"The Rich Young Man" Matthew 19b Nov 24 2024

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 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.” 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, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 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.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

(Pray…)

Three Accounts, One Story

In one sense, I can hear the anguish in this man’s question:

“Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

The title “Teacher” was used commonly by the scribes, the Pharisees when they addressed Jesus

But the disciples also used it

Like when Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm and the disciples woke him up: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Mk 4:38

There are three accounts of this story - Matt, Mark, and Luke

There’s kind of a lot of differences between all three accounts - because they all come from different writers with different perspectives

When security suspects a married couple going through customs - they will often move the couple into separate rooms to interrogate

They will ask certain basic questions of each person:

Tell me about your first date

What’s your spouse’s favorite food

Tell me about your last vacation, etc

And if each person gives exact answers, it will actually draw much more suspicion

But if their answers generally align with each other with small variances, suspicion is usually removed

That’s because everyone has a different perspective and a different version of the same story

It’s possible for every eye-witness to tell the truth, but in their own version

This is the same for the Gospels - four different eye-witnesses, but the same truth is told

There are variances, but no contradictions

In Mark for example: the rich man starts off with “Good Teacher.”

In Matthew’s account it’s, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

What is Good?

Jesus breaks it down to the basics

He seems to go to what is most fundamental about the man’s question

At first, I am sympathetic to this man

The man is looking for Jesus to give him a quantitative, empirical answer:

“Just tell me the good thing I need to do for eternal life - then I’ll be on my way”

“I don’t need a sermon or a lesson right now - just answer my question and I’ll get out of your hair.”

Jesus first answers the man by getting a little philosophical about the man’s use of the word, “good.”

“Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.”

Jesus then begins to question this man’s motive - and eventually exposes him

I’ve heard this story preached many times

The big takeaway is usually about how the man made eternal life about what he should do in order to enter eternal life

“What good deed must I do...”

…but we know that it’s all grace and that we‘re not saved by our own good works

And the sermon usually concludes that the man was about good works, but Jesus is about grace

And this is all true - we are saved by grace through faith and not of our works

But remember, when this exchange in Matt 19 took place, the OT Law was still in effect

Eventually, I want to draw a different application - but let’s keep going with the rest of this conversation

Keep the Commandments

Jesus first gets philosophical, but then he dials it back a little

He then gives a straightforward answer:

“If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments”

I’ve often wondered what would happen if right then, the man shook Jesus’ hand, said, “thank you,” and walked off

But after Jesus says, “keep the commandments,” the man asks a follow-up question - “Which ones?”

“Oh yeah? Out of the entire list of 613 commandments, can you give me the required list for me to get my ticket to heaven?”

Jesus then gives him six, five are from the Ten Commandments and he gives him a bonus one from Leviticus*:

You shall not murder

You shall not commit adultery

You shall not steal

You shall not bear false witness

Honor your father and mother

*Love your neighbor as yourself

Now, I have mixed feelings for what the man says next

He acknowledges that he’s kept all of these commandments

This is where some people are critical that the man said this

That no one is able to perfectly keep the law

But I don’t think he was actually trying to say that in such a literal sense

I think in general terms, he was acknowledging that he kept the law

It would not be out of the ordinary to recognize a devout Jewish person as one who keeps the commandments

In the book of Job, for example, the Lord himself said that Job was a “blameless and upright man.”

We don’t take that to mean that Job was completely sinless, and completely perfect

People today think the “gotcha” moment in this story is that the man thought he was perfect and Jesus proved that he wasn’t

I don’t think this is a story about keeping the law

Selling your possessions to the poor was not in the Mosaic law

I think there’s a deeper meaning to this story

Jesus revealed this man’s heart

Let’s continue the conversation

I do admire the man to a point

He doesn’t just say, “I’ve kept all these commandments - I’m good,” and walk away

There’s still something unsettled in his spirit

And then he asks Jesus another follow-up, “What do I still lack?”

