Journey Through Matthew: The Last Will Be First

And just as a refresher, if you will remember, last week we talked about the “Rich Young Ruler” who had approached Jesus and asked Him what GOOD THING he must do in order to inherit eternal life.

And of course we know that this was the wrong question to ask Jesus because, there is no “good thing” that anybody can do to “earn” their way into heaven.

As we discussed last week, our entry into heaven is dependent on God’s mercy and God’s grace.

There is absolutely 100% nothing we can to to earn our entry, except repent of our sin, give our heart to Jesus, and follow Him.

That is absolutely it. Nothing else will do.

And we also explored the key reason why this “Rich Young Ruler” was struggling so much with this concept.

After all, he had done pretty good his whole life in following the “letter of the Law.”

But the issue was his motivation behind the following of the Law.

He didn’t follow because he loved God with all his being and loved his neighbor as himself.

He didn’t follow because it just became part of his character; his nature.

His reason and only reason for following the Law was because he thought it was going to “buy him a pass” with God.

That because he was good at follow the rules, God would overlook his sin.

That surely he wouldn’t stand in judgment, after all he was “a good person.”

He “did a lot for his community.”

He “gave a lot.”

Surely it was enough.

And we know from our study that it was not enough and it would never be enough, because God didn’t want his “stuff” God wanted his heart.

Which is all God wants from any of us.

God wants our heart, because if God has our heart, then God already has everything else.

So Jesus challenges the condition of his heart, challenging him to sell all his “stuff,” give it to the poor and then to come and follow Jesus.

In other words, put Jesus first and Jesus’ mission first and foremost.

Jesus was after the condition of the man’s heart.

And …

Matthew 19:22 NIV - Anglicised

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

He realized that his heart wasn’t in it and he was unwilling to give up the “stuff” to follow Christ.

Which is where many people are today.

Willing to follow so long as it is easy, but when it gets tough they are out the door.

Willing to follow so long as Jesus doesn’t interrupt their plans or their pursuit of wordly wealth.

To which Jesus uses as a teaching lesson to his disciples . . .

Matthew 19:23 NIV - Anglicised

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:

And he is talking about those who’s entire life is about stuff and the pursuit of stuff.

He is talking about putting all our stock in the things of this world and the things that are only temporary.

And this morning we are going to see Jesus taking this lesson just a bit further.

So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you to stand with me if you are able.

Matthew writes . . .

Scripture Focus

Matthew 19:23–30 NIV - Anglicised

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, 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. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

The Eye of the Needle (vs 23-25)

So, again we see Jesus starting off with the statement . . .

Matthew 19:23 NIV - Anglicised

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:23

And then he adds a little more “umph” to it . . .

Matthew 19:24 NIV - Anglicised

24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Now, our Jewish friends were familiar with camels because it was one of the main animals that they used in their everyday life.

And if you have ever seen a camel you would know that they are pretty big animals.

And Jesus is telling the disciples that it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle (rhaphidos), which is an actual sewing needle NOT a passageway, as some have suggested than for a rich man to go to heaven.

And of course Jesus is using a metaphor, but the point is that it is extremely difficult for a rich person like in our example from last week to get to heaven.

And the reason it is so difficult is because all of their faith is in themselves and in their wealth and not rooted in God.

Which is really a good point for all of us.

We don’t have to be rich in order to be lost.

Because anytime we are putting our faith in things other than God, we are no better off than the Rich Young Ruler.

However, this confuses the disciples.

Matthew records . . .

Matthew 19:25 NIV - Anglicised

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Matthew 19:

And the reason for this question is related to how they thought about God and God’s blessings.

Jewish teachings were that if God loved you, then God would bless you with worldly things like wealth.

The more money you had the more loved by God you were.

God’s approval of you was directly tied to your worldly possessions.

Which is 100% the same thing that we see play out today with the prosperity gospel crowd.

The “God’s gonna make you rich, if you give me money” crowd.

And I’ll just tell you they are a bunch of charlatans and heretics.

They are crooks out to line their own pockets and God didn’t tell a single one of them that they needed a brand new jet plane.

God doesn’t love the rich more and God’s blessing is not tied to one single monetary thing.

God’s blessings are spiritual blessings and any monetary blessing we have is not a sign of God’s approval, it is God’s provision for us and also a test of how we will use what God has given us.

But given the culture of the time, if the “blessed by God” ie, the rich couldn’t get to heaven, then who could?

The disciples knew that it was physically impossible for a Camel to pass through the eye of a needle, and if that was more likely than the rich going to heaven, then how could anybody get there?

Pigs would fly first!

What’s Left for Us (vs 26-29)

So, Jesus addresses their concerns about this seemingly impossible reality . . .

Matthew 19:26 NIV - Anglicised

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

And we need to stop and think about that for just a minute.

How often do we limit God with our “that’s impossible attitude?”

We, as human beings have a bad habit of thinking about God in human terms.

God is not a human being.

God created human beings.

God created everything with just a thought and a word.

God is not limited by our human limitations.

Nothing limits God, because God created it all.

And if God wanted to squeeze a camel through a needle, then guess what God can do it.

But, do we really believe that?

Do we believe God can do anything and everything?

Or, are we tied up in this “seeing is believing” nonsense?

Because I’m going to tell you, God doesn’t have to prove anything to us.

And we really need to get past that egocentric attitude that “it’s all about us,” because it’s not all about us.

God has invited us to be a part of His grand plan.

And God wants to bless us, but many times we get in the way.

God wants to use us for great things, but we get in the way because we limit God with our lack of faith and trust in God.

We walk around with the “I can’t” attitude as a really poor excuse for the “I don’t want to” attitude.

Anytime we don’t want to be obedient to God or do what God is calling us to do, we say “I can’t do that...”

Well, yes you can because if it is what God wants you to do then God will make it happen.

So really “I can’t” is “I won’t” which is disobedience to God.

So, again God can do everything.

Which now gets Peter to thinking, if God can do everything and if everyone can be saved, it’s going to get pretty crowed and we are going to have to compete for God’s blessings.

Which is why he asked Jesus . . .

Matthew 19:27 NIV - Anglicised

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

And again, Peter is tied up in this worldly mindset that there are limited resources and here they are giving up everything and other people are reaping the benefits while they are out there working their finger to the bone.

It’s like having a ten piece bucket of chicken that you have worked all week for to get the money to pay for it.

You sit down to eat your chicken and a group of hungry people hear you have some chicken.

They haven’t ate all week, so piece by piece you give away your chicken.

Will there be any chicken left that I’ve worked so hard for all week long?

Matthew 19:28–29 NIV - Anglicised

28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, 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. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:

In other words, don’t worry about it.

Go ahead and give away all the chicken, because when all things shake out, you’ve have more chicken than you can ever dream of.

In fact, you will have all you will ever need of al things.

And most importantly of all, you will have everlasting life.

And it all really ties back to trust and faith in God.

Because those with little faith would have hid back a piece of chicken and lied and said they ran out.

Those with little faith would work for Jesus but at the same time hoard back some for themselves for a “rainy day.”

And I’m not talking about saving and being financially responsible, what I’m talking about is hoarding up what God has told you to give.

And that don’t just apply to money either.

That applies to everything, time, talents, and treasures.

It boils down to whether or not we are giving our all to Jesus?

Or, are we holding things back?

The First Will Be Last/Altar Call (vs 30)

Wanting to make sure that we are first in line.

The first one to enter the gates.

Altar Call

Trying to get ahead of everybody else.

Well, Jesus has a response for that as well.

He says . . .

Matthew 19:30 NIV - Anglicised

30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

You see, those who are “first” in this life, or at least in man’s eyes are “first” will be last in God’s kingdom.

The reason being is because they put too much stock in the things of this life and forgot about building up treasures in heaven.

Remember what Jesus said in . . .

Matthew 5:3–11 NIV - Anglicised

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

That doesn’t sound much like a list of those who “got ahead” in this life.

Because it is not.

God’s kingdom is determined to how well we followed God’s direction here.

God’s blessing is tied to our faith and trust in God, our obedience to Him.

So, this morning we need to ask ourselves, whether or not we’ve been doing as God commanded or as we saw fit.

Are we building up treasures in heaven or here?

We know where we stand and we know what God has laid on our hearts.

Our altars are open, will we use them?

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