Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
Matthew 5:11-12 NET
Blessed can be translated as fortunate or happy. Be happy when you are insulted. Consider yourself fortunate when other people cause you grief. But being happy about insult or persecution seems unrealistic. I know I don’t like to be insulted or taken advantage of. But that is not what Jesus is saying here.
He is not referring to insults we might experience because of the color of our skin, our economic or social standings, our political views, or a variety of other things that make us different from the ones insulting us. Jesus refers specifically here to being insulted or persecuted for his sake–on account of him.
Responding to Insult
When I live the life God has called me to and suffer as a result, I should rejoice rather than moan and groan about it or fight back. Why? Because my suffering for Christ in this life will, in the end, be rewarded.
That does not mean that I need to enjoy the insults and persecution that come my way because I am following Jesus. They are indeed unpleasant and potentially hurtful. But I can look forward to the heavenly reward that will come from it and rejoice in that (Acts 5:41).
It is unfortunate that many who follow Jesus, at least in name, are guilty of insulting or causing harm to other people. When we face insult and persecution because of unloving actions on our part, we have no reason to consider ourselves blessed. We are just receiving what our own words and actions deserve.
Be faithful to Jesus, living a life of love, and bearing witness to God’s love for a lost and dying world. And, when people take exception to that, consider yourself blessed. They are treating you in the same way they treated the prophets in the Old Testament. And the same way they treated our Lord and his apostles. We should consider it an honor to receive the same treatment they did. Learn to rejoice when you are insulted for Christ’s sake.
