28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say to you, that when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his Majesty, ye which followed me in the regeneration, shall sit also upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And whosoever shall forsake houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my Name’s sake, he shall receive an hundredfold more, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first, shall be last, and the last shall be first.
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Discipleship is a lifestyle dedicated to following Jesus. Discipleship is something you live out, AFTER you are saved, born again by His grace. Once saved, you are automatically called to be a disciple. But discipleship cannot be carried out without salvation. You must be saved first. And that is a work Jesus accomplished on the cross. You do not work to be saved, you simply confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead. (Rom 10:9)
As disciples, everything from our spirit to our minds to our bodies to our actions and words to our location becomes subject to the teachings and calling of Christ. This requires you to develop a real relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit. He will guide you every day. His Word and His Spirit will guide you. There is perfect harmony between the Scriptures and the Spirit.
That word "forsake" is used here in the context of the cost of discipleship. In the original Greek text, it is defined on BlueLetterBible.org as:
I.to send away
A.to bid going away or depart
i.of a husband divorcing his wife
B.to send forth, yield up, to expire
C.to let go, let alone, let be
i.to disregard
ii.to leave, not to discuss now, (a topic)
a.of teachers, writers and speakers
iii.to omit, neglect
D.to let go, give up a debt, forgive, to remit
E.to give up, keep no longer
II.to permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person
III.to leave, go way from one
A.in order to go to another place
B.to depart from any one
C.to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned
D.to desert wrongfully
E.to go away leaving something behind
F.to leave one by not taking him as a companion
G.to leave on dying, leave behind one
H.to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining
I.abandon, leave destitute
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If anyone or anything is coming between you and Jesus and what He has called you to do, then as a disciple, we are to "forsake" or to "let go" of that person or thing. This is the sobering cost of discipleship.
See 1 Corinthians 7:17 Geneva Bible
17 But as God hath distributeth to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk: and so ordain I in all Churches.
Notice it is not as your parents call you or as your wife or husband calls you or as your children call you. It is not even as your pastor or priest calls you. It is as the Lord calls you. Every disciple has a general calling, to preach the Gospel. Yet, as we read 1 Corinthians 12 and the book of Acts, we learn that within that broad universal calling, are specific details. There is holy diversity in the administration and placement of people and gifts within the Body of Christ, the Church. Those details are going to vary from disciple to disciple. This makes each disciple's mission both universal and also unique, diverse. Each calling is focused on the Gospel, and it's power. But each calling also makes a geographic impact.
Jesus placed some of us in certain parts of the country, to serve there. Others, He has called to serve over seas. We each have a specific calling, with geographic details, ordained by the Lord Himself. This is what Paul the Apostle taught. Even Paul himself was given a geographic calling within the universal calling (Mat. 28:18-20).
His geographic calling varied from time to time. But it was always specific.
Jesus placed some of us in certain parts of the country, to serve there. Others, He has called to serve over seas. We each have a specific calling, with geographic details, ordained by the Lord Himself. This is what Paul the Apostle taught. Even Paul himself was given a geographic calling within the universal calling (Mat. 28:18-20).
His geographic calling varied from time to time. But it was always specific.
Acts 16:9-10 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
9 Where a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come into Macedonia, and help us.
10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we prepared to go into Macedonia, being assured that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel unto them.
So here we see that Paul was following the Lord's Calling. It was both Universal (Preach the Gospel) and also specific with geographic details (Macedonia).
Look at Phillip. He was given the universal calling, and within that, he was given geographic details for his calling.
Acts 8:26 Geneva Bible
Then the Angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the South unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is waste.
Now that we understand what Jesus expects, and we understand how He calls us, we can go back to our main text, which was about forsaking loved ones for the sake of Jesus' Name.
Mat. 19:29
29 And whosoever shall forsake houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my Name’s sake, he shall receive an hundredfold more, and shall inherit everlasting life.
