Culver Community Church

Pastor Chris Sweeney

Sermon Notes

September 16, 2018

Matthew 19:16 – 26 What Must I Do?

{vs. 16}  Here we are introduced to a man, a rich young (Matthew) ruler (Luke 18).  This young man has it all – money, power (he was a ruler, probably of a synagogue) and youth/health (healthy enough to run up to Jesus through the crowds and get on his knees! – see Mark 10:17)  Now in running up and falling before Jesus, we learn a lot about this man!  This was an important man, the leader of a Synagogue (what we would call a church) – the one who picked guest speakers, was responsible for the interpretation of the scriptures and yes, even excommunicating sinners and heretics!  This position was a cross between town leader and religious authority.  However, in his approach and his question, the man gave up any dignity, any decorum and any sense of scriptural wisdom and authority he may have had.  How could he, the ‘pastor’, the ‘guru’, the wise guy come and ask such a basic question?  Can you imagine what the congregants would say? – “hey, I asked you a question like that just two weeks ago, and you gave me an answer!”  No person of importance in this culture would ever be seen running like this or bowing low to the ground like this (clearly showing respect to Jesus!)  The religious system (from Jerusalem down to the local synagogues) that he was a part of, had already declared Jesus to be a heretic; anyone who followed Jesus faced being excommunicated!  You see, having it all (in the world’s eyes) was not enough for this man.  He had reached the pinnacle of his society but, he knew that something was missing (lacking).  How many of today’s famous, rich and powerful reach the top and find the same to be true – these things do not satisfy!  Only a relationship with our Creator truly satisfies because that is the very reason (purpose) that we were made!

So, being impressed with Jesus, he comes to ask the question that is burning in his heart – “what do I need to do to be right with God, to go to Heaven or get eternal life (not just forever life, but God’s unending good life).  It would not do us any good to life forever if we are stuck here in these sin ravaged decaying shells (and world) – the kind of life he sought was eternity with God!  In scripture the phrase eternal life is equated with Salvation.  In fact, in our most famous verse, John 3:16 – what is it that God promises “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life”.  This is our textbook text, the go-to verse that explains the gospel in summary!  So what we see when the man asks “How do I get eternal life?” is that he wants to be saved, he wants the good news that Jesus came to bring! 

{vs. 17} This is where we expect Jesus to say “well that’s easy, just believe in Me and you’re in!”  Notice however, that Jesus takes on the role of adversary – asking pointed questions, picking at what he has said and even expressing what he should already have known as a religious ruler!  Jesus never asks a question to get information – it is to bring something out in the person being asked!  He is using a penetrating question to push the man to think through the implications of his own words, to understand the concept of Jesus’ goodness and, most especially, the man’s lack of goodness.  The rabbis taught that only God is good – this was a concept they understood, but they continued to use the word good to describe lesser things (a good meal, a basically good person, etc.)  This man will have to come to grips with (like all who come to Christ) the fact that he is a sinner – no, he has not kept all the commandments!  Anyone who thinks they can or have is just delusional!  While we think that this man is ready, Jesus knows that he is not!  Everything Jesus said to this man is to move him closer to the goal – to the place where he understands what true salvation is and so that he is ready to receive it!  When Jesus reminds the man that only One is good, He is not denying His own deity or goodness (some try to use this to dispute that Jesus is God) but He is making sure that the man realizes he is not good.

It looks as if Jesus is throwing water on his fire or putting up obstacles in the way of his salvation.  Doesn’t this fly in the face of “. . . whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37b)?  What we need to understand is that easy believeism is not the same as saving faith.  There is a cost that must be counted before coming to Christ.  Jesus could not receive this man on his terms – we must all come on God’s terms or not at all!  This man wanted to take his record (that he thought was stellar) and add one more thing to fix what was missing.  That is not the way it works!  We can’t add a little Jesus or a little ‘faith’ to our old life and find salvation.  No, to follow Jesus means we must give up all of ourselves – as we saw last week in the image of Baptism, to die to self and be raised in Christ, a new creature!  Sadly, many try to do the same as this man – dictating what they are willing to give to Jesus but making Him the Lord of our lives is the same as saying “all that I am, all that I have and all that I will ever be is Yours.”  My opinions, my things, my bank accounts, my relationships, my actions, my sins, my past, present and future – everything that follows ‘my’ is under Christ’s control!

