Sunday, November 12, 1995
Matthew 19:16-30
(Also Mark 10:17-31
, Luke 18:18-30)"The Rich Will Not Make It" or "Blessed Are the Poor"
By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright 1995 by P. G. Mathew
In this passage from Matthew 19, we see Jesus traveling to Jerusalem where he would be crucified, buried and raised from the dead for our salvation. After blessing the children who had been brought to him, he and his disciples resumed their journey. As they walked along, a young man suddenly came running after them.
Who was this man? We are told he was very rich and prominent. In
Luke's gospel we read that he was a ruler, possibly of a
synagogue, or even a member of the Sanhedrin. Matthew calls him a
young man, and the Greek word means someone between 22 and 28
years of age. Because of his interest in possessing eternal life,
he was probably a Pharisee, because only Pharisees believed in
the resurrection and eternal life. He was a very moral man who
claimed to have kept all the commandments from the time of his
bar mitzvah, probably from age twelve or thirteen, when he agreed
to the responsibility of keeping the commandments of God. He
certainly was reverential toward Jesus, kneeling before him and
calling him "Teacher." He was very earnest, running to
meet Jesus. This man was making money, not wasting it in immoral
living like the prodigal son. He was a very successful,
responsible young man.
But this man was not satisfied with his material success, his
prominence or his youth. In spite of all, he was miserable and
unhappy because he understood that he was without eternal life
and shut out from the kingdom of God. So he ran to ask Jesus how
he could be successful in the kingdom of God and possess eternal
life.
Who is Good?
His first question was, "Good teacher what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" That is what we read in Luke and
Mark, but in Matthew's gospel it says, "Teacher, what good
thing I should do to possess eternal life?" The full
question possibly was, "Good teacher, what good thing I must
do to get eternal life?"
Now the problem here is the adjective "good." The man
used this adjective to refer to Jesus as well as to the thing he
must do to inherit eternal life. Sensing the fact that the young
man was using this adjective "good" relatively and
superficially, Jesus directed his attention to the meaning of the
word "good" in its absolute sense.
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked, as we read in
Luke and Mark, or "Why do you ask concerning the good?"
as we read in Matthew. Jesus was asking the man whether he
realized that God alone is good, and all good flows from him.
Jesus was correcting this young man's view of who Jesus himself
was. The young man had addressed him as "Teacher," as
if he were simply another rabbi.
Throughout the gospels we see people calling Jesus other names,
such as Lord and King. Nathanael said, "You are the Son of
God; you are the King of Israel," in John 1:49. In John 4:42
the Samaritans called Jesus "the Savior of the world."
In other places he was called prophet, Messiah, and Son of the
Living God. But this young man was not given any revelation in
terms of the person of Jesus Christ, and therefore, he simply
calls him, "Teacher."
In the accounts of Luke and Mark, Jesus responded: "Why do
you call me good?" Some theologians say that by that
question Jesus was denying that he was good, since only God is
good, not Jesus. But that is not what he was saying. When Jesus
said, "There is only One who is good," he was
confirming that he was the Son of God. He wanted to see if the
young man understood what he was saying, or simply using the word
"good" in a superficial sense. Then he told the man to
obey the commandments.
The Bible reveals what is good. The law of God is good, because
it is the law of the God who alone is good. (Romans 7:12) Jesus
was telling this man to discard superficial and relative notions
of goodness, and to understand the absolute goodness of God's
law. Leviticus 18:5 clearly tells how to enter into eternal life:
"Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will
live by them. I am the Lord."
This man wanted to know which specific commandments he should
observe, and in great condescension, Jesus cited the commandments
governing human relationships, with the idea that if one
perfectly obeys these laws, you are loving God and you are also
honoring the other commandments relating to God.
Look at Luke 10, beginning with verse 25, where we see a
theologian coming to Jesus and asking a similar question to the
one the rich young ruler asked. And in verse 26 Jesus responded,
"What is written in the law? How do you read it?" This
doctor of law understood God's law, so he replied "'Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with
all your strength and with all your mind,' and 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.'" That was a correct summary of God's
expressed will in the Ten Commandments, and Jesus commended him
for answering correctly. But then he challenged him, saying,
"Do this and you will live."
The problem is that no one can keep the law perfectly and merit
eternal life. Look at the reply of this rich young ruler. He
said, "All these I have kept since I was a boy."
Certainly he spoke this in all sincerity, but we begin to see the
superficiality of his understanding. People can be very sincere
and false at the same time. You can sincerely believe something
to be true, but find out it is false. You can sincerely ingest
poison instead of medicine, and you will die. This young man
really believed that he kept the law of God perfectly, but the
truth was, his lawkeeping was only external conformity to the
interpretations of men.
