The Rich and the Kingdom of God - Matthew 19:16-28
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
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.
Reflection: Here is the story of a man who earnestly came seeking Christ. He addresses Jesus as a spiritual teacher, and is seeking to find out how this teaching might lead to eternal life. This man comes from a wealthy background and has authority himself. But he was one thing missing, his perception is that by keeping the law one might obtain eternal life. When Jesus questions him about the basic ten commandments he says, "All these I have kept!" Now whether he has kept them or not it is not clear, but if he has it is only a surface level. There are many who I come into contact when I ask them if they are confident they are going to go to heaven say, "Well I think I'm a good person!"
The problem is by whose standard? Our standard, or God's standard? Jesus probes a little further to see where his true loyalty lies. He says if you want to be perfect, or if you really want to live up to the full intent of the Law, then go sell all your possessions. And then come follow me! Notice following Jesus means denying oneself and surrendering the things in the world that take hold of our hearts. And, in this, case materialism had such a grip on this man's heart that he left sad. And I'm sure Jesus was sad too, that for this man worldly wealth was more important than a relationship with him.
Then, we here a phrase which is repeated often, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." This statement by Jesus is often misconstrued. Is Jesus against accumulation of wealth? Is Jesus against rich people? This is where context is so important. The context is that riches for this man kept him from the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because it was more important to him than following Jesus. It is impossible for anyone whose heart is captured by something as more important than God/Jesus to enter into the kingdom way of life. This is basically what the bible calls "idolatry". Love of things over God. And we are all prone to it.
There are a lot of good things that God wants us to enjoy in this life and gives them to us freely. Like family, food, friends, a place to live, hobbies etc... But if anything takes first place in our lives it is going to be tough to operate in the kingdom. Fortunately, the passage ends on a word of grace. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Meaning it is only God who can change us to want to put Him first. By trusting in Jesus and believing He is the way, the truth and the life, we are given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides into a life of putting Christ first. The Holy Spirit convicts us whether other things have taken first place. It is impossible to put God first on your own strength. But fortunately what God has called us to do, He has equipped us to be able to carry it out, so that in the end all glory might go to Him.
Jesus, thank you for the invitation to come follow you. Also we thank you for the challenge of putting you first in all things so we might experience life and life to the full. Amen.
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.
Reflection: Here is the story of a man who earnestly came seeking Christ. He addresses Jesus as a spiritual teacher, and is seeking to find out how this teaching might lead to eternal life. This man comes from a wealthy background and has authority himself. But he was one thing missing, his perception is that by keeping the law one might obtain eternal life. When Jesus questions him about the basic ten commandments he says, "All these I have kept!" Now whether he has kept them or not it is not clear, but if he has it is only a surface level. There are many who I come into contact when I ask them if they are confident they are going to go to heaven say, "Well I think I'm a good person!"
The problem is by whose standard? Our standard, or God's standard? Jesus probes a little further to see where his true loyalty lies. He says if you want to be perfect, or if you really want to live up to the full intent of the Law, then go sell all your possessions. And then come follow me! Notice following Jesus means denying oneself and surrendering the things in the world that take hold of our hearts. And, in this, case materialism had such a grip on this man's heart that he left sad. And I'm sure Jesus was sad too, that for this man worldly wealth was more important than a relationship with him.
Then, we here a phrase which is repeated often, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." This statement by Jesus is often misconstrued. Is Jesus against accumulation of wealth? Is Jesus against rich people? This is where context is so important. The context is that riches for this man kept him from the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because it was more important to him than following Jesus. It is impossible for anyone whose heart is captured by something as more important than God/Jesus to enter into the kingdom way of life. This is basically what the bible calls "idolatry". Love of things over God. And we are all prone to it.
There are a lot of good things that God wants us to enjoy in this life and gives them to us freely. Like family, food, friends, a place to live, hobbies etc... But if anything takes first place in our lives it is going to be tough to operate in the kingdom. Fortunately, the passage ends on a word of grace. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Meaning it is only God who can change us to want to put Him first. By trusting in Jesus and believing He is the way, the truth and the life, we are given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides into a life of putting Christ first. The Holy Spirit convicts us whether other things have taken first place. It is impossible to put God first on your own strength. But fortunately what God has called us to do, He has equipped us to be able to carry it out, so that in the end all glory might go to Him.
Jesus, thank you for the invitation to come follow you. Also we thank you for the challenge of putting you first in all things so we might experience life and life to the full. Amen.
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