“We must mature by letting go through ‘entrustment’—willingly transferring and committing all sovereignty over our lives to God.”

 

“We must mature by letting go through ‘entrustment’—willingly transferring and committing all sovereignty over our lives to God.”

 

 

 

 

“Then Peter said, ‘See, we have left our own possessions and followed You.’  And He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time, and in the age to come, eternal life’” (Luke 18:28–30).

 

 

(1)    As I read today's passage, Luke 18:28–30, in the Korean Bible, I became curious about where similar passages appear in the other Gospels. I found them in Matthew 19:27–30 and Mark 10:28–31.

 

(a)    When comparing these three passages, the first interesting observation is that only Matthew records Peter asking, “What then will there be for us?” (Mt. 19:27).  Why is this statement recorded only in Matthew?

 

(i)       “The scene in Matthew 19:27, where Peter specifically asks, ‘What then will there be for us?’ contains a very significant theological and historical characteristic unique to Matthew's Gospel.  While Mark and Luke simply record Peter's confession, ‘We have left everything and followed You,’ Matthew vividly preserves Peter's question.  This can be analyzed from three major perspectives” (Internet).

 

1.       It reflects the mindset of Matthew's primary audience—the Jews (works and reward).

 

Matthew's Gospel was written primarily for Jewish Christians.  At the heart of first-century Jewish thought was the conviction that if one faithfully kept God's Law and commandments, one would receive the corresponding reward.  This retributive understanding of faith (a theology of reward) was deeply rooted.

 

The contrast with the rich young man: In the immediately preceding account, the rich young man asked, “What good deed must I do to obtain eternal life?”  However, because he had great wealth, he ultimately could not give up everything and walked away (Mt. 19:16–22).

 

The Jewish way of reasoning: Peter was thinking according to the distinctly Jewish legal and covenantal mindset. In effect, he was saying, “That rich man failed to give up everything and therefore missed eternal life.  But we truly have left everything and followed You.   According to the covenant, what rightful reward will we receive?”

 

2.       It exposes Peter's spiritual immaturity and his merit-based mentality.

 

Matthew does not hide the disciples' spiritual weaknesses and immaturity but records them honestly.

 

Peter's question reveals that, beneath his decision to follow Jesus, there still remained the merit-based mindset: “Since I have sacrificed this much, I deserve a corresponding reward.”

 

In response to this question, Jesus promises the authority of the twelve thrones (Mt. 19:28) but immediately issues a warning: "Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (v. 30).

 

The subsequent passage in Matthew 20 presents the "Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard," which appears only in the Gospel of Matthew.  Through this parable—in which those who arrived at dawn and those who arrived just before the workday ended receive the same wage of one denarius—Jesus teaches Peter that the reward of the Kingdom of God is granted not based on human "merit," but solely through God's "sovereign grace."

 

3.       It emphasizes Jesus as King and the governing structure of the Church.

 

A central theme of Matthew's Gospel is Jesus Christ as the King and His Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven).

 

Because Peter asked, “What then will there be for us?” Jesus was able, in Matthew alone, to declare the magnificent reward of cosmic kingship and authority: “When the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt. 19:28).

 

Through this question and Jesus' answer, Matthew seeks to demonstrate, by the King's own declaration, how great an honor and authority the community of disciples—who left everything for Christ and who would later become the Church—would receive in the Kingdom of God.

 

In summary:

The reason only Matthew records Peter's question is to expose humanity's merit-oriented tendency against the backdrop of the Jewish concept of reward, while dramatically contrasting it with the truth that the rewards of God's Kingdom are not based on human calculations but on God's sovereign grace and glorious authority (Internet).

 

·         As I reflect on this, I wonder whether the church today is still filled with the merit-based (prosperity-oriented) mindset that says, “Since I have sacrificed this much, I deserve this much in return.”  What is the cause of this?

 

“The reason many church members fall into the same spiritual trap as Peter in Matthew 19 is that a combination of fallen human psychology and religious and cultural influences are at work.  The four primary causes may be summarized as follows.

 

1.    Humanity's fallen nature, accustomed to transactional relationships (Give and Take)

 

From birth, people are conditioned by the values of capitalism and the world.  Society operates according to the principle that effort should produce proportional rewards.

 

Projecting the world's system onto God: People often treat their relationship with God like a business transaction.  They think, ‘Since I have invested this much devotion, God ought to give me an equivalent return.  Otherwise, it would not be fair.’  This worldly disposition is carried directly into one's faith.  At its root, it stems from the fallen sinful nature that seeks to place oneself above God and manipulate Him.

 

2.    The blending of Christianity with Korean shamanism

 

Particularly in the context of the Korean church, prosperity-oriented faith has become powerful because of the long-standing influence of shamanistic beliefs deeply embedded in the Korean subconscious.