This is like asking your boss the question, “what do I need to accomplish before I’m done with my shift?”

and it’s almost 10:00 at night -

And you’re trying to finish up so you can go home for the weekend

And your boss gives you a list of what you need to accomplish - and you say, “Yup, I’ve done all of that.”

But at the risk of staying even later, you throw in, “Is there anything else I can do before I go home and spend time with my family for Christmas?”

And Jesus, knowing this man was rich, says:

“Well, there’s just one more thing - sell all of your possessions, give it all to the poor if you want to be perfect.”

And right here is where it is revealed what this story is all about

In verse 22 it tells us that the man went away sad, “for he had great possessions.”

And this is where most Christians say something like:

Well I’m glad I’m not rich - I’m just a poor, simple follower of Christ

Why couldn’t that guy just sell everything for Jesus - after all, we’re talking about eternal life

Yeah, it’s so hard for the rich to enter God’s kingdom - harder than a camel to go through the eye of a needle

The man’s wealth - or his ability to keep the Law were not in question

What was in question was the one thing the man could not give up

Anything we are not willing to give up for Jesus is ultimately what we truly worship

This man was unwilling to give up his possessions

And if he was unwilling to give them up and follow Jesus and worship him, then his possessions were an idol

It would have been different if Jesus had exposed the truth about his possessions -

And the man said, “Lord I struggle with holding on to my possessions - please help me!”

He didn’t say anything like that -

Jesus said sell your stuff - you’ll have all the stuff you want in heaven - now come and follow me

But then the guy walked away…without saying anything

He allowed the conversation to end right there because he felt his possessions were not up for negotiation

If you feel that something in your life cannot be given up because you think it’s not up for negotiation,

...then you’re not even close to following Jesus

Come, Follow Me

When I first began to study for this sermon I was bothered by the fact that the three Gospels seem to differ so much about this story

Then I noticed something

All three Gospel accounts of this story differ in several ways - but they all end with the same refrain, exactly, word for word (Matt 19:21, Mk 10:21, Lk 18:22) -

“and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Surprisingly this statement usually goes largely unnoticed

The fact that this exact phrase is used across all three Gospels is remarkable

If you remember from some of my previous sermons - I’m fascinated with Matthew’s use of the verb, “come.” - and the various types of Greek verbs that are used

And Matthew likes to use a particular Greek word to indicate an intimacy with those who come to Jesus

But verse 21 - “…and come, follow me,” Matthew introduces us to a new form of the verb

The Greek is deuro

It carries a sense of urgency - it literally means “come here!”

It’s the same verb as in John 11:43 - “Lazarus, come out!”

Jesus is telling this rich man to follow him right now

“...and come, follow me immediately!”

It’s after Jesus gives this command that the man walked away sad

In the end, Jesus literally answers this man’s questions directly

Jesus tells him exactly how to obtain eternal life - that he would have eternal treasure in heaven and to follow him right now

But the man says nothing and rejects him

Do you remember what Jesus said in Matt 16:24?

Jesus lays down the groundwork on how to follow him

Matthew 16:24 ESV

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Let’s apply this to the Rich Young Man

Jesus saw this man’s wealth was essentially his identity

His wealth was his crutch in life

Telling the man to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor, was the same as saying, “deny yourself and take up your cross”

The man became sad because he ultimately knew in his heart that he was unwilling to deny himself

I believe this is what this story is all about

This rich man faced a challenge common to the wealthy: it's hard to deny oneself and take up one's cross when you have so much.

Jesus provides for him the solution -

Sell your possessions

Then you’ll have eternal possessions

And follow me!

But his wealth not only provided security but Jesus perceived that it also defined his identity.

Selling his possessions would have felt like losing himself—which Jesus effectively asked him to do

The lesson here isn't that all rich people must give up all possessions to obtain salvation—

this is not a universal instruction for us to be saved

you don’t need to be poor in order to go to heaven

But in context with Matt 16:24, it reinforces the idea of self-denial

The man could follow the law handily, but he couldn't give up his worldly possessions to follow Jesus because he saw them as part of himself.

