Pastor's Blog
“Reward?”
Matthew 19:27-29 (NRSV)
27 Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated 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 children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.
Do you remember when you were a child, and you were offered a reward for doing something? What motivated you to get this reward? Was it completing the task? Was it the reward itself?
We are often given many chances in life to get rewards sometimes. And sometimes we may miss those chances. We may fail and not get rewarded. However, that does not mean we should totally give up. New possibilities for new rewards will arise again, and sometimes it may be the same reward too.
This section of scripture follows the interaction with the rich young ruler by Jesus. For context, read Matthew 19:16-26 to help understand the response of Peter’s harsh words towards Jesus at the beginning of our scripture here. One commentary says the following about verse 28:
“Renewal, the new age on earth, featuring a general resurrection” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible commentary, 1775).
This is a rebirth that has been given to us as well. However, I think we need to look through the eyes of grace toward Peter as well as the rich young ruler. We do not know if the rich young ruler did do what Jesus asked of him; it is not in this story. He may have been given a second or even perhaps a third chance. We know that Peter was given three opportunities, but he did not fare so well. However, he was granted grace from Jesus after his denials.
So, if you failed and missed your reward, you, too, still have been given another chance. That reward is grace. We all have been granted this through our faith. This is part of our renewal!
Peace,
Pastor Harvey