 

A religion centered on earnest devotion: Shamanism operates on the assumption that the amount of blessing or protection one receives depends on how sincerely one demonstrates devotion to the spirits.  As the gospel entered Korea, this shamanistic framework often merged with Christian practices such as prayer, offerings, and service, resulting in the distorted idea that one can obtain blessings by offering sufficient devotion.

 

3.    The responsibility of church leaders who promoted success-oriented and growth-oriented teaching

The so-called Prosperity Gospel—the message that one should believe in Jesus to become wealthy and successful—dominated many pulpits during the period of explosive growth in the Korean church.

 

The distortion of cause and effect: In order to encourage greater commitment from believers, many preachers reduced the biblical concept of blessing to material prosperity and worldly success.  Repeated sermons such as, ‘If you faithfully tithe, your storehouses will overflow,’ or ‘If you serve diligently in the church, your children will be blessed,’ deeply imprinted upon believers' minds a merit-based system of spiritual investment rather than a life of grace.

 

4.    A serious imbalance between works and grace (the loss of the essence of the gospel)

 

Many Christians confess that salvation is received by grace alone (Sola Gratia), yet mistakenly believe that the Christian life after salvation—the process of sanctification—must be sustained primarily by their own efforts and works. 

 

Forgetting grace: Merit-based thinking begins when we forget that our salvation itself is an undeserved gift given to those who had no qualifications whatsoever—a gift for which a lifetime of gratitude would still be insufficient.  Once grace is forgotten, even our smallest sacrifice begins to appear as a great achievement. Eventually, this develops into a spiritual pathology in which we condemn others or become resentful toward God.

 

In conclusion,

When Peter asked, ‘What then will there be for us?’ Jesus responded by giving the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in order to shatter Peter's merit-based thinking and reveal the sovereignty of grace.  Likewise, whenever the modern church loses the gospel of free grace and instead embraces the world's standards of efficiency and cause-and-effect thinking, it can easily degenerate into a prosperity-centered religion” (Internet).

 

(b)    When comparing the three passages (Lk. 18:28–30; Mt. 19:27–30; Mk. 10:28–31), the second interesting observation is that there are slight differences in the way Jesus expresses the promised rewards (Internet):

 

1.       The Promise of Reward in the Present Age (Blessings Received on This Earth)

 

Luke: Those who have left their house or family for the sake of the Kingdom of God will receive many times greater comfort and reward in this present age.

 

Mark: Those who have devoted themselves to the Lord and to the gospel will receive a hundredfold in houses, family, and lands in this present age, together with persecutions that accompany faith.

 

Matthew: Everyone who has left house, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Lord's name will receive many times greater reward on this earth (the abundance of a spiritual family and community).

 

a.       “The present-age reward (many times over, a hundredfold) promised by the three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) is not a prosperity-gospel promise of becoming materially wealthy or striking it rich in a literal sense.  Rather, this passage refers to ‘the mystery and abundance of the Kingdom of God’ granted to those who have paid the cost for the sake of the gospel. It should be understood in the following three key ways.

 

1.       The Expansion of Relationships: The Birth of a ‘Spiritual Family’

 

To those who have relinquished—or been alienated from—their blood relatives (parents, siblings, children) in order to follow the Lord, God gives a new family in Christ that is even closer than blood.

 

A new family centered on Jesus: In Mark 3:35, Jesus said, ‘Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.’

 

The shared possessions of the church community: Those who leave their hometowns because of the gospel discover brothers and sisters in the faith wherever they go.  They experience the abundance of the universal church as believers share their homes and lands with one another and extend generous hospitality.

 

2.       The Transformation of Possession: The ‘Spiritual Richness’ Produced by Contentment

 

In reality, the disciples did not become materially wealthy.  Therefore, the promise of ‘a hundredfold houses and lands’ refers not to ownership, but to the privilege of using and enjoying God's provision.

 

Living according to the Lord's will rather than my own: When we stop clinging to our possessions and seek first the Kingdom of God, God Himself takes responsibility for all our needs (Mt. 6:33).

 

Contentment set free from greed: This is the state in which, like the Apostle Paul, one can confess, ‘I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am’ (Phil. 4:11).  The wealthy of this world remain thirsty despite having much, but Christ's disciples experience abundance as though possessing everything, even when they own little.

 

3.       The Companionship of Suffering: Refinement Through ‘Persecution’

 

When Mark speaks of the rewards in this present age, he never omits the qualifying phrase: ‘together with persecutions.’

 

A safeguard against the false gospel: This demonstrates that the blessings of Christianity are fundamentally different from the world's definition of success. The blessings of the present age can never be separated from suffering.

