The Question of Life

Verse 13 to 30.

All right, today's Bible reading is Matthew chapter 19, starting from verse 13.

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

As Matt said earlier, this is contrasting of two groups of people.

One, the children, and the other one, the rich young man.

Verse 13.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said,

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,

for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

And he laid his hands on them and went away.

And behold, a man came up to him, saying,

Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?

And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good?

There is only one who is good.

If you would enter life, keep the commandments.

And he said to him, Which ones?

And Jesus said, You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness.

Honor your father and mother.

And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The young man said to him, All this I have kept.

What do I still lack?

Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go.

Sell all you possess and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.

And come, follow me.

And when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful,

for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples,

Truly I say to you,

Only with difficulty will the rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you,

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for the rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

When the disciples heard this,

they were greatly astonished,

saying, Who then can be saved?

But Jesus looked at them and said,

With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible.

Then Peter said in reply,

See, we have left everything and follow you.

What then will we have?

Jesus said to them,

Truly I say to you,

In the new world,

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.

And 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.

But many who are first

will be last,

and the last first.

Who has braved the weather to be here?

Although now it's holding off,

so that's good.

Okay, we're looking at that passage

from Matthew chapter 19,

Matthew 19:13–30

verse 13 to 30.

Who will enter the kingdom of heaven?

Christianity must be able to say more than that,

but it must never,

come what may,

say less than that.

Are we may rightly expect the Bible and Christianity

to address all sorts of issues,

important issues,

to answer our fundamental philosophical questions about life?

Why do we exist?

What's the nature of reality?

What does it mean to be human?

How should we live?

We should expect the Bible to answer our theological questions.

Who is God?

What's God like?

How can we know him?

We should expect the Bible to answer our ethical and moral questions.

What is good?

What is evil?

Why are some things good?

Why are some things evil?

How should we live?

We should expect the Bible to address

pressing social issues of our day.

The Bible has much to say on many topics,

but it must also prepare us for the future.

It must also prepare us for death

and for life after death.

Because if there truly is an eternity,

as Jesus taught,

as the apostles taught,

if there truly is an eternity,

where we spend eternity

is the most important question in life.

I mean, even the obvious comparison

of the relative scale of each

proves that to be the case.

What have we here?

70, 80, 90, swiftly passing years.

What have we then?

Days without end.

The world,

the population of our world is ageing.

The number of people over the age of 65

has tripled since 1950.

It will triple again.

Now 6% of the world's population

are in that age bracket

by, apparently,

by 2100,

if the Lord hasn't returned by then.

How will we say that?

2100?

I don't know.

But by 2100,

20% of the world's population

will be 65 and over.

We have an ageing population

in Australia,

in the world.

Most of us expect to live longer

than generations past did.

And so,

policies around retirement age

and superannuation

and aged care and housing,

all these policies matter.

But all of us,

100% of us,

face a far more important future,

don't we?

This present life,

whether

God grants each of us

50 years or 100 years,

this present life

is not the stage,

it's the dressing room.

How do we prepare

for what comes next?

Who will enter

the kingdom of heaven?

That's the question

Jesus answers

in this Bible passage.

In fact,

throughout this passage,

the reading we had,

there are different phrases,

but they're all describing

the same reality.

This comes up again and again,

verse 14,

to such belongs

the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 16,

have eternal life.

Verse 17,

enter life.

Verse 21,

have treasure in heaven.

Verse 23,

enter the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 24,

enter the kingdom of God.

Verse 25,

be saved.

Verse 29,

inherit eternal life.

They're all talking

about the same thing.

The future,

the world,

the age to come,

the future kingdom.

Life beyond death,

or,

as N.T. Wright put it,

life after life after death.

The assumption of this passage

is that some,

but not all,

will enter the kingdom of heaven.

How can each of us ensure

that we don't miss out?

Well,

in context,

in this section of Matthew,

Jesus is teaching on a range

of different topics,

and everything Jesus says

is surprising.

So,

last week,

Jesus,

we saw it,

Jesus taught about marriage

and the disciples said,

well,

if that's the case,

it's better not to marry.

Here,

Jesus teaches about children,

he teaches about wealth,

he teaches about children

and the disciples

and Jesus are on

completely different wavelengths.

He teaches about wealth

and the disciples

are greatly astonished

by Jesus' words.

He teaches about his own suffering

and the disciples

start arguing amongst themselves

about who's the greatest.

