Matthew 19:19-30

Rachel Workman: And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[h]”
²⁰ “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
²⁵ The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
²⁷ Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
²⁸ Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new^[i] and the Son of Man^[j] sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.^[k]

In order to understand the phrase, it is important to understand what happened before and after Jesus' statement. Jesus had just finished telling His disciples that it was very difficult for a rich man to enter heaven. His disciples were surprised at His statement because the Jews believed that giving money gained favor with God. Since rich men can give more money, they can gain greater favor with God by giving more than other people.

So Peter reminded the Lord that they had left everything to follow Him and asks, " . . . what then will there be for us?" Peter is worried. He seems to be asking, "Have we given enough?" Jesus encouraged Peter and His disciples and then made the statement, the "first will be last; and the last, first."

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John Burnett:  ¹⁸ Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be ^[a]complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  19:26 is one of my favorite verses and it shows God’s omnipotence.  We are selfish beings but if we really understood what Heaven is like, we would sell everything to gain it.  Thankfully we don’t have to do that to gain Heaven, all we have to do is repent and put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

The Disciples’ Reward

²⁷ Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” ²⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on ^[b]His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ^[c]or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive ^[d]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last; and the last, first. 

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Allen Michaels:  ²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Should all believers sell everything they own? No. We are responsible to care for our own needs and the needs of our families so as not to be a burden on others. We should, however, be willing to give up anything if God asks us to do so. This kind of attitude allows nothing to come between us and God and keeps us from using our God-given wealth selfishly.

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. We cannot love God with all our hearts and yet keep our money to ourselves. Loving him totally means using our money in ways that please him.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

It would appear impossible for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God. Jesus explained, however, that “with God all things are possible.” Even rich people can enter the kingdom if God brings them in. Faith in Christ, not in self or riches, is what counts. We have to question ourselves as to what are we counting on for salvation.

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Obedience and immediate reward are not always linked. If they were, good people would always be rich, and suffering would always be a sign of sin. As believers, our true reward is God’s presence and power through the Holy Spirit. Later, in eternity, we will be rewarded for our faith and service.

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. In the life to come, the last will be first—if they got in last place because they choose to follow Christ. We must not forfeit eternal rewards for temporary benefits. We must be willing to make sacrifices now for greater rewards later. We must be willing to accept human disapproval, while knowing that we have God’s approval.

So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT)

I found the below devotional at http://www.jesusone.com/devotionals/22yourlifeistemporary.htm

The physical body will perish and return to dust, but the Spirit will live forever. A couple of scriptures (Luke 12:7 and Matthew 10:30) relate to the fact that even the hairs of your head are numbered. God knows everything about you. He even knows what you will do before you do it.

We should live each day to its fullest; by gaining as much wisdom as possible and doing as much good as we can. Try to make a difference in the lives of those you touch; be a positive influence for good. Worldly possessions and fame are temporary. God's Love and Wisdom is eternal. Don't live your life in vain, by seeking after those things that don't last.

Matthew 6:19-21 - Don't store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. But store your treasures in Heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your treasure is.