ye be when men reuile you, and persecute you, and say all maner of euill against you for my sake, falsely.

Matthew 5:12 Reioyce and be glad, for great is your reward in heauen: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt haue lost his sauour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be troden vnder foote of men.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A citie that is set on an hill, cannot be hid.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Blessed shall ye be when men reuile..." into verse 13's "Ye are the salt of the earth...", so "reioyce" and "glad" 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 "reioyce" and "glad" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.