and now, in this time, does not receive a hundredfold—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields—certainly bearing persecutions, and in the coming age, eternal life.
Christ promises both a present and a future reward. In this present life the believer receives a hundredfold, not always in the same material form, but through the widened fellowship of God’s family, the brotherhood of the church, and spiritual comfort. Yet the Lord adds the words “with persecutions,” so that no one would think that the Christian path is an insurance policy for earthly comfort. The follower of Christ receives far deeper and more real blessings, but along with them come trials and persecutions. And the final reward is eternal life, which surpasses every loss. This word balances comfort and realism.