to be "cheer"ful · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
be exceeding glad
ἀγαλλιᾶσθε,agalliasthe
G21
properly · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person plural
for
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
great
πολὺςpolus
G4183
(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — nominative singular masculine
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
reward
μισθὸςmisthos
G3408
pay for service (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
heaven
οὐρανοῖς·ouranois
G3772
the sky · noun — dative plural masculine
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
so
οὕτωςhoutōs
G3779
in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb
persecuted they
ἐδίωξανediōxan
G1377
compare the base of G1169 (δειλός) and G1249 (διάκονος)) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
the prophets
προφήταςprophētas
G4396
a foreteller ("prophet") · noun — accusative plural masculine
which were
ὁho
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
before
πρὸpro
G4253
"fore" · preposition
you
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the pro…
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding…
Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, whi…
Ruth 2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Psalms 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:3-12
Christ begins his sermon with blessings, for he came into the world to bless us (Act 3:26), as the great High Priest of our profession; as the blessed Melchizedec; as He in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, Gen 12:3. He came not only to purchase blessings for us, but to pour out and pronounce blessings on us; and here he does it as one having authority, as one that can command the blessing, even life for evermore, and that is the blessing here again and again promised to the good; his pronouncing them happy makes them so; for those whom he blesses, are blessed indeed. The Old Testament ended with a curse (Mal 4:6), the gospel begins with a blessing; for hereunto are we ca…
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad--"exult." In the corresponding passage of Luke (Luk 6:22-23), where every indignity trying to flesh and blood is held forth as the probable lot of such as were faithful to Him, the word is even stronger than here: "leap," as if He would have their inward transport to overpower and absorb the sense of all these affronts and sufferings; nor will anything else do it.
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you:--that is, "You do but serve yourselves heirs to their character and sufferings, and the reward will be common."
John Gill on Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be exceeding glad,.... Because of the honour put upon them, the glory they bring to Christ and his cause, by cheerfully suffering for it; and because of the glory and happiness that shall follow upon their sufferings:
for great is your reward in heaven; not of debt, but of grace; for there is no proportion or comparison between what the saints suffer for Christ, and the glory that shall be revealed in them by him; not in earth, but in heaven. Saints must not expect their reward here, but hereafter, when God himself will be their reward; he will be all in all; Christ and all his glory, glory and all the riches of it will be the reward of the inheritance, and which must needs be a…
(Serm. in Mont. i. 5.) Do not suppose that by heaven here is meant the upper regions of the sky of this visible world, for your reward is not to be placed in things that are seen, but by in heaven understand the spiritual firmament, where everlasting righteousness dwells. Those then whose joy is in things spiritual will even here have some foretaste of that reward; but it will be made perfect in every part when this mortal shall have put on immortality. (ubi sup.) Persecuted He says generally, comprehending both reproaches and defamation of character.
(Verse 12.) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. I do not know who can fulfill this for us, so that our reputation may be torn apart by insults, and we may rejoice in the Lord. Whoever pursues vain glory cannot fulfill it. Therefore, we must rejoice and be glad, so that a reward may be prepared for us in heavenly places. We read elegantly written in a certain volume: 'Do not seek glory, and you will not grieve when you are without it.'
Not only should we patiently endure all the horrible treacheries of the persecutors that can be contrived in a time of persecution for Christ's name against the just, or the various reproaches that can be heaped upon us, or the punishments that can be applied to the body, but we should even welcome them with exultation because of the coming glory. For he says, "Rejoice in that day and exult; I tell you this, because your reward is great in heaven." How glorious is the endurance of this persecution, the reward for which the Lord says is in heaven! And so, taking into account the reward of the proposed glory, we should be ready with devout faith for every endurance of suffering, so that we may be ready to be made partners in the prophets' glory.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Sermon on the mount — After spending a night in solemn meditation and prayer in the lonely mountain-range to the west of the Lake of Galilee (Luke 6:12), on the following morning our Lord called to him his disciples, and…
Conduct, Christian · Blessedness of maintaining — Blessedness of maintaining
Constancy · Un — Un
Happiness Of Saints In This Life · Described by Christ in the beatitudes — Described by Christ in the beatitudes
Heaven · Saints rewarded in — Saints rewarded in
Joy · Of saints should be: Under persecutions — Of saints should be: Under persecutions
Persecution · OF THE RIGHTEOUS — OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Prophets · The Jews: Persecuted them — The Jews: Persecuted them
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Reward Of Saints, The · Is great — Is great
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1-12
Luke 6:20-26
1. And when Jesus had seen the multitudes, [357] he went up into a mountain, and when he had sat down, his disciples approached to him. 2. And opening his mouth, [358] he taught them, saying, 3. Happy are the poor in spirit: for their is the kingdom of heaven. 4. Happy are they who mourn: for they shall receive consolation. 5. Happy are the meek: for they shall receive the earth by inheritance. [359] 6. Happy are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be satisfied. 7. Happy are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. [360] 8. Happy are those who are of a pure heart: for they shall see God. 9. Happy are the peace-makers:…
The great reward Jesus mentions is not something earned by suffering for doing right; it is God’s blessing to those who have expressed his grace to others (see 10:41-42; 20:1-16). • The ancient prophets are closely connected with the New Testament apostles (see also 13:16-17; 23:29-36; Eph 2:20).