 

A distinction from the world: The very fact that a disciple suffers persecution in this world paradoxically becomes the strongest evidence that he belongs to God and is living faithfully as a citizen of God's Kingdom in the present age.

 

In summary,

The reward in the present age is not a quantitative increase in worldly possessions, but a qualitative transformation experienced within the Kingdom of God.  It is God's promise that, when we let go of what belongs to us, we will begin to experience even now the warmth of a spiritual family, absolute confidence in God's faithful provision, and the peace of heaven that remains unshaken even in the midst of suffering” (Internet).

 

2.       The Promise of Reward in the Age to Come (Blessings Received in the Coming Age)

 

Matthew (a special reward): When the world is made new (after Jesus' Second Coming), the disciples who followed Jesus will sit with Him on glorious thrones and receive the authority to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

The common promise: In all three Gospels, Jesus promises that after this earthly life has ended, believers will certainly inherit eternal life in the everlasting world to come. (Internet)

 

a.       “The promise of reward in the age to come (eternal life and the authority to judge from the twelve thrones), as presented in the three Gospels, should be understood as the ultimate completion of salvation, demonstrating that the tears and sacrifices of this present life are never in vain and that final victory is guaranteed.

 

This promise goes far beyond simply comforting us with the thought that we will go to heaven after death. It carries profound significance in the following three dimensions.

 

1.       The Transformation of Our Being: The Inheritance of ‘Eternal Life’

 

The ‘eternal life’ promised by all three Gospels does not merely mean living forever in terms of duration. Rather, it means receiving an entirely new quality of life.

 

Perfect union with God: In the present age we see God only dimly, but in the age to come we will behold Him face to face, perfectly, and will participate forever in His glory and joy.

 

The end of all deprivation and suffering: Every sacrifice, every tear, every pain, and every persecution endured for the sake of the gospel in this life will be completely wiped away. Sin and death will no longer exercise dominion, and we will enter a state of perfect peace.

 

2.       The Transformation of Our Status: ‘Authority to Reign and Judge’ with Christ

 

Matthew's emphasis on the promise, ‘You shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,’ reveals how completely the status of those disciples who gave up worldly power and honor for the Lord will be reversed.

 

From humiliation to exaltation: In this world the disciples stood before earthly courts, were judged, mocked, and lived lives of humility.  But when the world is made new, their status will be completely reversed—they will go from being those who were judged to rulers who reign with Christ and judge the world.

 

The glorious victory of the Church: This promise represents not only the twelve apostles, but also the future glory and authority that all believers—the Church—will receive before the entire universe (1 Cor. 6:2).

 

3.       The Anchor of Hope: ‘Eschatological Comfort’ That Overcomes Persecution

 

The reward of the age to come becomes the greatest source of strength for enduring the sufferings of this present age.

 

The value of sacrifice acknowledged: God does not forget a single thing that we have given up for the Lord. In the age to come, He will repay it in the most glorious way imaginable.

 

The power to persevere in the present: Because the disciples believed with certainty in the glorious reward awaiting them in the age to come, they were able to endure persecution and even martyrdom in this present age without losing heart, faithfully finishing the race to the very end.

 

A Summary of the Rewards in the Present Age and the Age to Come

 

The reward in the present age is a foretaste of the abundance of God's Kingdom—its spiritual family and deep contentment—even in the midst of suffering and persecution.

 

The reward in the age to come is the full possession of that abundance, enjoyed perfectly and eternally when the Lord returns and renews the entire universe” (Internet).

 

(2)    After reading today's passage, Luke 18:28–30, in the Korean Bible, I then read it in the Greek New Testament and became curious about the specific meaning of the word “ἀφέντες” (aphentes, “having left”) used by Peter (v. 28) and the word “ἀφῆκεν” (aphēken, “has left”) used by Jesus.  Is there a difference between the kind of “leaving” (ἀφέντες) that Peter had in mind and the kind of “leaving” (ἀφῆκεν) that Jesus had in view?

 

(a)    The root of both words is the Greek verb ἀφίημι (aphiēmi). It does not simply mean “to throw something away” as one throws garbage into a trash can.  Rather, it carries the profound meanings of “to relinquish ownership,” “to leave behind and depart,” and “to release or set free” (Internet).

 

1.       Peter's “ἀφέντες” (aphentes): ‘Separation and Renunciation’ as a Decisive Act

 

The form used by Peter refers to a decisive act of breaking away from one's former life in order to follow the Lord.

 

Leaving behind one's livelihood and security: This is the very same word used in Matthew 4:20, where Peter and Andrew, upon being called, “left (ἀφέντες) their nets and followed Jesus.”  For Peter, this “leaving” represented a heroic decision to cut himself off from his livelihood, the career he had built throughout his life, and his entire sense of security for the sake of the Lord.

