Matthew 19:16-22 Just then 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, keep the commandments.” “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, 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.
The essential aspect of the above verses is the young man’s desire to be right with God, to inherit eternal life in God’s presence. Everything he says points to his own efforts to please God. What good thing MUST I DO to get eternal life? Jesus responds to his question by telling him he must keep the commandments. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself. Immediately the man responds, All these I have kept. This young man’s effort to be right with God are judicious and sound. He fully understands to be right with God, one must keep the commandments. Jesus first explains to the man that there is only One who is good. Explicit in that comment is that God alone is good. Jesus knows the Father, and He knows there is no shadow of wickedness or imperfection in his Father. Man’s efforts to be good are commendable, but man’s basic nature is rebellious to God’s perfection and authority. His Adamic DNA causes sin to flourish. The Bible describes the nature of men as opposite to God’s goodness and righteousness. Jeremiah talks about men’s nature being uncontrollable. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (Jeremiah 17:9) Paul chimes in on this theme by writing about the Jews and their law that reflects the nature of God. What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Romans 3:9-12) This corruption within men was inherited from the beginning after the fall. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for ALL THE PEOPLE on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:11-12) Even the flood did not cleanse the hearts of humans, but God’s grace allowed for the human race to continue. Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. (Genesis 8:21) This is a hard fact for men and women to accept that evil and waywardness are part of their DNA. Jesus tells the young man that no one is good, only God, but if he wants to inherit eternal life, the law represents a good start. However, Jesus goes one step further than the law, “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.” Jesus focuses on perfection, true righteousness that depends on following him all the way to the cross. Jesus, the Christ, is the Lamb of God. He alone will bring about the perfection that is necessary to enter the kingdom of Heaven. A new creation had to be born in Christ’s likeness, not in man’s likeness.
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. How hard it is for adults to step away from the cares and concerns of this world. This account of the young man’s earnest desire for eternal life comes directly after Jesus’ teaching about little children. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. (Matthew 19:14-15) Little children are not fettered with the concerns of the world. They know not what they owe or own. They just live, taking life as it comes. In some respects they are entirely dependent on God to take care of them. They breathe, eat, and sleep without really understanding the conventions and circumstances of the world. The young man knew he had wealth; he knew he had to work to keep it. He had to be engaged with the world if he were to remain wealthy. All of this was far removed from the unconcerns of a toddler. He had to worry about the next day; the young child does not worry about tomorrow. The youngster takes each day as it comes, lives that day to the fullest, in the minute, in the hour. Jesus’ request to the young man was an impossibility for him, for his investment into the world and its concerns was great. He received great deference from others because of his wealth. How could he give away his position of status to another called Jesus. Yes, to him Jesus was a great teacher, maybe even a prophet, but was Jesus more important than the security he enjoyed through his wealth. He could not make the necessary decision to leave everything to follow this man Jesus. Others will do it, but not him. Jesus’ disciples except for Judas will follow Jesus to the end of their lives. Paul will pour out his life on the altar of sacrifice. But this young man could not see a real advantage in being Jesus’ disciple. And in so many ways he was correct. He had only one life to live. If he gave everything away, he would have no assets to fall back on if things went wrong in his life. Jesus’ demands on his life were just too strong. 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. He would lose all that he knew and held dear. How could he throw away a world he knew for something he could not see, hear or know by his senses. He went away in sorrow. He was willing to follow the commandments for a future existence, but to live now by faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings was too much for him, a wealthy man of the world.
Committing to be a better person is not bad, to follow the Ten Commandments is not bad, but your efforts to battle your Adam’s spirit will always lose. Perfection will always be beyond your grasp. In fact, perfection comes only in the form of God, in his likeness, not in Adam’s likeness. Jesus said, you must be born again. Or, a new creation must be made. The rich young man thought that attaining eternal life could come through his own efforts. He was zealous in fulfilling the law’s commands. He told Jesus readily, All these I have kept. What else do I need to do to attain eternal life? Jesus commends him for his efforts, but Jesus understood well that man is not good. Only God is good, so the young man needed to attain goodness by another means other than through his efforts. Jesus told the man to commit to him and to forsake the world and its way of life. Of course, if he could have made that step of faith, he would have gained eternal life, which he was seeking. Rather than be a leader in his community as the world sees leaders, he would have become a slave, a servant to others, displaying the love of God to all people regardless of their race, class, and ethnicity. He would have fulfilled the requirements of the law by loving God with all his heart, mind, and soul, and just as important, loving his neighbors as he loves himself. These two cardinal rules would be illustrated in his life. He would not have shown favoritism to any people, for he would not be a lawbreaker, but a fulfiller of the law. James states very clearly the sensitivity he would have needed if he would have committed his life to Jesus. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. (James 2:9-11) This young man would not commit adultery or murder, but perfection is not found in obvious sins, but in the sensitively to others as Jesus is sensitive to the needs of people. A new creature needed to be made in this young man, and only God can do that. Eternal life is only assessable to new creatures, made in God’s image. God loved the world so much that He gave his only begotten Son. Even though the world is in rebellion, He gave his Son for every sin for every insensitivity. This young man could not fulfill the requirements of the law, for the law extends far beyond the statements made in written form to mankind. The law reveals God’s nature of holiness and goodness. To be likewise, we need the only perfect One who walked this world: that One is Jesus Christ. He alone brings goodness and perfection to man, and IN HIM we hide by faith. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24) You need not walk away sad today, for your righteousness is in Christ the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment