What's In It for Me? (Jesus and the Rich Young Man)
Matthew 19:16‑30
What's In It for Me?
Now 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, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, ”‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour 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, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man 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 a rich man 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.”
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
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. 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. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
Do or Done! The choice of one word distinguishes between the Faith once delivered to the saints and every religion produced by the inventive mind of man. Almost every one of us who are in the Faith has at one time or another wondered what we must “do” in order to be accepted by God. Virtually anyone to whom we speak of faith in Christ hears in terms of what must be done in order to be acceptable to God.
No doubt you have had the experience of speaking to someone who held the opinion that at the end of days he or she would stand before the Great God to give an accounting of life … more than likely expecting to be commended by Him. These individuals are of the opinion that God will review their life, comparing the quality of their actions. If their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, then God will accept them into His heaven. Otherwise…
Perhaps you naively hold that very opinion. If you imagine that God counts your deeds to determine whether you merit His salvation or if you think that He somehow weighs the relative merits of your actions, the encounter Jesus had with a rich young man provides the background for a vital study necessary to your eternal welfare.
The Exchange between Jesus and a Rich Young Man – We know two characteristics of this man before we have gone very far. He was young and he was wealthy. This man who approached Jesus was not just any man; he possessed great wealth (kthvmata pollav). More than that, Luke’s Gospel informs us that he was a ruler, indicating that he was somehow part of the Jewish aristocracy. Perhaps he was a member of the Sanhedrin, a religio-judicial body with powers akin to our Supreme Court; or perhaps he was an official in the local synagogue. Whatever his position, he was recognised in his community as a man possessing authority in addition to possessing considerable wealth.
This young man obviously sensed a void in his life, for he came to Jesus inquiring specifically how he might obtain eternal life. Whether he understood what he sought or not, he clearly sensed a void in his life. It is not likely from the response that Jesus gave that this young man was seeking mere length of days. Perhaps he did wish to live a long life – all of us wish a long life; but he seems to specifically to have been seeking a quality of life absent heretofore in his existence. With all his wealth and power, he felt empty. He saw Jesus as a teacher … even a good teacher, certainly one who taught what was good. As a teacher, surely Jesus would point the way to fulfilment and contentment. If anyone could tell him the way to find himself, surely it would be this teacher from Galilee.
The text before us states that this young man asked what good action merited eternal life. In this he was not unlike many people in this day. There must be some deed, some action, which is so pleasing in the eyes of God that He will give life eternal as result of performing that deed. Such a view is so very human, though it is in error. Why should we think that a deed, or even a number of deeds, would merit the attention of the Living God? What would make us think that He should take note of our efforts, which in the best situation is sullied and contaminated by “self”.
Since he asked the question concerning God’s expectations, Jesus, after challenging him to think about whom he was addressing, referred him to the Law. Why ask me about what is good? Why do you call me good? There is only One who is good. No one is good — except God alone. Conflating the two accounts, the young man both addressed Jesus as good and asked Him what good thing would satisfy God. Jesus responded by challenging the young man to consider what he had asked since there is but One who is good — God. Then, having established that God alone is good, the Master pointed him to the Law, with which every young Jewish man would have been quite familiar. Jesus replied, If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.
The young man was confused, because there were six hundred thirteen positive commands. Apparently he was adept at keeping a number of these commands, but he was yet unfulfilled. So, he asked, in some apparent confusion, Which ones?
Jesus began to enumerate a few of the better-known laws with which the young man would no doubt be in hearty agreement. Do not murder. Check! Do not commit adultery. Okay! Do not steal. Right on! Do not give false testimony. Gotcha! Honour your father and mother. Bingo! Love your neighbour as yourself. Check! At every point the young man was elated to note that he fit the bill.
All these I have kept… What do I still lack? Notice that the young man could confidently affirm that he had kept these commandments, yet he was unfulfilled. Something was lacking and intimacy with God was only a faint hope. He was empty and spiritually unfulfilled. His theme song could well have been the theme song of the baby-boomers: I Can’t Get No Satisfaction!
If you want to be perfect… This is precisely the question the young man was asking, though he was too dense, or perhaps too focused on himself, to realise it. If he would enter into life, he must be perfect. It he would have eternal life, he must be perfect. If he would have peace with God and intimacy with God, he must be perfect. Unfortunately for this rich, young man, perfection would not be attained since he was possessed by his wealth instead of possessing that same wealth. If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor… Then come, follow Me.
The young man, hearing this, went away sad. Would we have reacted differently? One of the great sorrows attending possessions is that they too readily possess us. This is precisely what is stated in Paul’s first letter to the pastor of the church in Ephesus. Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs [1 Timothy 6:6-10].
The Expectations the Young Man Held – Held in thraldom by his wealth, this young man deluded himself into thinking that he could purchase fulfilment and peace with God. Perhaps he thought he could obtain an advantage through his position. Others seem to do so, why not him? Even within the church it seems that wealth and power are precursors to promotion. Don’t we elevate the wealthy to positions of power within our churches? Don’t we seek out the powerful of society to sit on our boards and lend their names to our church rolls? We tolerate the most outrageous behaviour, the most shameful business practises, so long as the individual concerned is wealthy or adulated in the world … if only they will join our church. Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be!
