Matthew 19:27-30
Then after answering Peter said, “Behold! We left everything and followed you. What, therefore, will be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
all that you all who followed me in the age of regeneration of the world, you
all will also sit upon twelve thrones while judging the twelve tribes of Israel
when the Son of Man should sit upon His throne of glory. And everyone who left houses or brothers or
sisters or fathers or mothers or children or fields for the sake of my name
will receive a hundred fold and he will inherit life eternal. But many first will be last and last will be
first.”
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
As we look at this exchange between Peter and Jesus, we need
to see it with open eyes. On one level,
Peter is simply asking about what will happen.
Jesus has just flipped their world upside down in making them understand
that those who are rich and who seem blessed in this life have a difficult time
finding salvation and eternal life. So
Peter is genuinely asking what happens to people like His disciples. We’ll talk about that answer in the second
point. But Jesus also detects a possible
self-centered problematic motivation for Peter’s question. We’ll talk about this more deeply in the
third point. For now, though, we need to
simply reflect on human motivation. In
God’s eyes, motivation is a huge part of the righteousness of an act. Something with great results can be done in
the world for the sake of Christ’s name and it can be a wonderful thing. The same exact thing with the same exact
outcome could instead be done for the sake of an individual’s glory and suddenly
the act is nowhere as near righteous.
That doesn’t necessarily make the act evil or vile. But we have to understand that when God is
evaluating righteousness He is not often looking at results. God is looking at motivation as well. This is just like Peter’s question here. If asked on one level, it is a great and
honest question. But if asked under
other pretenses, it is a self-serving question that is only to seek
self-glorification. We must be careful
to avoid self-glorification.
Do you ever do things for the praise or accolades? Why?
When can it be hard for you to do things for God’s praise and not your
own praise?
Second Thought:
Jesus honestly tells His disciples that anyone who makes
sacrifices in this life for the sake of the kingdom of Christ – especially His
name – will find reward by God. The
sacrifice will not be in vain. It will
not go unseen by God. No person who
imitates God by giving up that which they value for the sake of another person
will be disappointed by God’s reward.
God’s economy is simply just that.
If we love God as He loved us and that leads us to sacrificial living,
He will reward us!
Why is it important to remember that God sees our sacrifice
and rewards our sacrifice? How do we
know that our genuine sacrifice brings God pleasure?
Third Thought:
On the other hand, Jesus also detect
that Peter could be telling Jesus that they left everything because he wants to
hear Jesus tell them that they will be the most important people in God’s
kingdom. Peter could be making the point
about sacrifice so that he can receive the praise and accolades and recognition now. Peter might just be doing the sacrifice for
his own pat on the back. This is why
Jesus reminds Peter that the first shall be last and the last shall be
first. If I do something in God’s name
because I want the recognition, the act is not imitating God’s love. God didn’t send His Son so that people would
be impressed with God. God sent His Son
for our sake so we could know salvation.
Yes, He is praised and glorified by those who receive His
salvation. But His Son came so we could
know God’s love and His salvation. Our
sacrifice should be focused on the other and their needs, not our own glory. If we do good things but do it for our own
praise, we will get our reward. And
while we will be looking to be first, we will find ourselves being least.
Why is motivation an important thing to
remember when considering action? How do
you deflect praise and help refocus those who want to give you praise and glory
for your sacrifice?
Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 20:1-8
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