The Upside-Down Kingdom Economy
Introduction: What's In It For Me?
We live in a thoroughly transactional age. Every relationship, every commitment, every decision is run through a cost-benefit analysis. The spirit of our time is the spirit of the shrewd consumer, always asking, "What's in it for me?" We want a return on our investment, whether that investment is time, money, or emotional energy. And so, when we come to the demands of the Christian faith, it is not surprising that this same spirit tags along, whispering in our ear. We hear the radical call of Christ, the demand for total allegiance, and a small, calculating part of our brain starts running the numbers.
Peter, in our text today, gives voice to this very human impulse. He is not being cynical; he is being honest. Right after the rich young ruler walked away sorrowful because he had great possessions and was unwilling to part with them, Peter looks around at his fellow disciples, then looks at Jesus, and essentially asks for a peek at the balance sheet. "We did what that fellow wouldn't do. We left it all. So, what's the payout?" It is a blunt question, the kind that might make the more piously-inclined among us uncomfortable. But Jesus does not rebuke him for it. Instead, He answers the question directly, but in a way that completely upends every worldly notion of profit and loss, of status and reward.
Jesus reveals the glorious and startling nature of the kingdom's economy. It is an economy of grace, not merit. It is an economy where loss is gain, where the last are first, and where the reward is not a wage earned but an inheritance freely given. This passage is a direct assault on two opposing errors: the error of the prosperity gospeler who thinks following Jesus leads to worldly riches, and the error of the sentimentalist who thinks there is no reward at all. Jesus teaches us that the reward is real, it is immense, but it operates on a principle that is entirely alien to the fallen world. It is the principle of the great reversal.
The Text
Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
(Matthew 19:27-30 LSB)
Peter's Blunt Calculation (v. 27)
We begin with Peter's straightforward question.
"Then Peter answered and said to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?'" (Matthew 19:27)
Peter is the bookkeeper for the disciples here. He has just witnessed the departure of a man who was "first" in every worldly sense, a man of wealth, status, and apparent piety. That man was unwilling to liquidate his assets for the kingdom. Peter, on the other hand, knows that he and the others have done precisely that. They left their nets, their boats, their tax-collecting booths, their families. They pushed all their chips to the center of the table. And so he asks the logical question: "What do we get?"
There is a right way and a wrong way to ask this question. The wrong way is with the spirit of a hired hand demanding his wages, as though God were in his debt. This is the spirit of the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. But there is also a right way, the way of a child asking his father about the inheritance. It is a question of assurance, not of arrogance. Given that Jesus proceeds to answer him without a shred of rebuke, we should assume Peter is asking in the right way. He is not demanding payment; he is asking for clarity on the promise.
And it is a good question for us to consider. The cost of discipleship is real. Following Christ will cost you. It may cost you relationships, career advancement, comfort, and social standing. If we are to pay that cost joyfully, we must have a firm grasp on what has been promised to us. A soldier does not go to war without knowing what he is fighting for. Peter is simply asking about the terms of victory.
The Apostolic Constitution (v. 28)
Jesus first answers with a specific promise to the twelve apostles.
"And Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'" (Matthew 19:28 LSB)
This verse is an eschatological bombshell, and it is frequently mishandled. First, notice the timing: "in the regeneration." The Greek word is palingenesia, which means a renewal or a new birth. When is this? Our dispensationalist friends want to postpone this to a future millennial kingdom. But the regeneration began with the resurrection and ascension of Christ. It is the entire gospel age. It is the era of the new creation, in which the Spirit is making all things new. Peter himself says that we are "born again" to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). This is the regeneration.
And when does the Son of Man sit on His glorious throne? He is sitting there now. After His ascension, He was seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt. 28:18). His reign is not a future event; it is a present reality. The kingdom has come, and Christ is its enthroned king.
Therefore, the apostles' role in judging must also be understood in light of this present reality. They are not going to be holding court over ethnic Jews in some future state. The "twelve tribes of Israel" is a term for the entire covenant people of God, the Church, which is the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). And how do the apostles "judge" this new Israel? They judge it through their authoritative words, which are now recorded for us in the New Testament. The teachings of the apostles are the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). They are the constitutional documents of the kingdom. The standard by which the church is ruled, governed, and judged for all time is the doctrine of the apostles. This is their throne. Their authority is perpetual because their word is enshrined in Scripture.
The Hundredfold Return (v. 29)
Jesus then broadens the promise to include every disciple who makes sacrifices for His name.
"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29 LSB)
This is a staggering promise. The cost is high: houses, family, land. This is not a command to be irresponsible or to needlessly break fellowship with family. It is a statement of ultimate allegiance. When loyalty to Christ conflicts with loyalty to family or property, there is no question who comes first. He must be preeminent in all things.
But look at the return on this investment. "One hundred times as much." And this is not just a promise for the next life. If you forsake a brother for Christ's sake, you will gain a hundred brothers in the Church. If you lose a house, you will have a hundred Christian homes open to you. This is a promise of the glorious reality of covenant community. The Church is God's new family, His new society. The bonds of fellowship we have in Christ are deeper, richer, and more numerous than the natural bonds we might be called to sacrifice. This is God's divine social safety net. It is a present-tense reward.
And on top of this hundredfold return in this life, there is the ultimate inheritance: "eternal life." This is not just endless duration of existence. It is a quality of life, the very life of God Himself, which begins the moment we are united to Christ by faith and which culminates in the glories of the new heavens and the new earth. The sacrifice is real, but the reward is out of all proportion to the cost.
The Great Reversal (v. 30)
Finally, Jesus concludes with a foundational principle of His kingdom, a warning to the proud and a comfort to the humble.
"But many who are first will be last; and the last, first." (Matthew 19:30 LSB)
This is the capstone of the entire discussion. It is a direct commentary on the rich young ruler who was "first" in the world's eyes but ended up last, walking away from eternal life. It is also a direct encouragement to the disciples, who were "last" in the world's eyes, a motley crew of fishermen and tax collectors, but who were being made first in the kingdom of God.
This principle demolishes all human systems of honor and status. In God's kingdom, the way up is down. Greatness is found in service. The first place is reserved for the one who is willing to be the slave of all. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. The man who trusts in his riches, his resume, his reputation, his righteousness, he is the one who is in the gravest danger. He is "first" in his own ledger, but he will find that God's accounting is very different.
But the one who has been brought low, who has nothing to offer, who has left everything behind and clings to Christ alone, that is the man who is on the path to glory. The tax collector beating his breast is exalted above the Pharisee praying in the front. The disciples who left their nets are given thrones. This is not because their sacrifice earned them anything. It is because their sacrifice was evidence that they had abandoned all self-reliance and were trusting in God's grace alone. The great reversal is not about a new system of merit; it is the demolition of all merit and the establishment of a kingdom that runs entirely on the sovereign, surprising, and glorious grace of God.