10:29-31
Jesus’ description of the kingdom now takes another unexpected turn. Those who have made sacrifices for the sake of Jesus and the gospel will receive benefits in this life. Now this is not prosperity gospel teaching. Some of us will receive material blessings that can be directly attributed to us. (In which case one good wife, not a hundred wives, is a blessing! An overly literalistic interpretation is not in order.) All of us become part of His kingdom, and we share our goods and blessings with each other. We also receive persecutions, this must not be forgotten. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first”. The kingdom of God operates on principles that are very different from those of the world’s kingdoms.
10:32
Jesus was leading them on their way up to Jerusalem. The Dead Sea was over 400m below sea level, and Jerusalem at about 800m above sea level, so going up to Jerusalem was the appropriate term. The disciples were astonished, and the followers afraid, why was this? By this point the hostility of the Jewish religious leadership to Jesus was well known, so the disciples were amazed that Jesus was hedging into danger. The “followers” seem to have been a less committed band, and so feared for how they might suffer.
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