When Jesus was answering the rich young ruler about receiving eternal life, he told the young man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and come and follow him. This was a pious young man who seemed to think he was keeping the commandments (at least the ones Jesus mentioned), and yet he still sensed that being right with God for eternity would require more than that. He was right: it required putting his faith in Jesus and forsaking all to follow Christ. Jesus told this young man that if he did so he would receive “treasures in heaven.” But the young man was too invested in his treasures on earth to follow Jesus and went away sorrowful.
In comparison, Peter declared to Jesus that he and the other disciples had left everything to follow him. Even though it does not seem that Peter sold his possessions and gave them to the poor, it does seem that Peter and his brother Andrew left their livelihood of fishing to follow Christ and become fishers of men. Matthew also left his tax booth to follow Jesus. The rest of the disciples appear to have followed suit, and church tradition would suggest that most of them forfeited their lives for Jesus. Peter therefore asks Jesus, “What then will we have?” (vs. 27).
Jesus’ answer spans both their participation in Jesus’ authority and a hope for an inheritance beyond human comprehension.
1. Authority:
The first thing Jesus mentions is that in the “new world” (or directly translated – new birth), “When the Son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (vs. 28). Scholars have various views about what this means. Does it mean that the twelve apostles will one day judge the physical people of Israel? Does it mean that these twelve represent all those of the new birth? Either way, participating in Jesus’ kingly authority is not a concept found in this text alone. In Luke 22 during what we know as the Last Supper, an argument broke out among the disciples about greatness. Jesus once again reminded the disciples that in the Kingdom of Heaven the least is greatest. Even so, he again told them, "You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:28-30).
In other places in the New Testament, statements of participation in Christ’s kingship are made to other believers beyond the twelve apostles. In 1 Corinthians 4:8, Paul reminds the church at Corinth that in Christ we share rule as kings. In Ephesians 2:6 Paul tells Ephesus that we have been raised and seated with Christ who has been raised and seated in ultimate power. We find similar statements throughout the book of Revelation. Whatever Jesus meant in speaking to his disciples about sitting on twelve thrones and judging Israel, it points to the fact that in Christ there is a wonderful participation in his kingship.
2. Inheritance.
Jesus then says to Peter and the other disciples that “… everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29). In contrast to the last verse, Jesus now explicitly says that EVERYONE who sacrifices for Jesus will receive one hundredfold in eternity. Whether it is family, land, or homes, our expectation should be that there is an incomprehensible difference for what we might suffer in this world now compared to the reward that awaits in the new creation. The fact that Jesus uses the term “one hundredfold” tells us that there is an incomparable difference between what we might not have for the sake of Christ in this world to what we will have in Christ in the next. Our inheritance in Christ will be exponentially better than the best we could hope for here. We will only know this in Christ.
The last verse of Matthew 19 is the verse that we must never overlook. Jesus says, “many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30). In the context of the whole discussion coming from the interaction with the rich young ruler, surely the disciples hear this and understand that what is valued most in this world is actually a hinderance to knowing the exponentially greater value in Christ. Riches in this world can be the focus that keeps us from greater riches, true riches, in the next. Those with positions of power in this world may find that their focus on power here has kept them from participating in Jesus’ authority in the next. The way of the Kingdom of Heaven is not in our ability or status or good works or anything else we deem as deserving of greatness here on earth. The way of the Kingdom of Heaven is the way of Christ, the one who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Those who lose all for the sake of Christ gain one hundredfold as we participate in his reign.