The Rich Young Ruler

Andrew Isaacs, May 22, 2011 Kingsway Community Church Matthew 19:16-26 (NIV) 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, and love your neighbor as yourself. 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. 24Again 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.

Again with some of my comments:

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? The young rich man came to Jesus eagerly seeking to know how to get eternal life. Other gospels say he ran to Jesus and knelt down. He seemed to come with the right heart and attitude, genuinely wanting to know what he had to do. He is asking the BIG question. How do I get to heaven? Jesus response is very interesting... 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, and love your neighbor as yourself. When asked a direct question about eternal life, Jesus doesnt say trust in me. He tells the guy that to enter

life he has to keep all the commandments. When the ruler asks Jesus to be specific, he gets an actual list of which commandments to keep. 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. When the man claims to have kept all the commandments, Jesus challenges him further by hitting on an issue at the heart of this mans life. Sell all your possessions and give to the poor. The man walks away defeated and sad, realizing he cant bring himself to do what Jesus asked. 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. Ive been reading a lot of commentaries and sermons about the eye of a needle. There is quite a bit of debate about what Jesus comment actually referred to. - the small gate theory (story of me in India): had to stoop low, take off possessions - the rope/camel theory: - or simply, hyperbole 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, Who then can be saved? The disciples would have looked at this rich, young ruler and seen a man blessed by God. He was most likely a ruler in the synagogue, meaning he was a spiritual leader. He was also very wealthy, which was seen at that time as a sign of spiritual blessing and favor. If Jesus was saying its nearly impossible for rich people like this guy to enter the kingdom of God, then who in the world could?! 26 Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

What is the message of this story?

Ive heard peoples confusion when reading this story in the gospels. Why was Jesus telling the man to follow the commandments to get eternal life? Was he preaching salvation through works? In the past, when Ive read this story, I usually think the bottom line is something like, Its hard for rich people to get into heaven because they are tied to their earthly possessions.

I want to look at the story in a different way. The mans question was: What GOOD thing must I DO to get eternal life? Right away Jesus could see that the man was seeking for answers on how to earn his way into heaven. Instead of immediately rebuking the man, Jesus answers in an amazing way, allowing the man to discover the answer on his own. Why do ask me about what is good? There is only ONE who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. Jesus begins with a foundational statement: only God is good. Then he puts the impossible challenge on the table: keep the commandments. This is Gods simple requirement: be perfect. After hearing the list of commandments from Jesus, the man nods confidently, Yep, Ive kept all of these commandments. So what else is required. Jesus ups the ante again, If you want to be perfect, sell all your possessions and give to the poor. And come, follow me. The rich young ruler knows that he wont be able to bring himself to give all his possessions away. So he walks away. But the truth is, even giving away his possessions wouldnt have earned him eternal life. Jesus was calling the man to lay aside everything and FOLLOW Christ. Jesus turns to the disciples and tells them, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. I believe he is explaining to the disciples that even a seemingly blessed, wealthy, religious ruler cannot earn his own way into the kingdom. Just like a camel could not squeeze itself through the eye of a needle. Its impossible. Then who the heck can get into heaven?! the disciples ask. They too are still looking for an answer to the big question. And finally Jesus gives them the profound punchline: With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
The answer is, no man can gain eternal life by his own works or merit. We enter the kingdom of God through obedience, total surrender, and following Jesus.

3 Keys:
1. God is good; we are not
- conversations with people Im basically a good person I TRY not to .

- All people are inherently good. = FALSE! - children do not have to be taught to sin - Romans 3:23 We have all sinned and fall short of Gods glory - The rich young ruler believed he was good

2. God requires perfection; we are not

- Olivia & Jack in the back seat - Sin and evil are offensive to God because He is completely Good and Holy and Pure. Our sin sets us so far apart from God that we cannot be in His presence. - Even if we followed all the rules (which we dont) and even if we did only good things (which we dont), we still would not measure up to Gods standard of holiness and righteousness. - Romans 3:20-22 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

3. Our responsibility is to follow Jesus

- Eternal life in heaven, relationship with God is only possible when we truly follow Jesus. For the rich young ruler, this meant he would have to let go of his earthly possessions (the things that gave him confidence and security). Following Jesus requires that we put our faith and trust in HIM and not in ourselves. - We are not inherently good and we could never perfectly fulfill the law of God. But Jesus WAS good and he fulfilled the law, living a perfect and blameless life. - Our responsibility is to place our faith in the fact that He did what we could never do.

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Call to response: Pray