Over the years, the Pharisees had put their own interpretations
on the commandments to make them palatable. In Matthew 15:3-
Jesus asked, "And why do you break the command of God for
the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and
mother,' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put
to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father and
mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me
is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with
it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your
tradition." They understood that although a son was to take
care of his infirm parents and support them in every way, he
could avoid that responsibility by saying to his parents,
"Whatever was coming to you I have devoted as Corban for
God." This is the classic example of how these Pharisees
were nullifying God's law by their own twisted interpretation of
it.
What is the correct interpretation of God's law? Jesus spoke
about this in the Sermon on the Mount, particularly in Matthew 5.
He pointed out the overall sinfulness in man's heart by defining
anger as murder, and lust as adultery. He knew that the law dealt
with the internal condition of the human heart as well as the
external condition.
But this young man belonged to that class called the Pharisees
who focused on minor issues, failing to understand the very
purpose of God's giving of his law to man. And what was that
purpose? Romans 3:20 says, "Therefore no one will be
declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through
the law we become conscious of sin. " And anyone who
claims to have kept the law, James says in James 2:10, "yet
stumbles at just one point is guilt of breaking all of it."
This rich young man had no sense of sin. He claimed to be
perfect--in the sense of conforming to the Pharisees'
interpretation of the law. This was the religion of the
Pharisees--they had no consciousness of sin. PGM Look at Luke
18:9 "To some who were confident of their own righteousness
and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable"
about a Pharisee who was praying to himself, declaring how
wonderful he was. Read what St. Paul said in Philippians 3:5-6:
"If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in
the flesh I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the
people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;
in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the
church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless." This
was the same corrosive idea of righteousness that the rich young
man believed in. Such people "did not know the righteousness
that comes from God and sought to establish their own,"
thereby refusing "to submit to God's righteousness"
(Romans 10:3). How unlike the publican! The publican beat upon
his breast and cried out to God, "God, have mercy on me, a
sinner!"
"All these I have kept since I was a boy," the young
man declared. He was not saying he was a sinner. He had no real
understanding of the law of God. Only when we understand the law
of God and try to keep it do we begin to understand that our sin
is being increased all the time. We can only cry out in
desperation, "Have mercy upon me, a sinner!"
So the perfection claimed by the young man was a phony
perfection, a phony righteousness. How do we know that? Even
though he was rich, famous and young, in his heart this man was
miserable, restless and without peace. Phony self-righteousness
cannot make anybody happy. People who rely on it are outside of
the kingdom of God and outside of eternal life. They are not
saved; rather, they are under the wrath of God.
What Was Still Lacking
So now the man asked another question in Matthew 19:20:
"What do I still lack?" He had already asserted that he
kept the commandments, but he knew he was not saved. He thought
he was perfect, but he didn't feel perfect. So he asked if there
was something beyond God's law that he could do.
This young man was a Pharisee, operating on the basis of his own
merit. He reasoned that he did not need a Savior, because in his
opinion he was not a sinner. No Pharisee would ever confess that
he was a sinner. So this man did not think that he needed grace,
but he wanted to earn salvation. He affirmed that he had kept the
whole law, and he was sincere in that affirmation. What
self-delusion! When we think that God must accept us because we
are righteous, because we have done something good at one time in
our lives, this is self-salvation and delusion.
As omniscient God, Jesus saw the corruption and phoniness of this
young man. Desiring to uncover his heart, he replied, "If
you want to be perfect. . ." and then he gave him a series
of commands.
"If you want to be perfect. . ."? Now
Jesus was dealing with this man. Jesus was implying that the man
was not perfect, that he did not completely conform to God's law
and character. So first Jesus said, "Go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor. . ." and then he gave a
promise: "you will have treasure in heaven."
Jesus understood that this man was trusting in his wealth. His
wealth had become a stumbling block which prevented him from
looking beyond it for salvation. Jesus understood that the only
way this person could be brought into a place of trust in Christ
was by getting rid of the stumbling block.
The next imperative was "Come, follow me." After
selling his possessions and giving to the poor, he was to come
and follow Jesus. Now this man was rich and young, and had
probably been looking forward to a long period of time in which
he could enjoy his wealth, but Jesus was saying to sell it all.
He began to panic, wondering what would happen to him. He would
be penniless. How would he live? You see, Jesus was asking this
man to trust him completely. When the Philippian jailer asked,
"What must I do to be saved?" the answer came:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." You
cannot have eternal life except in relation to Jesus Christ, and
in following him closely as a disciple.
This man was rich, young, prominent and "perfect," but
he was not happy. He was outside of the kingdom of God and did
not have eternal life. Jesus Christ loved him and gave him this
profound counsel, and I give the same counsel to you: If there is
anything that is causing you to stumble, you need to gouge it
out, cut it out, sell it off. Trust in Jesus Christ alone that
you may be saved.