Everything Jesus teaches on,

the disciples are just

not getting it.

He keeps confounding

their expectations.

So it is with Jesus' teaching

about who will enter

the kingdom of heaven.

I think it's important for us

that familiarity

with the gospel,

for those who are familiar

with Matthew,

with the New Testament,

with this passage,

that familiarity doesn't lead us

to complacency.

If we don't find

this section of God's word

challenging,

maybe we're not listening properly.

So let's have a listen.

Who will enter

the kingdom of heaven?

The passage breaks down

into three sections.

Verse 13 to 15,

a positive example.

Verse 16 to 22,

a negative example.

And then verse 23 to 30,

the lesson for the disciples.

So first,

the positive example,

children in verse 13,

chapter 19,

verse 13 to 15.

Verse 13.

Then children were brought

to him that he might lay

his hands on them

and pray.

The disciples rebuked

the people.

Now,

who brought the little children?

Perhaps it was parents

or grandparents,

the text doesn't say,

only that they were brought

to Jesus.

They don't even come to Jesus

on their own strength,

but they're brought.

And they come

so that Jesus might

pray for them,

that Jesus might

make intercession,

petition on their behalf,

that Jesus might

plead their case

before the throne of heaven.

It's good that we intercede

for one another,

pray for each other.

How much more

that Jesus himself

intercedes for us.

So the children are brought

for this purpose,

but the disciples

are put out by this.

They rebuke those

who are bringing

the children to them,

to Jesus.

You know,

Jesus,

he's an important guy.

He's busy.

He's got a lot,

there's a lot going on

for Jesus.

You know,

he's under constant pressure.

Crowds of people

are seeking Jesus

all the time.

There are sick people

in need of healing.

There are those afflicted

with evil spirits

in need of deliverance.

There are crowds

to teach and instruct.

There are opponents

and enemies

to evade

or to answer.

There's a lot going on

for Jesus.

He's got more important

things to do

than tend

to infants.

In the disciples'

minds,

there's a scale

of importance,

a scale of significance.

And Jesus is,

you know,

he's right up there

and little children,

well,

they're somewhere

towards the bottom.

Take them away.

Don't waste Jesus' time.

But Jesus doesn't

share that opinion.

Verse 14,

but Jesus said,

let the little children

come to me

and do not hinder them,

but as such

belongs the kingdom

of heaven.

And he laid

his hands on them

and went away.

Now,

two things to observe here.

First,

notice that

Jesus took

the time

to care for

those

particular

children,

the ones who

were brought to him.

He wasn't

irritated.

He wasn't

irritated.

He wasn't

too busy.

Those

particular

children

mattered to him.

He placed

his hands

on them.

He prayed

a blessing

over them.

He cared

for those

ones,

those little

ones.

Preparing

this talk,

it was hard

for me

not to feel

a bit

rebuked

for how

I

often

treat

my

children,

how many

times

my

children

come

to me

and I

will

say,

go away,

I'm

too

busy.

But

Jesus

didn't

say that.

Second

thing to

notice is

Jesus

used

those

children

as

an

object

lesson

for

his

disciples.

He

said

to

his

disciples,

to such

belongs

the

kingdom

of

heaven.

Now,

what

is it

about

children

that

makes

them

an

example

of

those

who

receive

the

kingdom

of

heaven?

God's

kingdom.

Is it

their

innocence

when we

think about

children?

That's one of the

categories we

often think

in.

Children

are

innocent.

Are

they?

The

Bible doesn't

think so.

The Bible

teaches that

we're sinful

from birth.

Admittedly,

children sin

with less

guile and

less

deviousness

than

adults,

most of

them anyway,

but

they're

not

innocent.

And

more than

that,

if the

quality

of

children

that's

needed

to enter

the

kingdom

of

heaven

is

innocence,

well,

that's

all well

and

good,

but what

comfort is

that to

me?

Because

I'm

certainly

not

innocent.

I'm

going to

return to

that

thought

after we

consider

the

negative

example,

the

rich

young

man.

We've

had the

positive

example

here,

children,

we'll

come back

to them.

Let's

consider

the

rich

young

man,

although

we're only

told he's

rich and

we're only

told he's

young in

verse 22.

First he's

just a

man.

Verse 16,

And behold,

a man came

up to

Jesus,

saying,

Teacher,

what good

deed must

I do

to have

eternal

life?

