Mark 10:28-30 - The Rewards of Discipleship

Mark 10:28-30
²⁸ Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 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 farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰ but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

Message: The Rewards of Discipleship

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Preface -  Jesus, after speaking to the Rich Young Ruler, in answering his question on obtaining eternal life takes a moment to speak a lesson to the disciples and those around. He says that being rich makes it hard, not impossible, but hard for people then to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus says that salvation with people is impossible. But with God all things are possible. 

The older I get, the idea of left everything and followed You becomes more and more of a distant feeling. As a teenage, with nothing, when I made the decision at the age of 14 to follow him, this verse and idea then meant something and rang true and seemed doable. But, as I have gotten older and started on the path of accumulating wealth and possessions as responsibilities grow, that idea of leaving everything and following Him sounds okay in principle but the application seems distant. 

Yet, I have read about or heard about people that leave comfortable jobs or have accumulated wealth and then leave it behind to serve on the mission field or serve in full-time ministry as a pastor. They are leaving one lifestyle and embracing another, all for the sake of the Gospel. That seems more real to this message. 

My hope is that my heart is in the right place. And that for the sake of the call, I would make this decision. 

But the commentaries don't seem to say that this is in fact a physical separation, for Jesus does not mention wives and children. there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake And so perhaps what is being said is can I relinquish the relations and pleasures that those people represent. 

So, not sure, but Jesus explains the exchange principle that then takes place. When we leave those things God replaces them with a hundred times as much. We end up with something more than what we had before. All of those things we had before are better. This seems to be the point: to always realize that our own plans and desires by themselves must be surrendered to the Lord and He will provide something even better.  

What have I seen has been talked about in this whole discourse? The question before Jesus from the rich young ruler is how can i obtain eternal life. Jesus remarks that eternal life, the kingdom of God, salvation is not a human thing. It is a God thing. At the point of salvation, we make a decision to abandon or give up all that has previously been important to us and go in the opposite way. At that moment, we come to see that Christ is it. Christ gives us a new life in Him. And going forward, life then is all about staying with that same joy in the midst of persecution, trials, and also great joys. 

I love that song and idea from Leeland that he sings called the Opposite Way. He writes - It's not Your will for me to stay / Your will for me is the opposite way. - To stay with father and mother is not my mission, it is to realize I am going in the opposite way of all that I thought was significant and right. That's a shift in thinking that not everyone embraces and it's hard because the older I get the more set in my ways I become and people come. 

along with persecutions - So it will be a hundred times better, but will include persecutions. Persecutions is unique to Mark. Matthew recounts this same story and yet he does not mention persecutions. Since Mark's version comes from Peter, perhaps Peter experienced persecutions more than Matthew. For Matthew it wasn't significant, but for Peter it was. Perhaps Peter was simply wanting to say that it will not only be roses. There will be difficult times, but we can make it because we always know that in the age to come, eternal life. Salvation, in the kingdom of God, eternal life are outcomes we are promised. 

Summary - Jesus concludes this lesson on salvation, obtaining eternal life, coming into the kingdom of God with the reminder that at salvation there is a trade-off. We leave behind all that we have held dear to that point - our thinking, our relationship, everything - and we give it away, we are born again, we are going now the opposite way, and in return we will receive life in a more complete way. Yet, persecutions will also happen, perhaps more for some of us (Peter) than others (Matthew). But, in the end, we will all have eternal life. 

Promise: On those days when the cost of discipleship seems not worth paying, let us remember that Jesus promises great blessings to those who follow Him. In being willing to lose all for Christ, we will end up gaining ourselves.

Prayer: I embrace the opposite Way Lord. It is now what I know of as the only way to peace and eternal life. Yes, rough times are still a part of this. But I run to you.