27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” 28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Jesus now spoke of reward in the Millennial kingdom.
19:27
Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
When Peter grasped the idea of verses 16 through 26 that trust in the intangible promise is more important than trust in riches, he said that he and his fellow disciples had done this. They had left family and homes to follow Jesus. He asked, “What shall we get for this?”
19:28
So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration [literally, new birth; Christ’s reign on earth in the Millennium], when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew does not use the term “regeneration” in the sense of personal regeneration here. Instead, Jesus referred to the establishment of the Millennial kingdom on earth. This is cosmic regeneration of the entire earth.
Everything done in time will be rewarded in the coming kingdom. The disciples will have a special place in the Millennial kingdom. Reward of the Millennial kingdom overshadows anything we might do to receive it.
19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake [for belief in Christ], shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
Disciples of any type will receive reward and, in addition, they will ultimately possess eternal life.
19:30
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Those whom we deem as “first,” such as rich men, will be “last.” God’s perspective does not agree with the world’s system; He will declare those who follow Jesus to be “first.”
PRINCIPLE:
The right attitude about our service is central to reward in the kingdom.
APPLICATION:
We cannot presume on our present status in the coming kingdom. Many of us who deem ourselves at the top will actually be at the bottom in the kingdom.
