who will not receive a hundred times as much, even now in the present – houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land, though not without persecutions – and in the age that is coming, eternal life.
what proportion gain
will satisfy your desirenow we can bargain
twice thrice hundredswhatever your imagination limit
there is still more availabledon’t stop with the imaginable
that hopeful stretchwhen we are satisfied
a difference will be madea too-soon bargain
leaves unborn scarsour mark on history
will fade from viewleaving basic frustrations
alive and well for next generationschanging the ground rules
goes beyond reasonable progress
Oh, good, we had hoped for a return on our investment of 30 or 60 times. Now we hear about 100 times. All the seeds we have sown will leave us sitting pretty.
Note how slyly the phrase, “with harassment” or “persecution” was slid in. This is parallelism with a kicker.
We might imagine Jesus crooning this as a lullaby to soothe Peter and the others. With this quieting the disturbing phrase is in an even quieter, soto voce.
This subliminal message hearkens back the long-range question of the one we now know as wealthy. What investment is needed for a desired outcome? Or, “What must I do that in the resurrection from the dead eternal life will be my lot?” ~Bratcher317
This message essentially says that the wrong question is being asked. Instead of trusting some spiritual portfolio, the question is one of being trustworthy. Not what will we get out of our investment, but how can we not invest even if the consequence is that of suffering and death. Only after dealing with these can a third consideration of resurrection find its appropriate place.
There will have to be more assurance given than this long convoluted response. It’s internal contradiction needs to be dealt with.