"Then Peter began to mention all that he and the other disciples had left behind.  'We've given up everything to follow you,' he said.  And Jesus replied, 'I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and the Good News, will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property - with persecutions.  And the world to come they will have eternal life.  But many who seem to be important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then.'" Mark 10:28-31 (NLT).

 

In this teaching, Jesus is not offering us the key to the mint.  He's not announcing a "name it and claim it, blab it and grab it" gospel.  Nor is he telling his followers that all they have to do to get rich is to invest in his kingdom.  Unfortunately, many health and wealth criers have used this passage of scripture to push such a fallacious and damning doctrine.  But this is a selfish and sinful interpretation of Jesus' words.

 

Just sit for a minute and recall the lives of the apostles who heard this promise of a hundred-fold blessing in houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property, and consider their end.

 

Every single apostle was persecuted and murdered before he reached an old age - except for John.  The apostle John died of old age, but he too was persecuted his whole life through.

 

None of them owned houses - not even once during their lifetimes.  None of them were rich or had bank accounts.  None of them ever retired.  Instead they preached the Good News until they dropped dead or were killed for doing so.

 

So, did Jesus fail to keep his promise to them?  May it never be!  God always keeps his promises.  And he kept this promise to his apostles, just not in the way our money-centered, profit-oriented, consumer-focused, self-gratifying minds tend to think.

 

For example, the apostle Paul left everything behind to preach the Good News, but he never had a wife or children, and some believe that he may have been rejected by his family in Tarsus once he became a Christian.  So how did he gain a hundred times as much in brothers, sisters, mothers, and children?

 

Well, consider Jesus' words in Mark 3:33-35.  In these verses Jesus defines "anyone who does God's will" as his mother, brother or sister.  So in this sense, Paul had hundreds of mothers, brothers, and sisters who loved and ministered to him as a result of his evangelism.  Similarly, he had children.  He called men like Timothy and Titus his "dear son" or "child in the faith" (See 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4).  After all, when we think of family, don't we think of the warm relationships that our blood-ties are supposed to bring us?  Of course we do.  And Paul had those ties through a blond-bond in Jesus Christ with hundreds of Christians.  So Jesus' promise for a hundred-fold blessing came true in Paul's life, even though he never married.

 

And what of Jesus' promise for houses and property?  Well, again, many Christians and the apostles most of all, gave up their property for God's sake and never regained it.  Nor did they have any money for most of their lives (See Hebrews 10:32-34).  In fact, the early church was known to be mostly comprised of poor people - so much so that non-Christians made fun of them.  So did Jesus fail to keep his promise here?

 

Again, may it never be!  Let us not forget what the book of Acts says, "All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had.  There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need" - Acts 4:32, 34 (NLT).

 

Many who became Christians were willing to give up their property for God.  They were even willing to sell their homes and properties to meet the needs of other Christians.  Also, those who became Christians became instant co-owners of every house and piece of property held by other Christians.  In this manner, Jesus' promise came true.  They owned many times more than they ever had before.  And those that lost their possessions because they were Christians or those who left everything behind to preach the Good News for Jesus full time, could stay in a hundred homes of other Christians, sleep on property held by them, or receive money by which to live from Christians whose hearts were moved by God to give.

 

The modern church, especially in America, has much to repent of in this regard.  We not only don't sell houses or properties to advance the Good News or help other Christians, we don't even consider it.  Of course, there are exceptions to this, but they are few and far between.  Shame on us for our materialism!  Shame on us for trying to serve two masters!  Shame on us for doing so little to finance God's Good News!  Thank God for his mercy in forgiving us for such selfishness, and patiently waiting for us to wake up and smell the coffee.

 

No, not every Christian is called by God to sell everything and give it away.  God does not demand this of us routinely.  However, shame on us when we see a need in the Kingdom, feel a clear prodding of God to give to that cause, but ignore the conviction.  We have sinned a great sin in doing this, for the world is lost and going to hell while we count and hoard our wealth.

 

I'm thinking now of my Grandpa and Grandma Taylor who lived most of their lives in poverty so that Grandpa could preach the Good News full time.  He traveled the country proclaiming a fearless gospel to any who would listen.  His family, which included my dad, was poor and poverty stricken.  They never had money.  My dad recalls my Grandpa (his dad) returning from preaching a revival with just two dollars.  He sat in a chair a cried and said, "Don't they understand that the preacher and his family have to eat too?"  Shame on churches that don't take care of their Godly men and women, and their little ones.  My Grandpa died in poverty, penniless and broke.  But in his heart and the heart of his wife was a joy that no one could take away for he knew the riches of Christ.  He is in Paradise now, no longer penniless, and one day God will give him so much blessing that he will be viewed as one of the richest men in heaven!  Why?  Because those who are unimportant in this life will be most important then, and Grandpa and his wife and family sacrificed everything to save lost souls.

 

God takes note of such sacrifices for nothing is more important to him than saving lost souls.  It is more important to him than our acquisition of property or money, or proximity to family.  God was willing to give his only Son to die so that lost souls could be saved, and he expects us to give sacrificially for the same cause.  He knows that in heaven we will be with our Christian family forever, and that we will have no need for money or property any longer.  So he calls us to give and sacrifice now against the time of wealth that is coming for all who follow Jesus.

 

So why is it that so many churches struggle with too little money to carry out the vision of God to reach a lost world with the Good News?  Why do poor Christians in the body of Christ languish with important needs unmet?  Why is it that our persecuted brothers and sisters in foreign lands receive nothing from us with which to survive?Could it be that we are spiritually asleep?  Have we fooled ourselves into thinking we are Christians when we are only selfish consumers who throw God a five-dollar tip now and then?

 

Someone may ask, "But if we give sacrificially and leave family to serve him, won't our lives be hard and lowly?"

 

The answer is yes.  Yes we might live hard, lowly lives from the world's perspective.  But isn't this precisely the life Jesus lived?  Didn't he already say that we would be persecuted and suffer even when we sacrifice for him?  Yes, he said it in our text above and in many other places.

 

But our lowliness will be turned to glory, our poverty to riches, and our sacrifice to honor when we meet him on that day when his Kingdom fully comes at last.  Because when we give a lot, we get a lot.

 

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.