James, the half-brother of our Lord, was quite outspoken in his brief missive. Perhaps his tendency to be outspoken accounts for the fact that the letter is seldom read. My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers [James 2:1-9].
This young man, in concert with the host of church members in this day, thought that power and position and possessions were the primary criteria for peace with God. Character seemed somehow passé. Perhaps you know such a person as this young man, or more importantly still, perhaps you are such an individual – position, power and possessions in abundance – and yet empty. An old song of the American South speaks to this situation. Perhaps you have heard the song.
How many times have you heard someone say,
"If I had his money I'd do things my way."
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.
Once I was winning in fortune and fame;
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life’s game.
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime,
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind.
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold;
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind.
When life has ended, my time has run out,
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave, there's no doubt.
But one thing for certain, when it comes my time,
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.
The important elements of life – respect, character, health, contentment – are not for sale. There are presidents who have yet to learn this lesson. There are business executives who have yet to learn this lesson. Tragically, there are Christians who have yet to learn this lesson.
The Examination Jesus Demanded – If you want to be perfect… The words are an invitation to self-examination. What is eternal life? If it is merely length of days, do I want it? I am growing older … and weaker. In this past month I have suffered terribly with a pinched nerve. At times the pain has been so severe as to preclude sleep. At other times the loss of feeling in the right hand has made such simple tasks as tying a shoe or writing a letter an agonising ordeal. I don’t want to be trapped in a body which is under sentence of death.
A dear friend of our family lives on the Coast. He is past eighty years of age and has struggled for every breath for the last fifteen years. He is dying of emphysema. I can well remember one of my last visits with Courtney before moving to Jasper. With tears in his eyes he asked that I pray that God would soon release him to go home. Eternal life which is only length of days would be a curse if I am still trapped in this dying body.
Eternal life is a new quality of life permitting us to enter into relationship with the Living God. It is freedom to come into His presence, knowing that He has accepted us in the Beloved One. It is revelling in the love of God, knowing that we are forgiven and knowing that we are forever free of guilt. It is security, knowing that in Him we can never fall from our secure position. It is confidence, knowing that we will never be called into judgement. It is joy resulting from the intimacy of His presence. It is peace which the world cannot give and peace which the world cannot take away. It is all this … and Heaven, too.
The young man thought in terms of “do” in order to have peace with God. With God, however, the issue is not “do”, it is rather “done”. We cannot “do” anything which will either please God or merit His blessing. We can only submit to that which He has already done, for He has provided a sacrifice for sin that we may live.
Jesus told Nicodemus that a man must be born again, literally born from above. Since man is a sinner by birth and by choice, he must be born into the Family of God. Listen to the Word. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit [John 3:5,6]. One must be born of the Word and born of the Spirit if he will possess life eternal.
If I were perfect, I would never die. If I never sinned, I would walk with God who is life and who is light. But I am sinful, condemned by the sin of my first father and my first mother. Were that not so, I am yet a sinful individual since I, as is stated in the Book of Job, am vile and corrupt and drink [] up evil like water [Job 15:16]. If I will see life, I must be perfect. If I will walk in light, I must be perfect. If I will be perfect, I must count myself dead that God may make me alive in Him.
This is the essence of the Gospel message, a message which is distorted horribly in this day. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. We agree with God that we are dead to Him that we might be made alive in Him. Though the verses are well known, they need to be heard once again. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23]. Bad as that bit of information may be, the corollary is worse still, for the wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23]. It is at this point that the Good News is available, in the midst of bad news. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us [Romans 5:6,8].
It is on this basis that the call to faith in Christ the Lord is presented to all. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].
Perfection is found in Him, in submission to Him as Lord and Saviour. However, if aught prevents you from submission to Him as Master of life, how can you be perfect? That was precisely the dilemma this young man faced. His wealth blinded Him to the true wealth which is life in Christ the Lord.
Have you ever noticed how a little piece of money blinds you? Perhaps you have a loonie in your pocket. Take that loonie out of your pocket and hold it at arm’s length as you look at me. You can still see clearly, no doubt. Now, closing your left eye, hold that loonie about two centimetres in front of your right eye. You can no longer see me. That little coin, worth less than sixty-six cents U.S., blinds you when held too close to your eyes. The young man failed the examination administered by the Lord Christ because his wealth blinded him to the true wealth of life in the Son of God.
The examination Jesus administered, without directly asking the question, demonstrated that the young man failed the last commandment which Jesus had recited to him: Love your neighbour as yourself. You will probably remember that this commandment is akin to the first and great commandment which Jesus identified in Matthew 22:37. If he did not love his neighbour as himself, he could not love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. He did not love his neighbour as himself and he was an idolater since his money held first place in his life. He was greedy, violating the Tenth Commandment.
