Matthew 19:16 - 30
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
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.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
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.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
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[e] 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.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why did Jesus tell the man that he had to obey the commandments to enter life?
2. Why did Jesus tell the man that he had to sell everything to follow Him?
3. Do we have to sell everything to follow Jesus?
4. Why exactly is it harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom?
5. Should we be leaving our spouses, children and houses?
6. Who are the first that will be last, and who are the last that will be first?
http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2011/09/why-did-jesus-tell-the-rich-young-ruler-to-sell-all-that-he-had/ says:
ReplyDeleteA ruler comes to Jesus and says “what must I do to inherit the eternal life?” Jesus, instead of saying, “believe in me,” says “You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother”
Why didn’t Jesus say “believe in me?” Why did he seem to tell this person that he would be saved by obeying the law?
A common interpretation is that Jesus was showing this guy his sin. Jesus’ point was not that he would be saved by keeping the commandments; his point was: “you haven’t kept the commandments, so you must be saved by another way — namely, by faith in me.”
Some people say that this interpretation is importing a theological system onto the text. That it seems too complex of a treatment of the passage.
But I don’t think it is. This becomes clear when you consider the account in Luke. For, in Luke, right before this Jesus had just told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Here’s the point: The rich young ruler failed to learn the lesson of the Pharisee and tax collector. Jesus had just pointed out how the guy who claimed to have kept all the commandments was not justified. He then told us how we do become justified — namely, by acknowledging that we are sinners, like the tax collector, rather than law-keepers. It is after this that the rich young ruler comes up to Jesus and says “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
When Jesus says “you know the commandments,” and the rich young ruler responds “all these I have kept from my youth,” he is echoing the Pharisee from the passage just a few verses earlier. He, like the Pharisee, thinks he is a law keeper.
This stands out starkly in the text, simply due to the proximity of the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, and the story of the rich young ruler.
And so, with the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector coming just before this (with the instance of the children coming to Jesus right in between — which makes the same point as the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector [“whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it”]), it is hard to escape the conclusion that Luke is indeed seeking to drive home the same lesson. It is hard to miss the similarity between what the Pharisee said about himself being a lawkeeper (18:11), and the rich young ruler claiming to be a lawkeeper (18:21).
Since the point of the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector is that the Pharisee was not a lawkeeper, but that all of us are like this tax collector — that is, sinful and in need of mercy (18:13-14), we ought to read the rich young ruler’s claim to have kept the commandments and say “no, you haven’t.”
And that’s what I think Jesus’ point is. When Jesus responds to him by saying “go sell all that you have,” Jesus is challenging him. Jesus is pressing further to make him see that he is not, in fact, a law keeper. Jesus is essentially saying to him: “OK, you don’t get it. So I’m going to show you that you aren’t a law keeper by challenging you on this point.” So he challenges him with the first and tenth commandments — to have no other gods and not to be covetous — by saying “go, sell all that you have.” And when the rich young ruler becomes sad at this, it shows that, like the tax collector, he is not a lawkeeper after all — he has broken the tenth commandment and first commandment by preferring money over God.
http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2011/09/why-did-jesus-tell-the-rich-young-ruler-to-sell-all-that-he-had/ (continued):
ReplyDeleteHere’s the point: When Jesus said to him “you know the commandments” and even “go, sell all that you have,” Jesus was not saying that we become saved by keeping the commandments. That would contradict the point of the parable he had just told before this about the Pharisee and tax collector (18:9-14).
Rather, his point was to reinforce the point of that parable — that none of us are lawkeepers but are only justified by acknowledging our sinfulness, as the tax collector did (18:13-14). This is what it means to receive the kingdom of God as a child (18:17) — you don’t rely on your own efforts, but simply cry to God for mercy. Jesus was bringing the rich young ruler to see the same point about salvation that he just made in verses 13-14 and verse 17.
One objection: After the rich man goes away, Peter basically says “Hey, look, we did what you told him to do — we did leave our homes and follow you” (18:28). So does this indicate that, since Peter did do what Jesus told the rich young ruler to do, Jesus was actually saying he would be saved by selling all his possessions?
Not in the slightest. For if you look back to when Peter left everything to follow Jesus, you see something striking. After Jesus demonstrated his power by enabling the large catch of fish, notice what Peter did:
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'” (Luke 5:8).
