Matthew 19:27-30

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

27 Then Peter said to Him, ``Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?'' 28 And Jesus said to them, ``Truly I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 ``And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 ``But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Peter's question was "What about us, Jesus?" This is not a self-promoting question, but Peter is looking for some affirmation from Jesus, looking for Jesus to confirm Peter's hope that he has made the right choices in giving up everything to follow Him.

NOTE that Jesus does give Peter (and all of us who follow Him) several benefits for following Him:

1-You will sit in judgment of the twelve tribes of Israel. 2-You will receive many times more what you give up for Him. 3-You will inherit eternal life.

Then, Jesus ends with the powerful truth and most important principle of the kingdom, "The first will be last and the last will be first." That's the way it is in the Kingdom of God versus your kingdom. All is topsy-turvy!

You see, in seeking a pleasant, conventional life, we "nullify the commandment of God by our tradition" (Matthew 15:3-6). We tend to seek wealth and possessions, even though Jesus warned of the "deceitfulness of riches" (Matthew 13:22). We seek safety and security, though Jesus taught us to live by faith. We all are kings of our own kingdoms and when we meet King Jesus, we must sign off as king of our kingdoms and bow to Jesus as the King of our lives. No matter what His orders are, we are assured by Jesus' words that we will reap major benefits for our submission to Him.

You can be assured that it will be worth it all someday when the regeneration of the world takes place and when we see Jesus face to face!