Another Pregnant Peter Question
Then Peter said to him, "We left everything to follow you. What will we get out of it?" And Jesus replied, "When I, the Messiah, shall sit upon my glorious throne in the kingdom, you my disciples shall certainly sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And any one who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life." Matt. 19:27-29, TLB.
What do I get out of this?" "What's in it for me and those who have given up everything and followed you?" If I had been Jesus I would have been tempted to tell Peter to shut up and get his act together, that he didn't have the slightest idea what following Me meant.
I guess we can be thankful that I am not Jesus. Our Lord used Peter's self-centered question to provide instruction needed by both those first disciples and His followers 20 centuries later.
Jesus' answer to Peter's question has two levels. The first is what he wants to hear (Matt. 19:27-29). The second illustrates what Peter needs to hear (Matt. 19:30-20:16). He used the same twofold approach to the rich young ruler. What the man wanted to hear was that entrance to the kingdom is based on obedience (Matt. 19:17). But what he needed to hear was that it took total dedication (verse 21).
We need to read Peter's question of what he will get in the context of the young ruler: He failed to give up everything, but Peter and the rest of the disciples had done so.
Jesus' answer in Matthew's Gospel is fourfold. First, those who have had to relinquish their earthly families receive the larger fellowship of God's family of believers here on earth. Second, they have the promise of eternal life. Third, they will be made prosperous. Along that line, Peter must have been all ears when Jesus told him that he and the other 11 would each get a throne to sit upon that would presumably be quite near to Jesus' own throne. Thrones were important to Peter. And as we shall soon see, he wanted his as close to Christ's as possible.
Last, Jesus' answer contains a cryptic warning to Peter and the other disciples not to become overconfident in their position in the kingdom just because they were the first of His followers. It is that lesson that Peter needs to hear in a mind crowded with thrones.
Lord, help me to hear what I need to hear as I read Your Word and not merely what I want to hear.
Then Peter said to him, "We left everything to follow you. What will we get out of it?" And Jesus replied, "When I, the Messiah, shall sit upon my glorious throne in the kingdom, you my disciples shall certainly sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And any one who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life." Matt. 19:27-29, TLB.
What do I get out of this?" "What's in it for me and those who have given up everything and followed you?" If I had been Jesus I would have been tempted to tell Peter to shut up and get his act together, that he didn't have the slightest idea what following Me meant.
I guess we can be thankful that I am not Jesus. Our Lord used Peter's self-centered question to provide instruction needed by both those first disciples and His followers 20 centuries later.
Jesus' answer to Peter's question has two levels. The first is what he wants to hear (Matt. 19:27-29). The second illustrates what Peter needs to hear (Matt. 19:30-20:16). He used the same twofold approach to the rich young ruler. What the man wanted to hear was that entrance to the kingdom is based on obedience (Matt. 19:17). But what he needed to hear was that it took total dedication (verse 21).
We need to read Peter's question of what he will get in the context of the young ruler: He failed to give up everything, but Peter and the rest of the disciples had done so.
Jesus' answer in Matthew's Gospel is fourfold. First, those who have had to relinquish their earthly families receive the larger fellowship of God's family of believers here on earth. Second, they have the promise of eternal life. Third, they will be made prosperous. Along that line, Peter must have been all ears when Jesus told him that he and the other 11 would each get a throne to sit upon that would presumably be quite near to Jesus' own throne. Thrones were important to Peter. And as we shall soon see, he wanted his as close to Christ's as possible.
Last, Jesus' answer contains a cryptic warning to Peter and the other disciples not to become overconfident in their position in the kingdom just because they were the first of His followers. It is that lesson that Peter needs to hear in a mind crowded with thrones.
Lord, help me to hear what I need to hear as I read Your Word and not merely what I want to hear.
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