Many people are very happy superficially but they do not think.
They think happiness is not thinking. But the moment they begin
to think seriously about themselves, that they could die at any
time and face a holy, righteous, eternal God, then they begin to
get upset, miserable, wretched, restless and are without peace.
The truth is, their youthfulness, their material possessions, and
their prominence cannot satisfy them. In spite of it all, if they
are thinking people, they are miserable and wretched.
If you realize this, then for you the gospel is glorious. Jesus
told this man to sell all and follow him, implying that he will
give him eternal life, and not only that, he said he would also
receive a hundred times as many houses, lands, fathers. mothers,
brothers, sisters and children, in terms of his connection with
the new community called church that God was raising up in the
world.
The Ruler's Choice
What was the man's response to these commands? He went away
grieving. In Mark 10:22 we are told he was crestfallen, because
he was very rich. The condition of his heart had been revealed,
and all his righteousness was proven to be external and
superficial. No wonder Jesus said, "Your righteousness must exceed
the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." At
heart this man was a materialist, an idol-worshiper, and an
atheist. The rich young ruler loved money more than Jesus, more
than the kingdom of God, and more than the eternal life and inner
peace he did not have. He had come to the right person to find
eternal life, but did not receive it. His story is one of most
tragic stories in the entire Bible. He came to the living bread,
but he was not hungry. He came to the living water, but he was
not thirsty. He came to the Savior, but he was not a sinner. And
so the Bible says he went away from Jesus. He came to Jesus
because he was miserable, but he went away from him most
miserable.
In reality, he was an atheist. In his treatment of chapter 6 of
Matthew, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses how communism was
called atheistic materialism, implying that the Western form of
materialism is not atheistic. Lloyd-Jones corrects that view and
says that all materialism is atheistic. Look at Luke 16:13-15:
"'No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the
one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.' The
Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at
Jesus. He said to them, 'You are the ones who justify yourselves
in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly
valued among men is detestable to God,'" and I believe he is
speaking about materialism.
We think that if we have money, we can solve all problems. A rich
man is popular in the world, but one who trusts in money is
atheistic, and an abomination in the sight of God. This rich
young man was a lover of money, not a lover of God. He was not a
lover of eternal life, even though he spoke superficially about
possessing it. He was a lover of things, a lover of this world,
and a slave of money. It is absolutely impossible to serve money
and God at the same time, and in 1 John 2:15 the apostle says if
you love this world, the love of God is not in you. They are
mutually exclusive. Either money dominates your life, or God
does.
The Deception of Riches
What is the danger in materialism? The Bible speaks about the
deceitfulness of riches. It is like morphine or anesthesia. It
deceives you. This young man was a slave to his money. To him,
materialism is like wearing a python. He loves his python, and
feels warm as he cuddles it, but the python will soon crush him
to death.
Jesus gave the man the best counsel for avoiding this danger, but
he walked away from it. In Genesis 4 we see Cain becoming angry.
His countenance also fell, and God came to him, "Why is your
face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be
accepted?" But Cain rejected God's counsel and killed his
brother. How sad to be given counsel, to be given the gospel, and
yet walk away from Jesus Christ!
The Bible warns about trusting in riches. In Luke 12 Jesus
counseled others who thought that life consisted in possessions.
Jesus told the story of a rich fool whose land produced great
crops. He decided to build larger barns and say to himself,
"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take
life easy; eat, drink and be merry." He worshiped
materialism! But he was a fool. He didn't understand that that
night his life would be gone, that he would die, and that he
would have to give an account to God. And in Luke 16 we see a
rich man and a poor man. The poor man died and went to the bosom
of Abraham, but the rich man died and went to hell, where he was
in torment. He had trusted in his riches, rather than in God.
Do any rich people enter the kingdom of heaven? In 1 Kings 19
Elisha was plowing when Elijah came and touched him with his
mantle, calling him to follow him. He stopped plowing, killed the
oxen, gave a feast and left to follow Elijah. This was his
response to the gospel. He didn't have any problem selling and
distributing his wealth.
In 2 Kings 5 we read about Naaman, a successful Syrian general
who was afflicted with leprosy. The gospel was preached to him by
a young captive Israelite girl. Because of her testimony, he
traveled to Israel to seek healing. The king of Israel could do
nothing, but Elisha sent word to have Naaman come to him. Naaman
expected this man of God to come out and do perform some miracle,
but Elisha did not even come out of his house to meet him.
Through a messenger he said, "Go, wash yourself seven times
in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be
cleansed." Naaman became angry and almost lost his
salvation. He was rich, wealthy and famous--why should he get off
his camel and wash in the muddy Jordan river? But his servants
pleaded with him, so he got off his camel, went down to Jordan
River, exposed his leprosy to everybody, and dipped himself seven
times. He was saved.