This man

coming to

Jesus is

earnest,

little

children

were brought

to

Jesus,

this man

comes on

his own

initiative,

he seeks

Jesus

out.

He

asks what

seems to

be a

good

question,

he cares

about

eternity,

he's asking

about

eternal

life,

he

recognises

Jesus as

a teacher

with the

wisdom and

authority to

answer his

question,

what good

deed must

I do

to have

eternal

life?

Verse 17,

And Jesus

said to

him,

Why do

you ask

me about

what is

good?

There's

only one

who's

good.

If you

would enter

life,

keep the

commandments.

Now there

are two

parts of

Jesus'

reply,

the two

halves of

this verse,

first Jesus

questions the

man's

assumptions.

Why do

you ask

me about

what is

good?

There's

only one

who's

good,

Jesus

says.

That

second

sentence

there,

there is

only one

who is

good,

may

deliberately

echo

one of

the most

famous

verses from

the law,

the Shema,

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6:4

6 verse 4,

Hear O

Israel,

the Lord

our God,

the Lord

is one.

There is

one God,

the Lord

is one,

there is

one who

is good,

Jesus

says.

So Jesus

challenges

this man,

what kind

of scale

of goodness

are you

operating

with?

When you

ask me,

what good

thing must

I do

that I

may have

eternal

life?

What's

your scale

of goodness?

What's your

standard of

goodness?

I had a

conversation

with a

university

student

this week,

someone who's

kind of

searching out

Christianity

and not

yet a

believer but

he's

investigating

and considering

Jesus and

this student

pointed out

that he's

done a bit

of travelling,

he pointed

out that in

his experience

of travel and

meeting lots

of different

people around

the world,

he found

that 90

or even

99% of

people are

good,

he said.

No,

decent people,

they're not

going to

mug you,

they're not

going to

rob you,

if you

ask for

help,

they'll

give it.

When

Jacinta

was one,

as a

little escape

artist she

slipped out

of her

house and

ran down

the street

towards a

major road

and some

uni students

stopped her

at the end

of the

street and

picked her

up and

looked after

her till

we came.

They didn't

leave her to

walk into

traffic,

they didn't

abduct her.

Decent

people.

I think of

my son

Connor's

soccer coach,

Nick,

he's a

PE teacher

and yet

after he's

been teaching

probably ratty

high school

kids all

day,

he'll

then come

and run

soccer

training

for

you.

He ran

it this

week on

Wednesday

even though

it was

raining a

bit.

He knew

the boys

would want

to get

out for

a run

so he

said,

let's

do it.

He's

patient

with them,

he's fair,

he's kind,

he values

every child

in the team

irrespective of

their ability

at playing,

he sees

that everyone

has a go,

he gives

up his

time,

he expects

!

nothing in

return,

decent

person.

I mean,

not everyone

who crashes

into your

car when

it's parked

on the side

of the

road is

going to

drive off

without

leaving a

note.

Some people

are honest,

lots of

people are

honest.

Not everyone

who finds

your lost

wallet is

going to

steal the

cash and

then try

to use

your credit

card.

What is

our standard

of, I

mean,

aren't

lots of

people good?

But when

Jesus says

there's only

one who

is good,

he's

challenging

our

perception.

He's

challenging

our scale.

What's

our yardstick?

What's

our standard

of goodness?

Is it

being a

decent

person?

Or is

it actually

God

himself?

The

character

of God,

the holiness

of God,

the purity

and perfection

of God?

God,

what is

our

measure

of

goodness?

If the

proper

standard

of

goodness

is the

holiness

of God,

well then

I fall

very far

short

indeed.

Don't

you?

I mean

to recognise

that,

just conduct

that thought

experiment

that John

Dixon

suggested

years ago

in his

book A

Sneaking

Suspicion,

maybe he

got it

from somewhere

else.

Imagine

a movie

screening

of your

life

showing

everything

you ever

said,

everything

you ever

thought,

everything

you ever

did.

It's all

there and

big screen.

Would you

be comfortable

with people

watching it?

Or would

you want

editing rights?

When the

man asked

Jesus,

what good

thing

must I

do?

