Context No. 810 of 4322 · Matthew
Context · Reflection
Matthew 19:23-30: in context
23Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.” 25When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27Then Peter answered, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. 30But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.
Jesus has just watched a rich young man walk away rather than give up his wealth, and told his disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom, harder than a camel through a needle's eye. The disciples are stunned, and their question, who then can be saved, gets the answer that lifts the whole thing off human shoulders: with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. And then Peter, having heard about the man who would not leave his possessions, speaks up with a question that is very honest and very human. See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?
It is the transactional instinct surfacing even among the closest followers: we paid the price the rich man would not; what is our return? Jesus does not slap the question down. He answers it generously and specifically. You who followed me will sit on thrones, he says, and everyone who has left home or family or land for my name will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. The reward is real; he will not pretend the sacrifice costs nothing or earns nothing. But then he adds a line that quietly dismantles the scorekeeping the question came from: many who are first will be last, and the last first. The very next thing he does is tell a parable about laborers who all get paid the same regardless of how long they worked. The reward is real, but it is not a ledger where the most-sacrificed rank highest, and the moment you start tallying your position, you may find you have misunderstood the whole economy of the kingdom.
Peter asked what he would get for all he had given up, and Jesus promised a real reward, then warned that the first would be last. Do I follow with a running tally of what I am owed, and could that scorekeeping itself be the thing that puts me at the back of the line?
Sources
- Matthew 20:1-16: the laborers in the vineyard, the last first, the parable that follows this
- Mark 10:28-31: the parallel promise of a hundredfold now, with persecutions
- Luke 18:28-30: the Luke version of Peter's we have left everything