Matthew 19:16-24
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, ” ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
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.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
We have spent the last many Sundays distinguishing between the outcome of sinners. Sinners come in two varieties, lost and saved. The saved variety have come to understand that they are separated from God for eternity unless they recognize and declare Jesus as their Savior. Having been crushed by their sin and led by the Holy Spirit, they seek relief by turning to God through Jesus. The Bible’s clearest illustration of this is the penitent thief on the cross who turns to Jesus as they both hang there dying. He requests that Jesus remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. As the result of this faith response, Jesus said “Today you will be with me in paradise.” It is clear that faith in Jesus to save him is the necessary attitude. The non penitent thief expresses no faith in Jesus as Savior and is therefore separated from God’s salvation. The latter must stand a judgment for his sins. The penitent thieves’ sins are judged on Jesus. Simply, he is saved.
Mark 10:17-18 (As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.) presents Jesus as questioning this man as to his knowledge of goodness. He calls attention to his reference to Jesus as “Good teacher.” Jesus question is, in light of the solitary goodness of God, “Do you recognize Me as being God?” If he did, this knowledge could only come from the Holy Spirit, otherwise, it is hidden from sinful man. (Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—) Both Matthew and Mark make it clear that he does not clearly know who Jesus is. (The Son of God.)
With this issue settled, his true understanding of who Jesus is, Jesus tells him to sell all he has and follow Him and be one of His disciples. The true central issue of his life becomes apparent. He has material wealth with which he cannot dare to part. He leaves in sorrow despite the fact that he has encountered the one who can lead him to eternal life.
The first issue is to deal with the rich man’s misconception about the law and salvation. He wrongly interprets that he has kept the law since a boy. Rather than this being a recommendation, it is in truth a feature that condemns him. No one but Jesus kept God’ law in perfection. The law was given to define sin and to demonstrate man’s sinfulness and his true need for a Savior. God’s demand is perfection in the keeping of the law. This is an impossibility for man.
In both Jewish and Christian religious thought, the rich man’s wealth was a gift of God. God could either enhance it or take it away. It was a gift to be used for God’s glory. Jesus recognized that wealth had become an idol for him and his allegiance to it was greater than his desire to intimately know God. He was unable to give it up as his main focus and to substitute God’s will in its place.
The rich man like the non-penitent thief on the cross was denied access to Jesus’ Kingdom. What are the salient points for us? Lost sheep, the non-penitent thief and the rich man, remain lost. You cannot find your way into the Kingdom of God. You must be led to arrive safely in Jesus’ paradise. A lamb chop is about as close as most of us get to sheep. You find them in the butcher’s case in the Fall and then for only a short time. The meat has a heavier taste and is relatively expensive so there is perhaps not a great demand for it. Sheep are defenseless wanderers that must be led and protected. They are so helpless that if they roll on their backs with all 4 feet in the air, they will die of pneumonia unless righted in a short time.
So, the Bible calls us lost sheep in desperate need of a shepherd. It is not a very flattering picture. This lostness deals with our souls and speaks little of our intellects or worldliness. It matters not where we stand in the world – rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, lawyer, doctor, Indian chief. Without Jesus as our Shepherd, we cannot find our way into His Kingdom.
What is the central issue then for all who seek Kingdom entry? The critical issue to go from lost to saved is to contemplate what we are to do about sin, our disobedience to the wishes of God. If we realize that it is our disobedience to God’s will that separates us from God and this crushes us (our sin crushes us), God grants us faith in Jesus to be our Savior and Shepherd. He and He alone is the Way. God loves us all and desires that we spend eternity in His glory.
The issue is clearly not our own morality and goodness since we never can qualify. The stakes are too high. What is necessary to spend eternity in the presence of the perfect God is for us all to be perfected in our souls. This requires a miracle. This miracle is possible by the aspect of imputing our sins on to Jesus as our Savior and receiving His righteousness. This is all accomplished as the result of the love of God who readily gifts salvation to the humble, contrite and penitent sinner.