He was

lowering

the bar.

what just one good thing

and when the man addressed Jesus as teacher who did he think Jesus was

why did he ask Jesus this question why do you ask me about what's good Jesus

says to him who is Jesus is Jesus just a teacher a

guru who can point you in the right direction who is Jesus

so first Jesus challenges the man's assumptions

secondly Jesus gives a direct answer in the second half of that verse

verse 17 if you would enter life keep the commandments

Jesus says you want to do what's good to have a life keep the commandments

it's a straight answer it's not particularly surprising an answer

in fact it's what the law itself taught in the old testament the Torah the law of Moses as as Paul

would later point out in Galatians

Leviticus 18 verse 5 keep my statutes and my rules

Leviticus 18:5

if a person does them I don't know if I've got the right reference there maybe keep my statutes and my rules if a person does them

he shall live by them

I'm the Lord

keep the keep the commandments if you do them

you'll live

God says in the law

if you want to enter life by doing

good

Jesus says well keep God's commandments

that's what the law says

it's a straight answer

it's also a potentially frustrating one

I mean it feels pretty broad doesn't it

I mean this this man's come to Jesus saying what good thing must I do

and the answer is I'll just keep the commandments right

okay but what

he goes on which ones

which ones Lord

which commandments

he ignores you notice the man when he asked that question which ones he ignores the first part of Jesus answer about why do you you know what

there's only one that's good and why do you ask me and so on

he ignores the first part of Jesus answer he focuses on the second part

can you be a bit more specific Jesus I mean according to the rabbis there are 613 commandments in the Torah

which ones precisely and which are the most important ones which can you narrow it down a bit

what do I need to do

well Jesus obliges him

verse 18

and Jesus said you shall not murder

you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal

you shall not bear false witness

honour your father and mother

and you shall love your neighbour

as yourself

again what Jesus says here is not particularly surprising

he starts with five commandments from the decalogue from the ten commandments

and rounds it out with

with Leviticus 19 verse 18 you shall love your neighbour as yourself I don't think Jesus is

Leviticus 19:18

necessarily trying to be exhaustive here he's being representative he emphasizes

commands instructions in the law that

that are concerned our horizontal responsibilities as humans to one another there's more to say about our

responsibilities to God but Jesus has left that out for the time being

and he said well you want to know which commandments let's start here let's start with these ones

