John Calvin Commentary Matthew 19:27

"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee; what then shall we have?" — Matthew 19:27 (ASV)

Then Peter answering said to him. Peter tacitly compares himself and the other disciples to the rich man, whom the world had turned aside from Christ. As they had led a poor and wandering⁶³⁹ life, which was accompanied by disgrace and annoyances, and as no better condition for the future presented itself, he properly inquires if it is to no purpose that they have left all their property and devoted themselves to Christ; for it would be unreasonable if, after having been stripped of their property by the Lord, they should not be restored to a better condition.

Lo, we have left all. But what were those all things? For, being humble and very poor men, they scarcely had a home to leave, and therefore this boasting might appear ridiculous.

And certainly, experience shows how large an estimate men commonly form of their duties towards God, as even today, among the Papists, those who were little more than beggars make it a subject of haughty reproach that they have sustained great damage for the sake of the Gospel. But the disciples may be excused on this ground: although their wealth was not magnificent, they subsisted at home by their manual labors not less cheerfully than the richest man.

And we know that men of humble condition, who have been accustomed to a quiet and modest life, reckon it a greater hardship to be torn from their wives and children than those who are led by ambition, or who are carried in various directions by the gale of prosperity. Certainly, if some reward had not been reserved for the disciples, it would have been foolish of them to have changed their course of life.⁶⁴⁰

But though they might be excused on that ground, they err in this respect: they demand that a triumph be given to them before they have finished their warfare. If we ever experience such uneasiness at delay, and if we are tempted by impatience, let us learn first to reflect on the comforts by which the Lord soothes the bitterness of the cup in this world, and next to elevate our minds to the hope of the heavenly life, for these two points embrace the answer of Christ.

⁶³⁹ “Et suiete a changer souvent de demeurance;” — “and liable to change their residence frequently.”;” — “and liable to change their residence frequently.”

⁶⁴⁰ “D’avoir change d’estat et de facon de vivre;” — “for having changed their condition and their way of living.”;” — “for having changed their condition and their way of living.”