Mark 10:30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Those who leave homes, family ties, possessions, relationships, status, or temporal interests for Christ and the gospel receive a hundredfold now in this present life, with persecutions, and eternal life in the world to come. The hundredfold return is not merely material but includes gaining the fellowship, care, and support of a wider spiritual family of fellow believers, so that separation from home is met with other homes and people to meet one's needs. The promise includes being hated, persecuted, and afflicted, so following Christ does not mean escaping trials, for the path to God's kingdom includes tribulation and loss is met with present provision. This repayment is not payment of a debt owed for human service but flows from a heart full of infinite love, mercy, and tenderness, and its greatness shows it is a king's gift. It does not promise ease, honor, or wealth but assures needed blessings even amid persecution, and not all receive abundance now because some could not bear it or manage it wisely.
Setting and Promise
The promise belongs to the encounter in which a young ruler asks how to receive eternal life, and the answer is that entering life requires keeping God's commandments, whose principles must guide every action so that a person is in harmony with God. It stands just before the parable of the laborers to set forth the right principles of God's free grace against the teaching that God's favor must be earned and the reward of the righteous gained by works. That error produces a grasping, mercenary worship, a spirit from which even the disciples were not wholly free.
Those who leave homes, family ties, possessions, relationships, status, or temporal interests for Christ and the gospel receive a hundredfold now in this present life, with persecutions, and eternal life in the world to come. If faithfulness requires separation from home and family, God can provide other homes and people to meet one's needs, giving abundant care and provision in this life. The promise sustains those engaged in the service of Jesus, including work for children and relatives through living touch with God and right counsel, and it is rich and full, to be appreciated and kept in view with respect to the recompense of the reward. It supports patient trust rather than anxious efforts to escape hardship.
The hundredfold return is not merely material but includes gaining the fellowship, care, and support of a wider spiritual family of fellow believers. Paul's exchange of Phariseeism, popularity, and honor for Christ's service illustrates that leaving all for Christ is no true loss, though it brings trials and humiliation. The surrounding saying that the first may be last and the last first warns that worldly rank does not determine reward. Earthly interests must therefore remain secondary to eternal life.
Following Christ does not mean escaping trials, for Jesus foretold beforehand to His disciples that they would be hated of all men and persecuted and afflicted. The path to God's kingdom includes tribulation, and the promised reward does not remove hardship. Loss for Christ is met with present provision for those driven from their homes and brought to poverty, those in distress through disease and privation, and those cast into prison.
Reward in Service
God repays every service, every self-denial, and every sacrifice, including merciful service and self-denying sacrifice for others, with a hundredfold in this present life and everlasting life in the world to come. This repayment is not payment of a debt owed for human service but flows from a heart full of infinite love, mercy, and tenderness, and its greatness shows it is a king's gift. Receiving it requires cultivating faith and centering thoughts upon Him instead of looking at objectionable and discouraging features, recognizing that all heaven and the universe of heaven wait to work together with believers as living agencies and co-laborers to bless the world with the message given them.
The verse does not promise ease, honor, or wealth in God's service, but assures needed blessings and provision even amid persecution, requiring complete consecration rather than a life centered on comfort or material provision. Not everyone receives the hundredfold in this life, because some could not bear it or manage it wisely and would become unwise stewards if entrusted with much; God may withhold abundance for their good while keeping their treasure in heaven secure. One who earns means by honest labor in the field and makes a right use and right disposition of what is earned, devoting it unselfishly to advancing the truth and bringing people to God, may receive a hundredfold blessing in this life and, if faithful, a rich reward of eternal life in God's kingdom.
The present hundredfold does not mean staying in the same secular labor or expecting strength for every kind of work, for God can bless with strength for field work for a time and then withhold strength for it because He has another work to be done, directing the person to leave field labor and by faith, prayer, trust in God, and prayer for the true meaning of difficult passages to write and publish present truth. Venture for the advancement of God's cause is a sure and safe investment, and time, influence, interest, and means invested in God's cause lay up lasting treasure in heaven beyond fire, adversity, and loss, whereas earthly wealth can be consumed or lost; the promise is therefore not a reason to seek property. God fulfills the promise with providential prosperity and abundance for those who do not make labor for property or selfish interest their object but live for God and His cause, choosing active itinerant labor with hardship, privation, and exposure over ease and indolence, rebuking love of the world and selfishness, leading in liberality by their own donations, and caring for the widow and fatherless, so that means entrusted to them raises them above want so they need not depend on changeable people; the gift remains subject to testing and may be removed to prove them, which must be borne with humble submission.
The promise is rich and full, to be appreciated and kept in view with respect to the recompense of the reward, sustaining those engaged in the service of Jesus including work for children and relatives through living touch with God and right counsel, and supporting patient trust rather than anxious efforts to escape hardship, since if faithfulness requires separation from home and a wife God can provide other homes and people to meet one's needs. God entrusts wealth and abilities to be used for the good of those in need, and faithful use of even one talent is recorded in heaven and gains value beyond human measure.