here are some of them

now of course if this man had been around to hear Jesus sermon on the mount

he may have realised just how searching

even these commandments were

do not murder

well Jesus had taught that do not murder

that command means

don't even be angry

with someone else

do not commit adultery

well Jesus had taught that that command means

don't even look

covetously at someone else

love your neighbour

well Jesus had taught that command is so

all-encompassing that it extends even to enemies

rightly understood even this truncated list of commands

ought to have given the man pause

but he pressed on

verse 20 the young man said to him

all these I have kept

what do I still lack

all these I have kept

really

I guess he

hadn't heard the sermon on the mount

or if he had heard he wasn't really paying attention

all these I have kept

Jesus is trying to press through this man's assumption

that he can do enough to have eternal life

verse 17

he's challenged his standard of good

the man simply ignored Jesus' words

verse 18 and 19

he gave a list of commands that should have been daunting

the man brushes it off

all these I have kept

yet

still the man's not confident

still he has no assurance of salvation

so he asks

what do I still lack

well once more

Jesus

sought to overturn

completely

this man's approach to the question

verse 21

Jesus said to him

if you would be

perfect

if you would be perfect

go sell what you possess

and give to the poor

and you'll have treasure in heaven

and come

follow

me

this verse is probably

in these words of Jesus

are probably one of Jesus

least

heeded commands in the Bible

sell what you possess

and give to the poor

I mean the young man ignored it

and he set a good pattern

because you know

we've been ignoring it ever since

sell what you possess

everything

give to the poor

I think we're perhaps

a bit too quick

to find justifications

for not taking it literally

I think we can find

justifications

for not taking it

hyper literally

there are examples

in the Gospels

and Acts

and the rest of the New Testament

of Christians

having possessions

in the end of John's Gospel

the disciples

go out fishing

on a boat

where did they get the boat from

in 2 Timothy 4 verse 13

2 Timothy 4:13

Paul asked Timothy

to bring his cloak

and his scroll

his scrolls

oh so Paul had a library

it's a comfort for me

but we can be

you know

rather than avoid it though

let's try and listen to it

what is Jesus saying

what's going on here

again

Jesus points out

that the man is aiming

too low

he lifts the bar

if you would be perfect

he says

it's not enough

to be a decent person

it's not enough

to be moral

by human standards

that is not good enough

for the kingdom of heaven

the kingdom of heaven

is not

the home

for decent people

it is the home

for perfect people

people

how can we be perfect

how can we be fit

for God's kingdom

how can we belong there

clearly that's beyond us

this man needed

a completely

different approach

to life

Jesus says

leave your old life

sell what you possess

give to the poor

and you'll have treasure

in heaven

treasure in heaven

there

I don't think

he's suggesting

I think it's just synonymous

with the other expressions

about

eternal life

and inheriting

the kingdom of God

the kingdom of heaven

and entering God's kingdom

Jesus isn't

describing here

a two tier system

where

you know

some people in heaven

have treasure

and other people don't

and some people

in the kingdom of heaven

have

like live in waterfront mansions

and other people

in the kingdom of heaven

are living in shacks

no he's saying

you'll have true

you'll have true riches

get rid of your wealthy

you'll have true wealth

come follow me

the selling of possessions

and giving to the poor

on the one hand

it's another opportunity

for the man to evaluate

his self-professed

obedience

to God's commands

Jesus had said

you shall love your

neighbour as yourself

the man had said

oh well I've done that

I do that

well do you do that

whom are you loving

with your wealth

let me just test that

a little bit

whom are you loving

with your wealth

you're loving your neighbour

as yourself

with your wealth

let me test that

Jesus says

but I think there's

another purpose

to Jesus' instruction here

this man divesting

of his possessions

wasn't for its own sake

but for a purpose

it was in order

to follow Jesus

come

follow me

Jesus says

follow me

see in a different way

Jesus is again

confronting this man

with what is

his heart problem

and that is

his own self-reliance

and self-sufficiency

this man's money problem

mirrored his moral problem

he's a man who is used

to being able to provide

for himself

he sees himself

as sufficient

to meet his own needs

he owns enough

for this life

his money problem

he could do enough

for the next life

his moral problem

he saw himself

as needing

to be sufficient

to meet all his own needs

and yet he asked

what do I still lack

well Jesus answers

you with your moral

rectitude

and your great wealth

what do you still lack

Jesus says

what you lack

is

me

give up the self-reliance

give up the self-sufficiency

give up having enough

and doing enough

and being enough

follow

me

follow me

how does it benefit you

if you gain the whole world

and yet forfeit your life

if you're shipwrecked out at sea

you don't grab hold

of a chest full of gold

you grab a life raft

!

