Top 7 Bible Verses About Blessings

Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”

This seems to be contrary to the ways of man. How can a person be blessed when they are reviled, when they are persecuted, and when the say all kinds of evil things against you which are false? Here is how. You are blessed for being persecuted, reviled, and lied about when it is “for [Jesus’] sake.” How is it possible to be blessed for being hated? It is because they also persecuted Jesus and the prophets and that puts you in excellent company. The Greek word for blessed is “makarios” which means to be made happy. Here is why I can say that. When Peter and the apostles were beaten for preaching the gospel, did they go and ask the church to pray for them? Did they ask the Lord to stop their beatings and persecution? No, “they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). These men were reviled, persecuted, and beaten and yet they rejoiced…because they were blessed! They were very happy about it because they were “considered worthy to suffer shame for [Jesus’] sake.” Persecution and joy actually go together or at least they should.