Matthew 19:27-30

Matthew 19:27: “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

There are some people who insist that everyone gets the same reward in Heaven. I think this passage disproves that theory pretty neatly. As you can see, the disciples will be granted the privilege of sitting on 12 thrones and judging the 12 tribes of Israel. (What about Judas? Well Judas, as you may recall, was replace in Acts by someone else.) No one else is given this privilege. You and I will not be judging the tribes of Israel; only Peter and the other disciples will. They get a reward that we will not have – and therefore, everyone does not get the same thing.

Matthew 19:29: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Here again we see the same concept: those who sacrificed for the cause of Christ “shall receive an hundredfold”. It’s obvious that those who did not sacrifice will not receive an hundredfold. Those who sacrificed will be rewarded, and those who did not – well, they won’t be rewarded. But everyone will inherit everlasting life.

This is one reason why Jesus said that we should rejoice when we are persecuted, for our reward is great in Heaven. A hundredfold reward sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it?

Matthew 19:30: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

In other words, those who are great here may not be great in Heaven. What will matter greatly is our humility, our faithfulness, and our obedience.