The Followers and the Doomed

Long time ago, before we had GPS systems that talked annoyingly to us. We had maps. Very useful things. Other times, we had friends and family who knew the better way. So, we dropped the map and we caravanned where we needed to go. Sometimes that was through the big city, and we knew the only way we were going get across town was following the car ahead of us.

Have you ever followed a car in rush hour traffic. You have to throw everything you learned in driver’s ed class out of the window. If you try to follow normal rules, you will lose the car you are following and you will be hopelessly lost.

Though, now we have those GPS systems, and then there is always the random map found at the hole-in-the-wall gas station that was published 20 years ago.

Following someone used to be an art, because that car was your lifeline to sanity, to food, to restrooms, to the final destination. You stuck behind that car, sometimes only allowing inches so that that driver from Iowa wouldn’t cut in. You have your hand floating on the turn signal, so you can turn it on right when the car you are following turns theirs on, and hopefully, you can edge into the other lane, creating a spot for the lead car to merge.

This art is gradually being lost. and with it, we are losing so many other things, including the realization that we need someone to follow in life. We cannot blaze our own trail.

That’s what the disciples learn in this passage. We see two groups of people, the hard-hearted who do not follow Jesus and the unworthy who do. Life is found in the following of Jesus.

Before we dive into this long passage, will you pray with me?

1. The Hard-Hearted

Let’s look at the hard-hearted first.

The Pharisees were so concerned with how people viewed them. And they wanted to make sure that there was a clear divide between the ungodly and themselves. In addition to between Jesus and themselves.

B. Spurns the Ungodly

They spurned the ungodly, and approached Jesus to create that barrier between them and him.

Matthew 19:1–12 NIV

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

This question was huge at this time, because there were two viewpoints: divorce only because of sexual immorality or divorce for any reason, particularly if the wife burned the food. The question was also huge because John the Baptist had been thrown into prison and then killed because Herod divorced his wife and married his brother’s wife.

I’m not here to talk about divorce and remarriage, because I don’t have the time. You can make an appointment or go back and listen to my sermon on 1 Corinthians 7. Simply put: there are reasons to divorce and when those reasons are followed, remarriage is perfectly fine.

But, the Pharisees, and the disciples, were trying to create a rule: where is the line between godliness and ungodliness, and how can we turn to the other side and say: you are wrong, stay over there.

The disciples dig even more in this pit of bad thinking when they stop the kids from coming to Jesus:

Matthew 19:13–15 NIV

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 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.

They spurned the people they didn’t think should come near. Both times, Jesus rebukes the thinking and points to something different.

The hard-hearted spurn the ungodly.

B. Keep the Law

The hard-hearted also keep the law.

Matthew 19:16–26 NIV

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. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The young man kept the law of God, as he understood it. And probably everyone around him thought that he was a really good guy. All the mothers were probably trying to set him up with their daughters, because not only was he a good guy, but he was also rich. What a catch!

Everyone probably said that he would enter paradise, hands down.

But, he felt a lacking.

We look at people who stay away from the ungodly, and we appreciate them. We look at people who are moral, who keep the law of God and we appreciate them.

But, in and of themselves, they are lacking the same thing the rich young man is lacking.

C. Does Not Follow Jesus

The hard-hearted does not follow Jesus.

In each of these conversations, Jesus brings up the same point.

He turns to the Pharisees and tells them, the issue is not in the interpretation. The issue is, are you following God. He doesn’t go back to the divorce allowances in Deuteronomy. He goes back to creation in Genesis 2.

Matthew 19:4–6 NIV

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

When the disciples are in shock at the strict standard Jesus lays down for the unity in marriage, he responds by sharing the story of those who are willing to do anything for the sake of following Jesus.

Matthew 19:11–12 NIV

Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

The focus isn’t on living a celibate life. The focus is on following Jesus: the priority of the kingdom of heaven. Nothing reaches that level.