In Matthew 13, we are told about the treasure that is hidden in a
field and the pearl of great value, both of which speak about the
gospel and salvation. Seeing the treasure, a man covered it up,
sold all that he had and bought it. Finding the pearl, the
merchant sold everything and bought it. Why? God gave them
revelation of the value of the kingdom of heaven.
It Is Hard for a Rich Man to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven
This materialism, this love for the world, is so serious. When
Jesus said, "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven," the disciples were astonished and asked,
"Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied, "With man
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
The disciples were given revelation from God, and they were
saved. But look at Lot's wife. She was almost saved, but instead
became a pillar of salt. Look at Judas. He was with Jesus Christ.
He heard so many sermons and probably preached the gospel
himself, as well as healing the sick and driving out demons. But
he did not experience salvation. He sold Jesus for thirty pieces
of silver. Look at Demas. Paul said, "Demas, because he
loved this present world, has deserted me. . ." (2 Timothy
4:10).
Who is a rich man? He is one who trusts in his money, in his
beauty, in his power, in his knowledge, in his false religion, in
his self-righteousness. A rich man is any person who refuses to
believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why does he not believe
the gospel which offers free salvation? Because he is rich.
In Revelation 3 we are told that the church of Laodicea was rich.
In fact, in 60 A.D. there was a great earthquake which devastated
Laodicea. Rome offered to help rebuild the city, but the
Laodiceans refused any aid, saying they had enough money
themselves to rebuild. In Revelation 3:17 the church says,
"I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a
thing." That is the problem of rich people. They are
self-sufficient and say they need nothing. When they hear the
gospel, it does nothing to them. But what does Jesus say about
this church? "You do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
I am not saying riches and material possessions are bad, nor am I
saying that rich people cannot go to heaven. Abraham, Job, and
Joseph of Arimathea were all rich, but they did not trust in
their riches. They trusted in God. A person can be rich and, at
the same time, experience a sense of sin and unworthiness and
lostness, so that he or she cries out to God like the publican,
"Have mercy upon me, a sinner." Jesus said,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven."
The Miracle of Salvation
The disciples were shocked. "Who then can be saved?"
Here was a rich Pharisee who could not enter the kingdom of
heaven. The Pharisee was saying that he did not need a Christ,
and that he was able to save himself, even though God never
accepts a Pharisee's definition of perfection and righteousness.
But there was another problem. The Jewish people believed that if
a person was rich, it was because he loved God and God had
rewarded him with material blessings. If, as Jesus was saying,
rich people favored by God could not enter into heaven, then the
disciples reasoned that no one could be saved.
Do you see the shock therapy Jesus was using? Don't ever think
that the monies you are amassing are due to divine favor. If you
are a Christian and if you have money, I assure you that you will
not trust in your money. You will distribute it and do good with
it, but you will trust in Jesus Christ alone.
"Who then can be saved?" We must be born again, born of
the Spirit. Eternal life is a gift that God gives us. We are like
the dead Lazarus (Ephesians 2:1-10; John 11) who was buried and
rotting. To pretend that such a person can be justified before
God by his own merit is foolishness. It takes a miracle for
Lazarus to come out of his tomb. But there is one who kept all
God's laws perfectly--Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God,
the Messiah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Savior
of the world. He was sent into this world, became man, and kept
the law perfectly. He paid the penalty of our sins, and by his
death our sins have been removed and punished. By his life of
perfect lawkeeping he bestows upon us his perfect righteousness
with which we can meet God who is perfect and good.
In Luke 10 Jesus told Martha only one thing is needful, and that
one thing certainly is not money, but rather the gift of the
perfect righteousness of God in Jesus Christ to us miserable
sinners. By him we are saved forever and have eternal life. By
him we are in the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace,
and joy in the Holy Spirit. The rich young ruler lacked one
thing--he needed to leave all to follow Christ. We must leave all
to become disciples of Christ. Isn't that true? We cannot trust
in our mothers, fathers, jobs, money, children, position,
education, profession, or anything else.
The shocked disciples asked Jesus, What about us? We left all. Do
you think we will be saved? Oh, absolutely. Jesus promised three
things: hundredfold houses, lands, and relationships, meaning we
will be part of a newly-constituted people of God, the church;
sufferings in this present world; and eternal life in the age to
come.
There is a coming age, and it is coming soon. I counsel you to pray that God give you a sense of poverty and humility before this almighty God who is perfect, all-righteous, and all-holy. Don't ever say that you are not a sinner. That is delusion. When God's Spirit works in you, you will confess, "Have mercy on me, a sinner. I am lost." And if you are poor, you will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will have eternal life.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
"NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
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