Adam Clarke on Matthew 5:11

When men shall revile you, and persecute - The persecution mentioned in the preceding verse comprehends all outward acts of violence - all that the hand can do. This comprehends all calumny, slander, etc., all that the tongue can effect. But as διωκειν, which we render to persecute, is a forensic term, and signifies legal persecutions and public accusations, which, though totally unsubstantiated, were the means of destroying multitudes of the primitive Christians, our Lord probably refers to such. No Protestant can think, without horror, of the great numbers burnt alive in this country, on such accusations, under the popish reign of her who is emphatically called Bloody Queen Mary.