When the rich young ruler knows that something is lacking in his life, seeking to find a rule to follow. Jesus gives him a man:

Matthew 19:21 NIV

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.”

The riches were keeping him from following Jesus. The focus of this exhortation is not selling everything. The focus is turning from that which you are worshiping and following the king.

The hard-hearted look great. They stay away from the ungodly. They keep the law. But, they do not follow Jesus. And so, the king casts them away.

Matthew 19:22 NIV

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

2. The Unworthy, Devoted

That’s the hard-hearted. Let’s look at the unworthy, devoted ones.

These are not necessarily the first ones that we look at, saying: we should imitate these ones! Because we tend to look at the outward appearance, and not the heart.

But there is a huge difference between the heard-hearted and the unworthy, devoted one.

A. Follows Jesus

The first doesn’t follow Jesus, but the second does.

That’s the difference between the hard-hearted pharisees and the hard-hearted rich young man and the heart-hearted disciples, between them and those in the kingdom.

The rich young man knew something was lacking in his life. And that something was Jesus. Life is found in the following of Jesus.

Matthew 19:20–26 NIV

“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. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

There must be a point in our life when we come to Jesus and say: there is a lack in my life and the only thing that can fill it is you. I trust in your death on your cross to save me. We need him. And we turn to God to do what is impossible for us to do.

I have seen it over and over: people who feel a lack, who feel something missing, a hole, that can only be filled by following Jesus. They finally give up and turn to him, and all of a sudden their lives are fulfilled, complete, full of purpose.

B. Lives for the Kingdom

The purpose is that those who follow Christ have a worldview, a system for viewing what they should be doing or not doing. They are focused on living for the kingdom, reflecting the kingdom, advancing the kingdom. Everything should be about the kingdom.

After Jesus confronts the rich young man, Peter turns to Jesus and speaks for the whole room.

Matthew 19:27–30 NIV

Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Peter acknowledges that he and the rest of the disciples had bet everything on Jesus and the kingdom. Their whole focus was on living for the kingdom. Leaving families, livelihoods, friendships, careers, everything for the sake of Jesus and his kingdom.

And Jesus said that they would be rewarded for what they did, for their focus on the kingdom.

C. Does Not Care for the Reward

But, you see, the one who lives for the kingdom doesn’t care for the reward. Jesus heard Peter’s plea, wanting to know there was a worth for his focus on the kingdom. And Jesus doesn’t rebuke Peter, but he warns him to focus on the kingdom instead of the reward.

Matthew 20:1–16 NIV

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

I could spend a whole sermon on this one passage. The hiring is people who come to Jesus in faith. When they do, Jesus, the master, puts them on the path of living for the kingdom. An whether they join early in life, or late in life, whether they are the most desirable who is hired first, or the rejects who are hired last, Jesus gives rewards to all, according to his grace. And no citizen of the kingdom should expect more than any other citizen. Because the focus is: we are part of the kingdom! Life is found in following him!

3. Which Are You?

So, in this group, which are you? I’m not going to talk about the hard-hearted or the unworthy.

A. What About Them?

So many of the individuals in our text were pointing fingers, focused so much on the spiritual state or ungodliness of those around them. But, that is not the focus. The focus is on each one of us. Are we following Jesus? That’s what all of our conversations should boil down to. Are we following Jesus?

B. What About Me?

Others have a “what about me?” lifestyle, but instead of the serious question of “Am I following Jesus in this moment?” We are asking: “What am I going to get out of this?” Which is still the wrong focus. Are we following Jesus?

C. Thank you, Lord

The focus should be a life of thanksgiving, thanking Jesus for accepting me into his kingdom, for I am not worthy. Left to myself, I am nothing. I am a sinner, like a little child without any status, I am the last chosen working, hanging out on the street because no one else considered me worthy.

When we have this perspective, we are pushed to follow Jesus more, live for the kingdom, and have no thought of rewards, because Jesus is enough.

Life is found in following him.