“…there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and
the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands; and in the world
to come eternal life.”
The missing words
reflect what comes TO a disciple for judging with righteous judgment. It comes
FROM those who desire to live by doing what is right “IN THEIR OWN EYES” rather
than what God commands. (Proverbs 14:12;
Jeremiah 10:23; John 7:24).
The missing words are “WITH PERSECUTIONS”. We need to understand the significance of these two words because they are necessary to discipleship.
Here are some other passages which point out the relationship of discipleship to persecutions: John 15:20; Acts 14:22; 2 Corinthians 12:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 3:11-12).
The persecution that Jesus underwent was due to His doctrine [He called His teaching ‘TRUTH’] – He claimed to have authority from God to teach the things He taught (John 10:18; 12:49-50; 14:24). He taught that only obedience to truth would bring freedom from sin (John 8:32).
Persecution exists today over the same two issues – authority and truth. Those who preach a message claiming it to be TRUTH and proclaim it as the ONLY way to heaven will suffer persecution from those who do not want to acknowledge an absolute standard, but rather want to do “what is right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25; Deuteronomy 12:8).
Persecution is
necessary to discipleship, but so is God’s authority and truth.
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