THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK - Chapter 10 - Verse 30

Verse 30. An hundredfold. A hundred times as much.

In this time. In this life. In the time that he forsakes all.

Houses, etc. This cannot be taken literally, as promising a hundred times as many mothers, sisters, etc. It means, evidently, that the loss shall be a hundred times compensated or made up; or that, in the possession of religion, we have a hundred times the value of all that we forsake. This consists in the pardon of sin, in the favour of God, in peace of conscience, in support in trials and in death, and in raising up friends in the place of those who are left—spiritual brethren, and sisters, and mothers, etc. And this corresponds to the experience of all who ever became Christians. At the same time, it is true that godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that is, as well as of that which is to come. The favour of God is the security for every blessing. Obedience to his law secures industry, temperance, chastity, economy, prudence, health, and the confidence of the world—all indispensable to success in life, and all connected, commonly, with success. Though the wicked sometimes prosper, yet the surest way of prosperity is to fear God and keep his commandments. Thus will all needed blessings descend on us here, and eternal blessings hereafter.

With persecutions. Persecutions, or the contempt of the world, and bodily sufferings on account of their religion, they must meet. Jesus did not conceal this. But he consoled them. He assured them that amidst these, or perhaps it should be rendered "after" these, they should find friends and comfort. It is well to bear trial if God be our friend. With the promises of the Bible in oar hand, we may hail persecutions, and thank God that, amidst so many sorrows, he has furnished such superabundant consolations.