Church Fathers Commentary Mark 10:28-31

"Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel`s sake, but he shall receive a 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 many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first." — Mark 10:28-31 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: Because the young man had gone away sorrowful after hearing our Savior's advice about casting away his goods, the disciples of Christ, who had already fulfilled the previous command, began to question Him about their reward.

They thought they had done a great thing, since the young man, who had fulfilled the commandments of the law, had not been able to hear this advice without sadness.

Therefore, Peter questioned the Lord for himself and the others with these words: Then Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Although Peter had left only a few things, he still calls them his "all." For even a few things can hold us by a bond of affection, so that he who leaves even a few things will be blessed.

The Venerable Bede: And because it is not enough to have left all, he adds that which constitutes perfection: and have followed thee. It is as if he said, "We have done what you have commanded. What reward, therefore, will you give us?"

Theophylact of Ohrid: But while Peter asks only about the disciples, our Lord gives a general answer. Therefore, the text continues: Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands.

In saying this, however, He does not mean that we should leave our fathers without helping them, or that we should separate from our wives; rather, He instructs us to prefer the glory of God to the things of this world.

St. John Chrysostom: It seems to me that by these words He intended to subtly proclaim that there would be persecutions, as it would come to pass that many fathers would lure their sons into impiety, and many wives their husbands.¹

Again, He does not hesitate to say, for my name's sake and the Gospel's, as Mark says, or for the kingdom of God, as Luke says. The name of Christ is the power of the Gospel and of His kingdom, for the Gospel is received in the name of Jesus Christ, and the kingdom is made known and comes by His name.²

The Venerable Bede: Some, however, taking opportunity from this saying, where it is announced that one shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, teach that Jewish fable of a thousand years after the resurrection of the just. They claim that during this time, all that we have left for the Lord's sake is to be restored with a manifold return, in addition to which we are to receive the crown of everlasting life.

These people do not perceive that although the promise is honorable in other respects, its foulness is made manifest in the "hundred wives" which the other Evangelists mention. This is particularly true since the Lord testifies that there will be no marriage in the resurrection, and asserts that the things we put away for His sake are to be received again in this life with persecutions—which, they affirm, will not take place in their thousand-year reign.ⁱ

Pseudo-Chrysostom: This hundredfold reward, therefore, must be in participation, not in possession, for the Lord fulfilled this for them not carnally, but spiritually.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For a wife is occupied in a house with her husband's food and clothing. See also how this was the case with the Apostles, for many women concerned themselves with their food and clothing and ministered to them. In the same way, the Apostles had many fathers and mothers—that is, people who loved them. Peter, for instance, leaving one house, afterward had the houses of all the disciples.

And what is more wonderful, they are to be persecuted and oppressed, for it is with persecutions that the Saints are to possess all things. For this reason, what follows is, But many that are first shall be last, and the last first. The Pharisees who were first became the last, but those who left all and followed Christ were last in this world through tribulation and persecution, yet they will be first through the hope that is in God.

The Venerable Bede: What is said here, shall receive an hundredfold, can be understood in a higher sense. [see note, p. 78] The number one hundred, which is counted by switching from the left hand to the right, has the same appearance in the bending of the fingers as the number ten on the left, yet it is a much greater quantity. This means that all who have despised temporal things for the sake of the kingdom of heaven through unwavering faith may taste the joy of that same kingdom in this life, which is full of persecutions. In their expectation of the heavenly country, signified by the right hand, they share in the happiness of all the elect.

But because not all people complete a virtuous course of life with the same ardor with which they began it, it is immediately added, But many that are first shall be last, and the last first. For we daily see many people who, while remaining in a secular life, are eminent for their virtuous conduct. Conversely, we see others who, though ardent in their spiritual profession from their youth, at last wither away in the sloth of ease. With a lazy folly, they finish in the flesh what they had begun in the Spirit.

1. Hom. in Matt., 64
2. Cat. in Marc. Oxon.