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 prophets. 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 prophets.
The word is spoken to those who are hated for the Son of Man's sake, separated from company and excluded, reproached and reviled, with their name cast out as evil. Those who are treated in that way are blessed. In that very day they are to rejoice and leap for joy. The reason given is that their reward in heaven is great.
Such rejection is not new but follows the same manner in which their fathers and earlier generations treated the prophets. To suffer it is proof of standing with the prophets. Rejection for loyalty to Christ is therefore no cause to seek worldly approval, but is itself grounds for joy in the promise of the heavenly reward. Rejection for following Christ calls for joy rather than despair.