Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 19:29

"And every one that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name`s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life." — Matthew 19:29 (ASV)

Jesus now extends his encouragement to all his self-sacrificing disciples. The promise is not literal (one cannot have one hundred mothers). God is no one’s debtor: if one of Jesus’ disciples has, for Jesus’ sake, left, say, a father, such a person will find within the messianic community a hundred who will be as a father to him or her—in addition to inheriting eternal life (v.29).

The proverbial saying of v.30 is one Jesus repeated on various occasions. Here he illustrates it by a parable (20:1–16), climaxed by the proverb in reverse form (20:16) as a closing bracket. It indicates something of the reversals that often occur in the kingdom of God. It sets forth God’s grace over against all notions that the rich, powerful, great, and prominent will continue so in the kingdom. Those who approach God in childlike trust (vv.13–15) will be received and advanced in the kingdom beyond those who, from the world’s perspective, enjoy prominence now.