Notice that this is also in the gospel of Luke. Luke clearly intends for us to remember this. Here’s the point: Peter entered the kingdom just like the tax collector in the parable. He entered the kingdom by, like the tax collector, acknowledging his sinfulness and looking for mercy. And Jesus gave him mercy, and then Peter left everything to follow Jesus.
Acknowledging our sin and looking to Christ for mercy comes first. Then, lawkeeping follows. Those who think they are following the law without having humbled themselves like the tax collector (18:13-14) or a child (18:17) or Peter (5:8) are not following the law and are not saved.
But those who, like Peter and the tax collector, know that they are sinful and look to Christ for mercy — these people are then able to follow Jesus in radical obedience. But humbling ourselves by looking for justification apart from works comes first. Then, out of that, radical obedience flows — sometimes even to the point of, like Peter, leaving all our possessions in following Jesus.
https://bible.org/seriespage/28-wealth-and-kingdom-heaven-matthew-1916-30 says:
ReplyDeleteThe point then is that this young man thought there was some good thing he could do, besides keeping all the commandments, that would guarantee his place in the kingdom. He was not humble and trusting (like the little child), but confident and self-righteous; and he had the wrong idea of what goodness was, as Jesus’ response showed. What he wanted was to earn “eternal life,” that is, a life that is approved by God and that will guarantee access to the kingdom. He thought that Jesus, being a good teacher, would be able to give him that answer of what to do.
But Jesus’ response was first to question his understanding of what is good. Jesus was probing to see if this man understood the standard of goodness. If God is good, then one has to conform to God’s will to do what is good. If anyone wanted to do that which would guarantee eternal life, it would mean finding and doing the will of God. This statement thereby opened the way for the discussion of the commands.
A true believer obeys the commands of God.
But his instruction was also designed to uncover the arrogance and self-righteousness of the young man who thought he had kept all the commands.
The young man’s additional question of what he still lacked shows that he still did not think his obedience was enough to gain salvation. To him there still had to be some good work that was over and above the keeping of the law, and that would give him the certainty of eternal life. In the first century this was a common idea: people who lived by the commandments looked for that one big thing they could do that would assure them of the life to come.
Jesus then told the young man that if he wanted to be perfect he would have to sell all and follow him. Jesus was answering the question of the young man concerning what he had to do to find eternal life. The answer, essentially, was to come (by faith) and follow Jesus. But since the wealth was going to be the hindrance, he needed to sell it all and give it to the poor. Unfortunately, he had a divided heart--he could keep the external commandments, but he did not want to surrender his life to the Lord and radically change his priorities and practices.
The word “perfection” throughout the Old Testament has the basic idea of undivided loyalty and complete obedience to the will of God. And what Jesus was demanding for entrance into the kingdom was just that, true discipleship, meaning, a complete surrender of the self to Jesus as the Savior.
You cannot do God’s will and not follow Christ.
A rich man entering the kingdom (23, 24). Jesus was not saying that there will be no rich people saved--the Old Testament is filled with samples of wealthy people who surrendered to the will of God and remained wealthy and who will have a share in the kingdom. But in the days of Jesus the people had come to accept the teaching that the rich would automatically be in the kingdom, primarily because their richness was seen as a clear evidence of God’s blessing on their life (and poverty was seen as a punishment for sin--the poor were called sinners). But Jesus here made it clear, that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom.
The response of Jesus makes it clear that salvation is by the grace of God: “With man this (salvation for everyone) is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
http://www.jesusfamilies.org/hot_topics/forsakeall.htm says about forsaking family and wealth:
ReplyDeletethey were following after Jesus in order to GET SOMETHING FROM HIM other than spiritual Life. This is the wrong motivation for wanting to listen to, know and follow Jesus, and Jesus was diligent in trying to weed out those whose motivations were wrong in seeking him out.
What Jesus is seeking to do is to tell people plainly that they cannot both follow him as well as listen to other voices which might tell them not to follow Jesus. If someone wants to follow Jesus, they have to be willing to leave - forsake - the people in their life who they have previously loved the most...parents, spouses, children and siblings. When should someone do this? If these people are not willing to follow Jesus as Jesus defines that (not christian religion, tradition or the bible), then they must be forsaken. Jesus is simply teaching one of the implications of the greatest command, which is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. If we do this, by listening to the Son of God and following him as the Father commands, other people formerly close in our lives will accuse us of hating them because we no longer listen to their desires first in how to live our lives.