{vs. 18-20a} Which ones? – the Jewish system had God’s Word (the Ten Commandments & others) but the rabbis had been adding regulations for centuries.  The man rightfully asked ‘which ones should I pay attention to?’  Jesus continuing the lesson actually gives him the second tablet (reverse order), which is all the commands about how we should treat our fellow man.  Jesus sums it up with the command not given by God at the mountain - 'love your neighbor as yourself.' Believe it or not, this is the easier of the two halves – a man can aspire to do all these (especially as they had been externalized and watered down) but to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' (Luke 10:27) is completely impossible.  How can we give our everything to God – to love Him who we do not understand and cannot see?  The man believed that he had kept these because of the way they had been taught, the way he was teaching others!  It is easier to love your neighbor if only those who are like you count.  It is easier to refrain from murder if only acting it out counts and not the murder in our hearts and thoughts.  Remember, Jesus taught that sin is a matter of the heart – murder, lust, adultery – every unclean thing comes from within a man.  Sin is not just the actions and words that flow out from us (the outer appearance), these are just the proofs that there is sin living inside us!  Today, many think that they are ‘good with God’ – not that they have ever bothered to ask, to seek Him or even to open His book to find out!  This is just an assumption, that God must think like I do – “so, were good”!  It takes a very confused or arrogant man to stand up and proclaim, “I am perfect” but that is what he is doing!  Jesus is not disturbed or upset by this.  Mark’s account (10:21) says that after this response “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”  That gives me such comfort because I know Jesus looks at me with love too.  Be assured that Jesus is not being mean to the man, he has come seeking answers and God loves those who honestly seek Him.  Rather Jesus is giving him exactly what he needs to come to the realization that he needs a savior, so he can find Him, the Savior!

{vs. 20b-22} I love that Jesus does not argue with the man or begin to open the book of all that he has done in his lifetime in order to prove him wrong.  What Jesus does is give him a follow up command to force him to understand the lacking.  He's lived an exemplary life outwardly.  He has avoided outward sins.  He's moral.  He's religious.  Anyone, everyone would testify for him – but only God’s view matters!  The longing in his heart is the futility of trying to keep these commandments. 

Jesus puts His finger right onto the man’s god (little ‘g’) – his possessions and wealth.  The rabbis taught that God blesses those who obey, those who are right with Him (and there is truth in this) but it is much more complicated than their simplistic understanding (ask Job, John the Baptist or any of the prophets!).  In telling him to ‘sell it all’, Jesus gives him a choice – Will it be Me (God) or all this stuff?  The man could not have been loving his neighbor as himself (a high standard!), when he had great wealth and some of his neighbors were in need.  Not only was his possession an idol keeping him from being fully devoted to God, but it prevented him from fulfilling his duty to his fellow man.  If you have a need, and you have money – the outcome is easy to predict, we all spend the money to meet the need.  We need to realize that this man’s wealth had a hold of his heart, God may never ask you to ‘sell it all’, but we must be willing and prepared to if He ever does.  This is the only place in scripture that gives such a command.  Although rare, there are wealthy believers (people who hold whatever they have loosely and use it for God’s glory).  It is not the things or the money that are sinful – it is the love of money and things that holds us down, and ties us to this world.  Jesus says in Luke 14:33 that to follow Him (be a disciple) we must give up everything!  What is it that has a hold of your heart and mine?

{vs. 23-24} Not only is it very hard for the rich but it is impossible for even the poorest of men to be right with God – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory [the standard] of God.”(Romans 3:23).  However, there is another truth that Jesus is teaching – those who are wealthy in this world, who have the power and means to rely on themselves (like this man) are especially hard to bring to the awareness of their need.  To come to God we must come as a little child – honest and humble just as we saw in the previous verses (last time).  Paul observes this truth in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.

Now, many a commentator has tried to explain the camel through the eye of the needle – it is enough to say that this is impossible and Jesus tells them that this is easier than a rich man entering the Kingdom!  Maybe if you consider that the eye could be a city gate (often taught, but no proof), or that the camel is a spelling mistake and it should be the word for cable (this may be easier (?) but is also impossible) or maybe as some today suppose, if you have a world class blender (gross, the poor camel!) - - - but that is not the point.  The point is that this is unthinkably hard.  Scholars have actually found a Persian expression for the impossible – “it would be easier to put an elephant through the eye of a needle.”  This could very well be a Jewish adaptation of that saying, because the largest land animal in Israel was the camel.

{vs. 25-26} The disciples thought like the rabbis that if anyone could be saved, it would be the rich (the blessed (?) of God).  So if this is the case, the truth then "Who then can be saved?" With man (by ourselves, of our own efforts) salvation is impossible! But God (I love those words!), but with God all things are possible!  What this man lacked was the humility, the great need to come to God like the tax collector, a ‘great sinner’ who “would not even look up to Heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” (Luke 18:13)