The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-26)
Encounters with Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
I want to begin this morning with asking a question...
Are you holding unto something that is destructive?
(Could be something good or bad.… idol, unforgiveness, regret, shame)
[Hold unto things at the expense of our future]
What is that thing, that may be a trap, that you wont let go of?
(South India Monkey Traps)
Today, we are going to look at a man’s life,
who clung to something so tight that it was destroying his life.
And in this story He encounters Jesus,
and Jesus invites him into a new and better life.
We are continuing in our series called encounters with Jesus.
This is our 7th and final sermon in this series.
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 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.” 18 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, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
Matthew captures this story of this young man,
who is asking the question about receiving eternal life.
And this young man begins with a question,
that really highlights the religious mindset at the time,
and that is a works based religious system.
The young man says “what good deed must I do to have eternal life”
His question is similar to the approach that many times we have,
and that is we think if our good outweighs our bad,
than we can be saved...
(SCALES TIP IN OUR FAVOR)
So when Jesus hears this young rich man’s question,
He humors him,
and says you want eternal life keep the commandments.
When Jesus responds this way to this young rich man,
Jesus knows that no one can truly hold to the commandments,
because everyone falls short of them.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Meaning… Never be able to perform or do enough to reach perfection)
After Jesus asks him to keep the commandments,
the young man says which commandments?
Jesus responds to him saying,
“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 rich man said “All these I have kept..…
And probably in hearing Jesus answer to him,
he is likely disappointed at Jesus’ simplistic answer here.
This rich young man has heard all these amazing reports about this Teacher named Jesus.
And it is not much of a stretch to understand that this rich young man certainly had a brilliant mind,
think about it this way,
not many people during this time where rich,
and here he is as a young man who is identified as being rich.
We do not know were he got his riches from,
but being rich would have given him the opportunity to study and be well educated,
which being rich and educated was both rare at this time.
So in coming to Jesus,
he is probably inquiring of Jesus,
thinking he will receive a highly theological discussion around the doctrine of eternal life,
and here Jesus gives this answer that a 6 year old Jewish boy could have given him...
I find most times our answers to our problems, are much more simple, than we may want to admit.
Sometimes the most helpful and smartest answer,
are the simplest in nature.
(more complex than they need to be..) [not smart as we think..]
Office Max… did not know what I was doing… 2 types of Nerds…
(1. spoke over my head… 2. one guy who was the smartest in the room made it sound simple)
[Jesus is the God in the flesh, yet he simplifies everything]
So when Jesus talks to this rich young man,
He gives a very simple answer,
and this rich young man is probably annoyed at the simplicity of Jesus’ answer.
I am sure this rich young man travel a good distance to hear from this great teacher,
because he is wanting some deep doctorate level theological insight.
And in his mind Jesus does not deliver what he was expecting or even wanting....
The heart is a tricky thing,
because I have found sometimes in our minds God has let us down,
because the answer he gives us is different than what we expected and or wanted…
This rich young man was expecting a different reply from Jesus,
But Jesus does not answer him in a matter of what he wants to hear,
but rather answers him in a matter of what he needs to hear. Amen!
I can almost hear the pain in the voice of the rich young man,
As he says, I have been doing what you say I am supposed to be doing,
yet I still am feeling lost and hopeless.
“what do I still lack”
(In his mind he has been following the instruction manual to perfection)
[but he still knows he is missing something]
When he says this to Jesus,
Jesus reaches past the facade this man has,
He removes the mask the young man is wearing,
and Jesus digs into the heart of the matter to say this.
21 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.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Here this young man has followed perfectly in his mind,
the steps and the guidelines of the law.
Yet, Jesus knows that not to be true...
Jesus addresses this young rich man,
and articulates to him the reality,
that though you may think you are following the law perfectly,
though you may act pious and perfect,
you hold on to your idol with a clung fist.
Jesus addresses the hard truth for this this young man,
and this hard truth is he has attached himself,
not to the God of heaven and earth,
but rather he has attached himself to his wealth.
Jesus says you want to be perfect,
go sell all you have a follow me...
D. A. Carson writes on the topic of what Jesus means here about being perfect here ,
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke a. The Rich Young Man (19:16–22)
What the word “perfection” suggests here is what it commonly means in the OT: undivided loyalty and full-hearted obedience. This young man could not face that. He was willing to discipline himself to observe all the outward stipulations and even perform supererogatory works; but because of his wealth, he had a divided heart. His money was competing with God; and what Jesus everywhere demands as a condition for eternal life is absolute, radical discipleship.
Hear me when I say this,
radical discipleship is costly discipleship.
Radical discipleship means picking up your cross to follow Jesus.
Radical discipleship means you give up titles and recognition,
in order to be seen and identified as a disciple of Jesus.
This rich young man’s identity is rapped up in his wealth.
Think about it,
we don’t know this young man’s name,
all we know is that he is a rich young man.
(Being rich is who he is… identity)
[recognition] give it up….
When Jesus addresses this rich young man’s false identity of wealth,
Jesus invites him to surrender his false identity and become a true disciple.
But when the rich young man hears this,
he leaves sorrowful, because the cost is much to great for him.
This story reminds me of 2 very contrasting parables Jesus gives about the Kingdom of Heaven.
They are contrasting because the response is so different compared to this rich young man.
Jesus said...
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus said....
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This rich young man’s treasure is in his earthly wealth,
and therefore we see his heart is surrendered to his wealth.
The sad reality is this rich young man recognizes that he has something wrong,
and yet he was not willing to make sacrifices to fix it.
How many know, that it is one thing, to know how to fix the problem,
but it is entirely different thing, to be willing to take steps to fix the problem....
(action is a lot harder than talk)
I can’t help but wonder,
if this rich young ruler came to Jesus in order to hear about intellectual faith.
But when Jesus challenged him with a faith that required action,
he was not willing to except the challenge.
Craig Keener states it well when he says this...
Matthew Jesus Summons Disciples to Absolute Commitment (19:21–22)
The young man wants a teacher (19:16); he does not want a Lord who demands sacrifice (20:20–28).
I believe this rich young man wanted to just hear this great teacher named Jesus, to discuss doctrinal topics,
not hear from Jesus as Lord, who would call him to action that required sacrifice.
In this rich young man’s mind he has followed the law completely,
but the reality is he is completely blind to the fact that he is not following the law completely.
If you notice in Jesus’ response to this rich young man,
Jesus does not mention the commands that he is not following.
(did you catch that?)
Jesus talks about murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, honoring father and mother, loving your neighbor.
(he is doing those well)
But Jesus waits to address the commandments that he is breaking...
There is a verse in the Bible that is important to remember...
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
(Explain)
Though this rich young ruler has kept most of the laws well,
at least in his mind,
he has certainly been breaking 2 of the laws.
(The commandments talk about having no other gods and making idols)
[Riches = god and idol]
Jesus sheds light on this young man’s problem.
what he is missing, is a recognition, that his wealth has become his god.
The rich young man is not willing to leave his idolatry behind him,
and therefore he leaves sorrowful because he will continue to lack eternal life.
I began this morning with asking the question...
Are you holding unto something that is destructive?
(For this young rich man it was his wealth,
for you it could be something entirely different)
[pain as your identity… impossible to give up]
Fence grew into the tree
Camel Eye of a needle
Disciples astonished
