28 Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.”
After a man, which we know from the other Gospels as the rich young ruler, stopped Jesus before he embarks on his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus explained what it would take for an upstanding Law-abiding Jew to attain eternal life. The man was sorrowful as it required giving up his attachments to earthly things and he could not let go of them. This shocks the apostles so Peter, as their leader, speaks up. He basically sees this as a moment where they are not in the wrong, he remarks to Jesus that they, meaning him and the other disciples have done exactly what he asked of the rich young ruler.
29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
Although Peter is right, his acknowledgement of it needs to be set in its context. Jesus does this by saying that no one who leaves their homes, families or lands for Jesus’ sake and the Good News will not be rewarded way beyond their comprehension in this life as well as in the eternal life that is to come.
If you were to leave your family and home and land. What on earth would a hundredfold mean to be given back you? Jesus is using an incomprehensible measurement to the senses to describe the spiritual rewards. The disciples are not the only recipients of this but all those who abandon this life for Christ. This level of commitment is unique, not even generals or kings would demand such fealty. This type of reserve was for God alone. Again we see another hidden claim of divinity by Jesus here recorded by Mark.
31 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”
A repeated saying by Jesus, it was a common statement that needed to be reinforced on various occasions. God’s ways are not our ways. Our Order is not God’s Order. There will be many, especially those in the Jewish leadership that are “first” now who will be last. And many poor, orphans and widows who are considered the least in society will be first in the Kingdom of God.
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