The next three verses in Matthew 5 conclude the section we call the Beatitudes. They tell what will happen when you exemplify any of the previous character traits: if you are poor in spirit, mourning for your sins, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart or a peacemaker you will stand out like a sore thumb is this selfish, self-seeking world. And when you stand out, you will be attacked for the very things that bring you happiness.
All of the beatitudes have a righteous focus, they do not focus on earthly gains or goals. In contrast, the earthly things become tawdry and tattered in such a comparison. What, for instance, do a few grubby well-circulated dollar bills have in common with a glimmering diamond, no matter how small? The worth of the first becomes apparent when set next to the second. For those who value righteousness it is the same, they happily hold up the diamond to watch it catch and refract the light, while the dollar bills they were clutching in their hands fall unnoticed to the ground at their feet. But to carry the analogy further, by doing this they will also set themselves apart from those who value the earthly things, and the resentment will cause those to do just what they did to Jesus. He brought them wonderful treasures from His Heavenly Father and they, clinging to their earthly treasures of "power" and "fortune", tried to stifle Him and eventually persecuted Him even to death. Jesus is telling us to expect the same treatment if we make a righteous God the focus of our lives.
In verses 11 and 12, Jesus gets a bit more specific: "Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." He calls attention to the fact that the persecutions you will endure are because of Him. They are not due to anything that you yourself did. The persecutions come for, as He said in verse 10, "righteousness sake" and in verse 11, "for my sake". Why did Jesus emphasize this? I asked myself this question and realized that some people may take a perverse sort of pride in being "persecuted". Furthermore, all of us are in danger of taking pride in being different, and therefore better, than others. We are not called to be "proud of " being poor in spirit, meek, pure in heart..." Jesus tells us to feel blessed, to be happy because of them. It is all part of being focused on Righteousness which is God based, given to us as a gift as a result of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We have no righteousness of our own and so have nothing to be prideful about.
The Beatitudes have been all about telling us "How to be Happy". They enumerate 7 attitudes that will bring happiness into your life. And the culmination in verses 10-12 goes one step further. The word Jesus uses in verse twelve which the King James version translates as "exceedingly glad" literally means to "jump for joy". Be exultant when you find yourself focusing so much on Righteousness that other people begin to make fun of you. Realize that by making Righteousness the goal of your life, by wanting your life to be God-centered instead of self-centered, you have made yourself an example of God's nature, just as Jesus was. And as verse 12 points out "great is your reward in Heaven". Reward, not wage, because by exemplifying Christ we are not earning anything. Paul says it this way "Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5 NIV)
"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.." Don't just "be happy" but jump for Joy! The Righteousness that is a gift from God through Jesus Christ our Lord will allow you to access all the wonders of an everlasting, never-ending relationship with your Creator. Your reward is truly a treasure worth seeking and cherishing. "...knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." (Hebrews 10:34) I really liked how one commentary summed it all up and so I will end with these words:
"Blessed Jesus! how different are thy maxims from those of men of this world! They call the proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich, the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances."
(Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary)