#1294 Matthew 19 Part 2 Who Then Can Be Saved

 

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit 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 children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Matthew 19: 13-30 ESV

Matthew 19: 13-30 The Rich Young Ruler

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them - In Matthew 18 we saw how we need to become like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, following a section on marriage and divorce, which followed a section on forgiveness, we see the fruit of marriage, children. God's intent in marriage is that we raise godly offspring, that we teach our children the word, and in this fallen world they are our first mission field, our family. Sinful man sees children much less as a blessing because we desire entertainment, no boundaries, no repercussions, no responsibility. Even at church people see them as in the way, and they try to exclude them from the worship service rather than train them in the way that they should go. Jesus blessed them, and they need to hear from the same book you and I do, so church needs to start at home.

…27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” 29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.… Genesis 1: 27-29

…2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved. 3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. 4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.… Psalm 127: 2-4

…14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.… Malachi 2: 14-16

…5Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. 6Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22: 5-6

“He did not baptize them, but he did bless them.” (Spurgeon)

Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life - Every religion that is not Biblical Christianity is filled with so called "good people", doing good things. Now some call themselves Christian who have said a prayer, an act upon which they bank everything, "I did this, I said that, I cried, was emotionally stirred," yet their lives bear no evidence of the fruit of repentance. Others throw money at things, into a plate, some religions meditate, talk about being kind, just wanting everyone to be happy, visualizing themselves as good people. Even some atheist have added a plus to their religion of no god, wanting some sort of moral bar for a religion that provides no absolute standard for it. I mean really, if there's no God, then it falls to the majority, the persons with the most deadliest technology, the wealthy, might will make right, because the only moral bar is that which can be enforced. This would make Hitler neither right or wrong, Stalin, Mao, the Spanish Inquisitionist, slave traders, though you may prefer another way, say things like, "that is so wrong, your not right, this isn't fair", guess what, that's your opinion, by discounting and removing God, you are no longer viewing yourself or others as made in His image. If you are not made in the image of God then you have lowered the bar to men, and by spouting off your own set of morals you have not rejected a god, but instead you think you are god. What good deed must I do?

…7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.… Ephesians 2: 7-9

33Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.… Matthew 12: 33-35

There is only One Who is good - God is good, of His very nature, but men are fallen away from God, so what can this man do that's good? Jesus already told the disciples and the crowds earlier that they must become something that they are not, humble, children. Remember the sermon on the mount, blessed are they that mourn, those who hurt over their sin, blessed are the poor in spirit, those bankrupt, reduced to being beggars. John and Jesus came preaching repentance of sin. Even the Old Testament, which would have been available to this rich, young ruler, taught that men needed God to do something for them, not the other way around. The more I think of the statement, "what good thing can I do", the more perverse it seems to me. 

…2Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. 3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 18: 2-4

9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.… Romans 3: 9-11

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28

Keep the commandments - The law teaches us to recognize that we are law breakers, and Jesus went so far in the sermon on the mount as to the thoughts of your heart. If you look at a woman to lust, not just whether you followed through with it and actually slept with her, and if you were angry with your brother, not just whether or not you actually killed him. Some of us pride ourselves in outward, surface obedience, that which can be measured by men. People tell you sometimes, "you're a good person", and we eat that up, but God is judging us based on our hearts, which He calls wicked and deceitful, so much so that we deceive ourselves. The standard of a Holy God is not only did you not act on it, but you also don't think it in the first place, that is where all actions begin anyway, they spring forth from the heart. 

…21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. 22 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. 23For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,…

…24and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so— not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer— he will be blessed in what he does. 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.… James 1: 21-26

1The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases. 2All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. 3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.… Proverbs 21: 1-3

…7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.… 1 John 1: 7-9

Which ones - Jesus told him to keep the commandments and then goes through the commandments referring to how we treat our neighbor, which should have triggered a deep and honest look inside. If everyone has sinned then the young man should have known that he is part of that everyone, but everyone also holds a different standard than God. There are some things that God calls sin that we say is not, some of us hold a view of our own sin as trivial, especially when compared to our neighbor's sin. Many believe that the sins they commit during the week become inconsequential because of religious rites they practice, like confessing to a priest, doing hail Mary's, volunteering at the food bank, going to church, or saying that God doesn't exist so I am not held to His standard. But still others live exceptionally moral lives, play the game so to speak, polish the outside of the cup, and no one knows what is going on inside, so by all surface accounts, by a broken human moral standard, these are good people. The last is the hardest to reach, because they don't steal, though in their heart they may covet, yet they don't think of that way, and everyone in their circles reflects back to them that they are model citizens. They don't cuss, don't smoke, and their parents receive compliment after compliment praising them for the way this individual turned out. Theirs is a religion of self righteousness, and they come to God with a resume rather than a broken heart, wanting to do some thing within their power, confess to some lower charge, all the while thinking, "how lucky God will be to have me on His team." This is the grossest form, the most blind sense of righteousness, the sinner trusting in himself. 

…30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”… Luke 5: 30-32

All these I have kept - Wow! Jesus found the one guy in all the world, the exception to the rule, someone without sin, who has kept all the law. 

If you would be perfect - Oh wait, Jesus is apparently disagreeing with the man's assessment of himself. He is insinuating that the young man is not perfect. Now, of course the kid didn't say he was perfect, because we all usually say what, "nobody is perfect", and that's suppose to comfort us, like we are close enough. 

…18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 5: 18-20

…39“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well? 41But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.… Luke 11: 39-41

He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions - Now Jesus didn't say this to everyone, but telling this young man to sell everything cut through all of his bull, because his real faith, his hope, was built upon his wealth. In Jewish society and in much of the evangelical church, prosperity becomes a huge stumbling block for people. Those that are wealthy associate or attribute it to their holiness. Elon Musk is wealthy and he does not know God so he will bust hell wide open, what good does earthly wealth do before a God Who doesn't need it and requires your obedience? Job's friends used the same broken logic, attributing his loss of wealth and health to some unconfessed, hidden sin. Those who hate Jesus will do the same, they will see Him lifted up on the cross, and will say, "see, cursed is everyone who hangs from a tree." The will even mock His relationship to the Father. They felt that Jesus got what He deserved rather than acknowledging the truth, that He received what they deserved.

…35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… Mark 8: 35-37

…34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” 36The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine.… Luke 23: 34-36

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle - It is no small task to save the rich, the self righteous, but by God's grace He can break them, bring them to humility, take them to the foot of the cross, cause them to be born again.

“The camel, the largest common animal, trying to squeeze through the smallest imaginable hole.” (France)

iii. One problem with riches is that they encourage a spirit of false independence, very much like the church of Laodicea: “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). - Enduring Word

They were greatly astonished - For the disciples this man checked a lot of boxes, but God never needed the rich, celebrities, dynamic speakers, no, everyone He chooses to use is aside from themselves, to His glory, and let that be their honor, that Christ was glorified by someone who could not make themselves and who is fallen in Adam, incredibly flawed. In fact, there have been men like Jim Elliot, who walked away from riches and worldly comforts, men like Eric Liddell who gave up fame to be a seemingly obscure missionary in China. The Creator of the universe doesn't need your supposed wealth, and your rather thick if you think that you can offer Him anything that doesn't belong to Him anyway.