To be clear: We are not to simply give up on loved ones or marriages on a whim, or walk away from our family responsibilities. No. That is not a proper understanding of this verse. This verse is specifically talking about prioritizing Christ's calling as FIRST in your life.
It might mean you have to leave home and family to follow Christ in the mission field. It might mean that you have been disowned by your family because you converted from their religion to Christianity. It might mean that you were abandoned for the sake of Christ.
Regarding that last example: if you can live in harmony with your spouse while effectively serving Christ as a disciple, then do it. There is no room for you to throw out such a relationship. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7 to live with our spouse even if they are an unbeliever.
But if that spouse is threatening to leave you because of your discipleship, and nothing can be done to convince them to stay, then you must let them go.
If your son or your wife or your parents abandon you for His Name's Sake, because you follow Jesus in word and in deed, you WILL be rewarded for your faithfulness! Stay true to Jesus. Honour your family the best you can. Show your family as much love as God showed you.
But never let people manipulate or commandeer the direction of your life and calling. Only Jesus is LORD for the true Christian disciple. You have both the universal call, and also a geographic, specific call. Scripture is teeming with examples of this. Stay true to the life Jesus has called you to live, and to the Gospel! You can know the universal call through Scripture. You can know your specific calling by relating to the Holy Spirit each day, as a born again child of God. He will guide you with His voice, He will reveal passages of Scripture that He wants you to relate to, and He will place you in a local church as He pleases. He will lead you faithfully as you seek Him.
Compare Mat 19:28-30 to this verse about non-believing or non-credible spouses leaving their Christian spouse:
1 Cor. 7:15
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart: a brother or a sister is not in subjection in such things: but God hath called us in peace.
If you are like me, then you have been abandoned by an "unbelieving" spouse because of your walk with Christ. That spouse has confessed that they see God as the enemy. He or she may have promised in their public marriage vows to walk with you in discipleship and ministry at the start, but they broke that holy vow. They have, instead, walked out, and now you are alone.
According to Matthew 19:29, Jesus will reward you for letting that unbelieving (Greek literally means: "not credible") spouse go for His name's sake. Your divorce, in this context, becomes a testimony of your discipleship.
As sad and tragic as divorce is, it is actually more tragic for you to abandon your obedience to Jesus in order keep your marriage.
It is a difficult decision, believe me. It is the same one that Adam had to make. He had to choose between obeying God (thus keeping his garden ministry in Eden), or obeying his wife, who had disobeyed God by eating the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His choice was to follow his disbelieving wife, and he lost everything as a result. No more tending the garden of Eden. That ministry, that service to God was gone for good. Even moreso, death was brought into existence because of Adam's sin, and Adam and Eve were permanently severed from the Lord. Thank God we have the Lamb, Jesus Christ who now makes it possible come alive again, and reunite with God!
This in no way is to undervalue the holy institution of God's marriage covenant between a man and a woman. But God's view is also bigger than a temporal covenant. Marriage ends at the grave. But the reward for disciples goes beyond the grave, into eternity!
If you disobey the calling of Christ (both the universal and the specific calling), to follow a non-believing spouse (in an effort to keep them from leaving you), this is not true discipleship.
Don't try and win the approval of your non-believing friends and family by denying Jesus. You are called to walk the very costly path of a disciple of Christ. The message, the details, and the location of your calling will NOT be popular with those who are worldly-minded. This often includes family members.
This is the Gospel. Salvation is free, but Discipleship is costly.
IN Christ you CAN finish this walk with Jesus til death, and get the reward!!
Jesus promises to give 100 times more to those who follow Him, and forsake (let go of) loved ones who abandon them.
And He also promises life everlasting to those who will follow Jesus to the end. That is amazing! This reward will NEVER fade, and NEVER get old. It will last forever! The price we pay today, is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory waiting for us at the finish line!
Press on and be blessed! He is with you in this!!
Pastor Curtis
Wed Aug 5 2015 8:20pm EST
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