Meet God in Scripture

Meet God in Matthew 5:12

“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Matthew 5:12 (KJV)

Six ways to encounter God here

A passage is not only to be understood; it is to be lived with. Choose how you want to meet God in Matthew 5:12, and Living Bread opens it right there.

Read itSit with the words themselves in The Word.Study itContext, cross-references, and questions in Bible Study.Be still in itLet it quiet you in the Sanctuary.Pray itTurn it into a prayer of your own.Hide it in your heartMemorize it, word by word.Encounter it togetherGather a few people to walk through it.

The passage in its setting

Meeting God in a verse begins with hearing it where it lives, in the flow of Matthew 5. Read it slowly, and let the focal verse settle into its own context.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

The web of Scripture around it

Where this passage echoes across the Bible, from the cross-reference graph, 14 connected Scriptures. Each one is a door to meet God there too.

  • Luke 6:23Rejoice 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 prophets.
  • James 1:2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
  • Colossians 3:24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
  • 1 Peter 4:13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
  • Colossians 1:24Who 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, which is the church:
  • Ruth 2:12The 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 5:3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
  • Psalms 58:11So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
  • Isaiah 3:10Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
  • Proverbs 11:18The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
  • 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
  • Matthew 16:27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
  • Hebrews 11:6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:15Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

More to meet God in Matthew

Matthew 6:33Matthew 28:19Matthew 5:14Matthew 7:7Matthew 6:34Matthew 22:37Matthew 6:26Matthew 5:4Matthew 5:16Matthew 19:26Matthew 11:28Matthew 5:22Matthew 5:18Matthew 25:34

How it points to Christ

Every Scripture ultimately leads to Jesus. See how the whole Bible points to Him in Christ in all Scripture, then meet Him for yourself.