Implicit in what is said here—“persecuted for my name’s sake”—is that persecution is not for someone’s own sake or something we have brought on ourselves. Exalting persecution comes from bearing the name of Jesus. This persecution is not sought for by a true Christian. We do not want Jesus to be persecuted and reviled. But if we become the target of reviling because of Him, He said that He would absorb that difficulty, that disadvantage, that pain, because we are doing it for Him. He knows that there will be such trials and persecutions.