In light of Jesus’ comments about the man we sometimes call the “rich young ruler” (see Mark 10:17-27), let’s read what the gospel writer recorded next.
Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Mark 10:28-31 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.10.28-31.NIV
Jesus emphasizes this point – about the reversal of first and last – multiple times, and repeating Himself makes sense: After all, He knew that human beings – including us – often need some repetition to make things stick!
Now, I’m not sure what Peter’s motivation was for his statement here. Maybe he was trying to make the point that he had learned this lesson, by emphasizing how much the apostles had left to follow Jesus. While some of them may have not originally been wealthy, others may very well have left lucrative careers. Think about James and John, for instance, whose father seems to have run a fishing business, or Matthew the tax collector.
It’s possible [per Black, p.186] that Peter was taking Jesus’ specific instructions to the rich man mentioned earlier in this chapter (see Mark 10:17-27, especially verse 21) as a command for all believers, and so Peter was pointing out how they had done so. Peter might have also thought [ref. Black, p.184] that merely giving things up was enough to merit him and the other apostles favor with God. Or, maybe Peter was just continuing the conversation, contrasting the wealth of the guy who had recently been talking with Jesus with the much simpler life that they were leading as they traveled with Him.
We could talk about how the early disciples might have been kicked out of their families for their faith, and how being part of the church provided them with not only more family members, but also fellow Christians who shared their wealth to help those in need (see Black, p.186-187). What we know now, though, is that there’s more than an “external” element to the kind of giving that God seeks in His kingdom. Giving itself doesn’t “earn” us God’s favor, but giving generously from a cheerful heart (one that trusts God to take care of us) can glorify and – I think – bring joy to God. Jesus taught that leaving things of this world for Him and the gospel would result in even greater rewards (and persecutions). Now, to be clear, Jesus’ telling the rich man earlier to sell his possessions doesn’t mean that we all need to do the same thing (unless our heart is also too anchored in the love of money; in which case, we might need to unburden ourselves from some of what holds us back). In the same way, these other things that Jesus mentioned aren’t inherently bad. These possessions and relationships can be very good things in the right circumstances, but when they become an obstacle to following Jesus, they should be left behind.
However, I’d like to run something by you and see what you think: it’s easy to think of this statement of Jesus’ as something “transactional”. That is, we might interpret this as saying that for every worldly thing that we leave for Jesus’ sake, we will get “paid back” many times over. (By the way, don’t miss that Jesus even talks about receiving blessings “in this present age”, suggesting that they are to be expected here on this earth, rather than something we must wait for in eternity, when we look forward to a new Heaven and a new earth.)
Instead, though, what if these aren’t something we get as “payback” for what we leave behind, as if the more that we leave from the world to follow Jesus, the more that we “get” in return? What if the blessings of following Jesus are so amazing that anything – no matter what it is – that we leave behind for Him is overwhelmingly overshadowed by the incredible blessings of living in the kingdom of God, for the rest of our lives and for eternity? What if there simply aren’t enough worldly things that we could leave, such that they would amount to even “one percent” of the blessings that we receive when we follow Jesus? If so, that would not only put into perspective the things that we leave behind because they are keeping us from the amazing life of following Jesus, but it would also put into perspective the persecutions that Jesus mentioned here.
Something to think about.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 9, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 