give up that which cannot save you

that you might take hold

of the only one

who can

come

follow me

but verse 22

when the young man

heard this

he went away sorrowful

he had great possessions

and after he had left

Jesus drew

his disciples together

and

taught them the negative lesson

from the rich man

as he had taught

the positive lesson

from the children

verse 23

Jesus said to his disciples

truly I say to you

only

with difficulty

will a rich person

enter the kingdom of heaven

again I tell you

it's easier for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

than for a rich person

to enter the kingdom of heaven

Jesus says

verse 23

wealth is an impediment

wealth is an impediment

to entering God's kingdom

but then he takes that

even a step further

and says it's like

it's easier for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

now I'm

you know I don't know

much about sewing

but I don't think

a camel's fitting

through the eye of a needle

I know there's a

some people have suggested

that the eye of a needle

might have been a gate

in Jerusalem

that was for pedestrian traffic

and so you couldn't

really get a camel through

except for like a really

tight squeeze or something

but I don't think

there's any kind of

as far as I'm aware

there's no actual evidence

that there was a gate

called the eye of a needle

Jesus is just talking

literally here right

a camel

the biggest animal

that people would

typically see

that he's addressing

the largest animal

that they would be

regularly familiar with

was a camel

and the smallest

of openings

the eye of a needle

I mean the disciples

get what Jesus is saying

when they say

in verse 25

when the disciples

heard this

they're greatly astonished

saying who then

can be saved

the disciples

don't conclude

notice that people

you know

there's a few things

they don't conclude

they don't conclude

that people

generally are okay

it's just the rich

who are in trouble

you know those

won't we're okay

but if you're rich

I'll watch out

they don't conclude that

they conclude

if the rich

can't be saved

then no one

can be saved

if it's impossible

for them

it's impossible

for all

impossible for those

who have every

opportunity in life

afforded by their wealth

what hope

do the rest of us have

perhaps they even

viewed riches

and wealth

as a sign of God's blessing

those who enjoyed

that blessing from God

if they can't be saved

who can be

well Jesus

accepts their conclusion

verse 26

but Jesus looked at them

and said

with man

this is impossible

but with God

all things are possible

Jesus accepts their conclusion

yes it is impossible

for people to be saved

with man

it's impossible

for anyone

to be saved

with man

but it's not

impossible

for God

all things are possible

for God

Jesus explains

to his disciples

what the rich man

could not

and would not

understand

if you want

to enter the kingdom

if you want

to be saved

if you want

eternal life

if you want

an eternal future

that is something

that God

must do

for you

it is not

something that

you can do

for yourself

that's the difference

between the little

children and the rich man

you know

we

the thing about

the children

is not that

they're innocent

but that they're

dependent

they're weak

they're helpless

they contribute

nothing

they're brought

to Jesus

so that

he could pray

for them

the kingdom

of heaven

belongs to

such as

little children

because it

belongs to

those who

bring

nothing

of their

own

we've lost

over the last

words of

verse 15

which is two

words in

Greek

but what have

we got here

verse 15

he laid his

hands on them

and went

away

or as

NRV

translates it

I think a little

bit more

helpful

he laid his

hands on them

and he went

on from there

now what are

those words

doing

they're not

they're not

there to

you know

say oh he

made a pretty

quick exit

you know

to get away

from those

pestering

children

you know

okay

yeah

I'll bless a

few but

quick

let's get

out of

here

no

what are

what are

those words

doing

that he

went on

from there

it's to

remind us

that Jesus

is on a

journey

Jesus

was heading

somewhere

he was

heading to

Jerusalem

he'd already

been teaching

his disciples

he was

heading to

Jerusalem

where as

Jesus had

already taught

he must

suffer many

things and

be killed

and rise

again

having

prayed for

the children

that they

might receive

the kingdom

he went

on from

there

so that by

completing

his journey

he himself

might secure

the answer

to his

own prayer

those who

are saved

by Jesus

are those

who come

to him

not for

instruction

but for

intercession

not to

ask what

good

we must

do

but to

ask what

good

he

has done

for us

verse 27

Peter said

in reply

see we've

left everything

and followed

you

what then

will we

have

I mean

Peter's

trying to

make sense

of this

does

Peter get

it

partly

gets it

a bit

maybe in

part he's

turning

leaving

everything

into

another

good

work

that

he's

done

I

don't

know

but he

has

the

disciples

have

left

everything

they've

followed

Jesus

Jesus

answers

him

graciously

Jesus

answers

not judging

but reassuring

not evaluating

or have you

followed me

enough

no not

evaluating

but comforting

verse 28

Jesus

said to

him

truly

I

say

to

you

in

the

new

world

when

the

son

of

man

will

sit

on

his

glorious

throne

you

who

followed

me

will

also

sit

on

12

thrones

judging

the

12

tribes

of

Israel

the

new

world

translates

an

expression

that

means

the

regeneration

God

making

everything

new

when

God

makes

everything

new

Jesus

says

to

his

disciples

you

will

sit

on

thrones

you

!

And

he

goes

on

to

say

verse

29

and

everyone

who

has

left

houses

or

brothers

or

sisters

or

father

or

mother

or

children

or

lands

for

my

sake

whatever

it

is

you've

left

whatever

it

is

that

you've

had

to

say

goodbye

to

whatever

it

is

it

has

cost

you

Jesus

says

you'll

receive

a hundred

fold

and

will

inherit

eternal

!

The

hundred

fold

I

think

!

In

the

!

which

is not

saying

you

lose

one

house

God

is

going

to

give

you

you'll

suddenly

own

a

portfolio

of

a hundred

properties

God

will

provide

for

you

he'll

take

care

of

you

he'll

look

after

your

physical

needs

Jesus

has

it

covered

I

think

it's

pointing

to

the

church

actually

if

you

leave

your

family

well

you

have

a

much

bigger

family

spread

throughout

the

whole

world

and

a

hundred

thousand

homes

that

will

welcome

you

in

and

look

after

you

he'll

care

for

you

here

and

you'll

receive

eternal

life

Jesus

has

it

covered

for

this

life

and

for

the

next

it

doesn't

depend

on

your

wealth

it

doesn't

depend

on

your

moral

effort

it

just

depends

on

him

verse

30

but

many

who