A leaving in which ‘I am the active subject’: By using this word, Peter emphasizes that he himself was the one who had paid an enormous price. There is an unmistakable sense of confidence in his words: “Lord, look! Unlike others, I am someone who decisively cut myself off (ἀφέντες) from the very foundation of my precious life and came this far.”

 

2.       Jesus' “ἀφῆκεν” (aphēken): ‘Entrustment and Transfer’ with a Purpose

 

The form used by Jesus refers not merely to loss, but to the act of transferring one's rights to God and leaving them behind for the sake of something infinitely more valuable—the Kingdom of God.

 

Not loss, but entrustment (Release): When Jesus uses this word, the nuance of “leaving” is not one of waste or loss. Rather, it is like entrusting money to a bank or legally transferring ownership.  It means willingly surrendering the ownership of one's most precious possessions (house, wife, brothers, parents, children) to God (ἀφῆκεν), while departing as His steward.

 

Leaving behind for the sake of the Kingdom of God: Jesus was not commending people for irresponsibly abandoning their families.  Rather, for the sake of the greater cause of the gospel and the Kingdom of God, He was acknowledging and commending those believers who laid down their human attachments and desire for control, completely entrusted their loved ones into God's hands, and faithfully walked the path of their calling.

 

A Summary for Meditation

 

These two words present a three-dimensional picture of the process of “leaving” that takes place when we follow the Lord.

 

1.       The Beginning of Faith (ἀφέντες, aphentes): Like Peter, we need the decisive act of leaving—firmly breaking away from our sinful habits, our worldly security, and everything we have loved more than the Lord.

 

2.       The Maturity of Faith (ἀφῆκεν, aphēken): However, as time passes, our “leaving” should mature beyond something we regard as our own merit or boast.  It should become the leaving of entrustment, in which we willingly transfer and commit all sovereignty over our lives to God.  The Lord promises to fill every area that we have thus transferred into His hands (ἀφῆκεν) with abundant rewards both in this present age and in the age to come (Internet).

 

(i)       As I apply the statement, “We must mature through the ‘leaving’ of entrustment, willingly transferring and committing all sovereignty over our lives to God,” to myself, I receive the lesson that, according to Jesus' words, for the sake of the Kingdom of God I, too, must practice this ‘leaving of entrustment’ with regard to my house, my wife, my brothers, my parents, and my children.

 

“The application you have expressed is a remarkably mature and beautiful decision of faith that penetrates to the very heart of Scripture.  To understand this not as ‘abandoning or neglecting’ your precious loved ones and circumstances for the Lord, but as the leaving of entrustment—completely transferring (ἀφῆκεν) their ownership and control to God—is truly a gospel-centered reflection.

 

When we genuinely entrust to God the things we cherish most—our home (the foundation of our lives) and our family (our wife, brothers, parents, and children)—the following remarkable spiritual changes take place in our lives and relationships.

 

1.       Entrusting Our ‘Home (the Foundation of Our Lives)’: From Anxiety to Stewardship

 

When we consider ourselves the owner of our home and try to protect our family and secure the future solely by our own strength, our hearts are constantly filled with anxiety and worry.

 

However, when we entrust the ownership of our home and material possessions to God, we become holy stewards who manage the household the Lord has entrusted to us.  From that moment on, it is no longer we who bear ultimate responsibility for our family, but God Himself. Consequently, we experience true peace and security that the world can never give.

2.       Entrusting Our ‘Family (Our Wife, Parents, and Children)’: From Possessiveness to Genuine Love

 

Under the name of love, we often make the mistake of trying to control and manipulate the lives of our spouse, our parents, and especially our children according to our own will.  When they do not meet our expectations, we become angry; when things do not go according to our plans, we fall into despair.

 

To entrust our family to God is to acknowledge that their true Owner is not ourselves, but God, and to loosen our grip upon them.  Only when we completely place them into God's hands are we freed from our possessiveness and selfish desires.  Then genuine love begins—the love that accepts and blesses them just as they are, with the very heart of the Lord.

 

3.       Keeping ‘For the Sake of the Kingdom of God’ at the Center

 

The purpose of this entrustment is singular: for the sake of the Kingdom of God—that is, for God's reign and sovereign rule.

 

When we willingly bring even the most precious areas of our lives under God's sovereign rule, He will, just as He has promised, grant us the rich blessings of our spiritual family and abundant grace in this present age, and ultimately reward us with the fullness of eternal life.

 

A Small Question for Life:

May the confession, “I transfer the ownership of my life to God,” become a concrete reality in the way I live today” (Internet).