If you don't first count what it will cost to succeed, and then underestimate what it would take, you will fail and people will ridicule you to boot. Thus, your efforts to succeed will not only fail, but those people watching you will mock you and your stated cause. Jesus certainly does not want this of those claiming to be following him...that they are failing and thus bringing the mocking of the world about himself - the stated cause. He doesn't want this because it will hinder others in finding the Real Jesus, as it will make his teachings a mockery and thus more difficult to believe. This will have the horrible result of less people finding Life in Jesus, because of the perceived hypocrisy of others.
The point is simple. You must count the cost of following Jesus to include losing the people who are closest to you and whom have meant the most to you. If you are not willing to do this, then don't try to follow Jesus for you will fail. And if you say you are a follower of Jesus, yet don't obey this command, you hinder others from following him as well.
http://www.jesusfamilies.org/hot_topics/forsakeall.htm (continued):
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate because Jesus doesn't teach that his followers must forsake "all material possessions" in order to follow him. It is unfortunate because it is wrong, and thus will mislead people in an important issue regarding following Jesus. It is unfortunate because those who believe that Jesus says we must forsake all material possessions in order to follow him will almost always end up judging others wrongly.
From these teachings of Jesus, it is quite plain that those who follow him must renounce the seeking and gaining of money and material possessions as an important pursuit in life. It seems to this author that Jesus was addressing the one thing the man would not forsake in order to follow Jesus...that is a life focused on building, keeping and not sharing his material possessions, which possessions were great.
It is true in general that the greater one's material possessions, the more likely one is to worship those possessions and hold onto them for security instead of turning to God for security. This is why Jesus said what he said in regard to these things..."blessed are the poor" and "it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven". However, would Jesus have told a materially poor man who owned merely a basic shelter and cloths, that he needed to 'sell all his possessions'? I suspect not. If the man's basic needs of shelter and cloths were not something that was preventing him from loving God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, then why would he need to forsake them? He would not.
(Examples of people supporting Jesus from their own means, and of Lazarus, Martha and Mary owning a home).
Finally in the latter part of Acts chapter two, we see a picture of how the disciples were living. Two things are of note. First, that they were obeying Jesus and selling their possessions to provide for other disciples who had basic needs not being met. They were sharing the material things they did have freely. This attitude and these actions best express the meaning of what Jesus teaches regarding a disciple's treatment of material things.
Second, that some retained houses where the disciples could meet to eat together, and perhaps live and sleep. This aspect of what we see in Acts two seems to harmonize well with all of Jesus' teachings on the matter of material possessions. A key here is the sharing of material things among the brethren.
My 2 cents on the questions:
ReplyDeleteI am listing the questions here and my 2 cents on each:
1. Why did Jesus tell the man that he had to obey the commandments to enter life?
As stated in the articles above, he was attempting to teach the man that he could not be justified by his own good works.
2. Why did Jesus tell the man that he had to sell everything to follow Him?
This was a continuation of Jesus teaching that the man could not be justified by his works. Jesus cut his foundation out from under him. It was an act of love.
3. Do we have to sell everything to follow Jesus?
In a way, yes. We cannot let anything on this earth get in the way of following Jesus. Once we are done with allowing money to rule us, God leads us to use money for His kingdom. When it doesn't matter whether we have money or not, it doesn't matter anymore whether we have money or not. It only matters that our money has become God's money, and that our plans for the money are God's plans.
God wants His people to utilize power on this earth (i.e. money) for His kingdom.
4. Why exactly is it harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom?
Because money is a trap. It leads us to rely on it instead of God. If we can avoid reliance on money, we can be part of the kingdom. Then, money becomes beneficial to God's kingdom.
5. Should we be leaving our spouses, children and houses?
Our priority is to God and God alone. If our family has the same priority, it's almost always God's will that we serve together as a team. The family makes us stronger and able to serve God more. If our family does not have the same priority, we need to choose God over them.
6. Who are the first that will be last, and who are the last that will be first?
God's economy is opposite of the world's economy. On earth, rich rulers are on top. In heaven giving servants are on top. Even as we imagine what being "on top" in heaven is like - even then, we get it wrong. I think it goes something like this: On earth, the biggest givers practice for God's economy. When they get to heaven, they are already used to giving. In heaven, it's going to be all about giving - nothing else will matter. Those who have practice will have a head start. (This is opposed to our view of everyone going around with various sized crowns on our heads and having positions closer to the head of the table).