Here’s my application for this story:

Before you cross your arms and say, “I’m not rich - I’m good”

This lesson holds particular relevance for contemporary Western living, where most of us enjoy vast luxuries compared to poorer countries around the world

Think of your life compared with the First Century

We live in modern homes, drive modern cars, we have health insurance and retirement savings, and possess an abundant amount of computer power in our pockets

While Jesus may not be asking us to give up these amenities, our need for him can easily be cloaked behind these comforts

“I don’t need Jesus - I’m good in life”

“Why do I need Christianity - I have everything at my fingertips”

The key here for us is to be willing to do anything to follow Jesus

This includes repenting of our current sinful life because we realize that ultimately our ways are not the answer—

and to fully trust Jesus to the point that we would now follow him

This story challenges the reader to question their very identity -

that which they have leaned on their whole life

If there was ever a society that resembled the attitude of the Rich Young Man, it is ours!

The story is not just about the rich man - it’s about us

You can’t believe what people tell me when I share the Gospel with them

People justify themselves because we live in a sophisticated society that no longer needs religion

Because they’re self-sufficient

The story of The Rich Young Man is for unbelievers and believers

The question is - what are you holding on in life?

- do you see your need for Jesus everyday?

Are you willing to deny yourself everyday and follow Jesus? Right now?

Jesus actually gave the man assurance about his wealth -

He said if you give everything to the poor - your treasure will be in heaven!

For all eternity

Closing

Go read Matt 19 - there are more details than I have time today

Jesus ends this chapter by saying, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

But this man wanted to be first by his own standards

Being first is only valid in the eyes of God.

Man always puts himself first (our life of sin) - this is why we need to deny ourselves

The Rich Man refused to deny himself - and the default of not repenting, of putting himself first is why he become last

He couldn’t see his need for Jesus

Denying ourselves means to put our entire life last aside - and look to Jesus for our needs

In the end, he will make us first - only God can put us first in his eyes

Bottom line - everyone needs Jesus

But with everything going for us in this modern world, how hard is it for us to see our need for Jesus?

Much less, be willing to give up everything for him?

Most people who go to church every week:

“I go to church to hear good moral stories”

“I know God loves me, that’s all I need”

They think the Gospel is that God loves everyone in the world - so everyone is good

But that never deals with their sin

All of us come to the table with a sin problem

The reason we need Jesus is because he died for our sins

But we need to deny ourselves through repentance, and believe in him, and follow him

The Rich Man put himself first and in the end, became last

Don’t follow the example of the Rich Man

Deny yourself and follow Jesus

You will make yourself last - and you will become first in God’s eyes

As I close, I want to bring out a small section in the middle of this chapter

Starting in verse 13 -

Matthew 19:13–15 ESV

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

Jesus also said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” [Mark 10:15]

How does the kingdom of heaven belong to little children and apparently not to the rich man who followed the Law?

I think it’s not too hard to figure it out

Children don’t have a problem denying themselves in order to follow Jesus

A child does not over-analyze things

A child hasn’t yet developed self-pride which keeps a lot of adults from following Jesus

(Pray…)

(This morning, are you like the Rich Man?…)

Communion

The Lord’s Supper is similar to The Passover from the OT.

It celebrates the fact that the Lord delivered his people from Egypt - and delivered his people from his own wrath

Today, we celebrate Communion which holds the memory of Christ’s death on the cross

The death of Jesus on the cross delivered us from the desolate wilderness of our sin

And saves us from the coming wrath of the Lord

When we take communion, there is a sense of past, present, and the future

Past: Communion looks back in remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross

Present: It is a celebration of the New Covenant we are in

Future: It causes us to look forward to when we will celebrate with Jesus face to face

(Pick one…)

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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