Matthew 19:29-30

Matthew 19:29-30. And every one In every age and country, and not you my apostles only; that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or wife, or children Either by giving any of them up, when they could not be retained with a clear conscience; or by willingly refraining from acquiring them: shall receive a hundred-fold In value, though not in kind, even in the present world, in the inward satisfaction and divine consolation attending real religion; and inherit everlasting life Shall enjoy to all eternity that unspeakable felicity and glory which God has prepared for all his children, and especially for those who have cheerfully made such sacrifices as those, and have given such proofs of their faith in, and love to, their God and Saviour. But many first In the advantages and privileges which they enjoy; shall notwithstanding this, fall short of others, and be last in the great day of accounts; and those who are the last, shall prove in this respect the first: for some, from whom it might be least expected, shall embrace the gospel, and courageously endure the greatest hardships for it; while others, with far greater advantages, shall reject it, and under much stronger engagements shall desert it. The words thus interpreted may be considered as a prediction that the Gentiles would receive and obey the gospel, while the Jews should reject it. As if he had said, “Though you may imagine that you and your brethren have a peculiar title to the great and substantial blessings of my kingdom, which I have been describing, the Gentiles shall have equal opportunities and advantages for obtaining them; because they shall be admitted to all the privileges of the gospel on the same footing with you Jews; nay, in point of time, they shall be before you; for they shall generally embrace the gospel before your nation is converted, Romans 11:25-26.” Macknight. The words may also be thus interpreted: Many that are first in profession, and in the opinion of their fellow-creatures, and their own opinion, for piety and virtue, shall be last in my esteem, and in that of my Father, or shall be found wanting, and therefore shall be condemned at the day of judgment: and the last in the opinion of men, and in their own opinion, and who are despised and rejected by those that judge according to appearance, shall be first Shall be preferred to others, and be found highest in my favour in that day. The passage has evidently yet another sense, namely, Many of those who were first called shall be last, shall have the lowest reward, those who came after them being preferred before them: and yet possibly both the first and the last may be saved, though with different degrees of glory. The doctrine contained in this sentence is illustrated by the parable of the householder, contained in the beginning of the following chapter.