28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” 32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the gentiles; 34 they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise again.”
Prayer Focus: Peter, who always seems to have something to say, responds to the verses we read yesterday by declaring that they have left everything to follow Jesus. This seems to be what Jesus asked the young man to do. Jesus commends all those who have left something to follow him; but issues a caution – the first will be last and the last will be first. Why does this seem so unfair to us? The first should be first and the last should be last. It’s only fair, right? But the Kingdom of God is not ordered and structured by the ways of the world. Life comes through death on a cross. The last will be first. Pray for grace and strength to hear this word from the Lord. What does it mean for where you put your energy and your priorities today?
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