Yield All, or Walk Away Sorrowful, Part 2: A Hundredfold Now

David W Palmer

(Matthew 19:16, 21–22 NKJV) Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” ... {21} Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” {22} But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’s response to the wealthy young man who asked him about eternal life. To the disciples’ Jewish mindset, Jesus’s directive to yield over all his wealth was a shock; they were raised in a religious culture that believed wealth was evidence of a holy and righteous life—which seemed like confirmation that the rich young man already had eternal life.

(Matthew 19:25–26 NKJV) When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” {26} But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

At this point, Peter may have felt a little apprehensive about his own future financial security on earth as well as his own eternal salvation:

(Matthew 19:27 NKJV) Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

This was the perfect question for Jesus to simply clarify the issue for all eternity:

(Matthew 19:28–29 NKJV) 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.”

In Jesus’s answer, he underlines the priority of having first love for him: “You who have followed Me … everyone who has left houses … for My name’s sake.” The Lord also deals with the abundance of God’s blessing, while keeping it in the context of following him. He makes it very clear that he will eternally reward those who have sown themselves like this into his kingdom. In other words, if they completely give up their quest to secure their own prosperity, and if they trust him for provision while following him wholeheartedly, they would receive great benefits.

We note that in Mark’s account, Jesus clearly includes benefits in “this” life—here on earth before his return:

(Mark 10:29–30 NKJV) So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, {30} who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Our Lord clearly says that great blessing awaits those who leave their own comfortable security for his sake—note: “for my sake.” In fact, he said that even in this time they would be eligible for “a hundredfold” of what they had left when they “left all, rose up, and followed him” (Luke 5:27–28 NKJV). This promise is for you and me; and it is for right now.

We note that this promise of great increase comes with a warning about persecution. It also reminds us that the genuine follower, who doesn’t love wealth, will—along with the hundredfold blessing—still have eternal life. So wealth doesn’t preclude you from obtaining eternal life, but you cannot love it more than God. Because love of money can disqualify you from eternal life, he will lovingly test you in this with his directive: “Sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” This is where the rich young ruler failed; he didn’t give up his other love to put Jesus and his commands first. He went away sorrowful. What will you do?

Let’s now look at how Jesus concluded this explanation. The last verse of Matthew 19 is actually the introduction to what he says in Matthew 20. We should put these verses together and ignore the chapter division, which was added much later. (Chapters and verses were not put in to stop the flow of thought, but simply to make it easy for everyone to find the same place in the Bible.)

When we put them together it reads:

(Matthew 19:30–20:1 NKJV) “But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard …”

Jesus went on to give a parable to illustrate and further clarify the point he had just made about how finance works when he is in control of our lives. We will look at this tomorrow.

Today, I leave you with a familiar challenge from Jesus, but freshly applied: do not love or adhere to anyone or anything above him. He is your security and provision; he is your peace and protection; he is your guide and comfort; he alone is the source of eternal life. Jesus is the Good Teacher, and he is the only true expert on receiving eternal life. Whether our culture, feelings, or intellect agree with him or not; we would simply be very foolish to ignore his directives.

Have you asked him, “Good Teacher, what do you want me to do?” Has he already said, “Sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven?” Have you already heard him say, “and come, follow me”? I encourage you to respond with, “Yes Lord.”

He has promised to do a hundred times more for you than you could ever do for yourself if you hold on. Plus, if you follow him, you won’t walk away “sorrowful”; you will have an exciting adventure in this life—eligible for a hundredfold increase while here—and eternal life in the future. I know that selling and giving is a lot to ask; but Jesus wouldn’t ask it of you if he didn’t have a far more amazing blessing for you in mind to replace what you leave behind.