All this is essentially meaningless since it does not touch us. What of us, then? How do we fare in this examination? For each of us is indeed taking this examination. The essential question which confronted this rich, young man confronts each of us today. What position does Jesus hold in our lives? Though I have no doubt that each of us would say that He holds first place in our lives, do our choices bear out our confessions? If He is Master, the one who reigns over our life, do we submit to Him in the manner in which we live? Is His will supreme, or do we pretty much do what we want to do in life?
Do our expenditures demonstrate that He is Lord? Do we spend more on entertainment, more on food and drink, then we do on spreading the Gospel message? Does our entertainment reveal Him to be Master of life? Would we be ashamed to have Him share our living room as we watch the video we just rented or as we amuse ourselves with the latest offerings of our favourite sitcom? Would we invite Him to read the books and magazines we keep hidden away from the prying eyes of our spouse and our children? The web sites we visit also speak of our love for Him. Would we welcome His peering over our shoulder as we surf the net? Does the investment of our time show that He rules over us? Are we careful to spend time with Him in His Word and time with Him in prayer and time worshipping Him? I fear for much of the church world as we near the awesome day when all shall give an account to the Judge of all mankind.
Those words Jesus spoke during His Sermon on the Mount and which are recorded in Matthew 7:21-23 are frightening in the extreme. Listen to these sobering words. Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” The words are frightening in no small measure because so many of my fellow worshippers have deluded themselves. Though professing Him as Lord with their lips, their lives deny His right to rule. The hard question yet confronts each of us, making us just a little uncomfortable: Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say [Luke 6:46]?
The Exclamation of the Disciples – Do such sentiments as these disturb you? They certainly disturbed the disciples. If it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven … if the probability of camels walking through the eye of a needle is greater than that of rich men entering the kingdom of God … then who can be saved? If position in this life is meaningless before God, what counts? If possessions can so readily blind me to the presence of Christ, who then can be saved?
One observation which does disturb me is that the Pharisees had influenced the disciples to an astonishing degree. The Pharisees taught that God gave wealth to those He loved, and the disciples revealed that they accepted this view to an amazing degree. Those saints knowledgeable about the health and wealth movement will immediately apply this observation to that realm of contemporary Christendom. It is an error to imagine that God blesses with wealth everyone who has sufficient faith. In fact wealth can be a curse, as we see in the text. However, within evangelical Christendom there are a multitude of professing believers who would utterly reject the material gospel preached by Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin or other purveyors of such a distorted gospel, who have nevertheless imbibed deeply of this ancient error. Tacitly, or otherwise, they have concluded that wealth or power is a sign of God’s blessing.
The answer to such questions revolves around the person of Christ the Lord. Position and possessions are not inherently sinful, but when such supplant Christ as sovereign of life, they are idols suited only for destruction. Our position in life can be a blessing when it is offered to the Master to employ as He wills. Men and women of influence can be a blessing … if their influence is employed to the glory of God. Those noted individuals who openly live for Jesus are a source of greatest joy to the churches of our Lord. Our wealth can be a source of rich blessing to others, turning many to Christ and relieving distress when our wealth is used in His service. That wealth employed to His glory brings deep satisfaction to us … as that wealth is offered to Him to use as He wills. Even our pleasures will either bless us or curse us, depending upon whether Jesus is ruler of our pleasures or whether our pleasures have assumed precedence over Him.
Salvation lies within the purview of God Almighty. He saves whom He wills, but He offers His great salvation to all who are willing to receive His conditions. He calls us to confess our sinful condition, which is not so terribly difficult except that we endeavour to minimise our own sins or attempt to compare ourselves to another. Having confessed our condition of being lost and without Him He calls us to acknowledge that His Son died because of our sin. All pride is thus removed, for another died that we might live. There is no priority in the Kingdom of God for any of us – we are alike sinners saved by grace. Salvation is the gift of God given to each person who confesses that Jesus is Master of life and that He died because of his or her sin and raised for their justification.
Having once again patiently instructed His disciples in the truths of His great salvation, Jesus then received Peter’s impetuous exclamation and question: We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us? “Lord, if wealth and power count for nothing, what counts? Does the fact that we have left everything for You mean anything?” Peter seems to have grasped the essence of Jesus’ teaching, though he seems to have asked the question in a rather self-serving manner.
We are still asking the same question within the churches to this day. What’s in it for me? What will God do for me? Listen once again to Jesus’ explanation. 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. 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. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
We need not concern ourselves overly much with Jesus’ promise to the Twelve. For the purpose of this message their reward is of scant concern to us. It is that penultimate statement which is of immediate value to us at this moment: 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. This statement speaks potentially to each of us today. The condition is that we make Christ the priority of our life, even at the expense of family and possessions. This goes to the core of the issue which has been addressed several times already. Jesus must be Lord of all, or He shall not be Lord at all.
We need to be encouraged to make every effort to see matters as God views them. Not all the saints of God seem blessed now. In fact, it sometimes seems that the people of God pay an awful price for the privilege of being called by His Name. However, the renewal of all things has not yet occurred. The Son of Man is not yet sitting on His glorious throne. Thus the final accounting is not yet complete. We cannot lose perspective.
In the dark days of communist Russia, the atheist rulers seemed to have feared the Faith of Christ more than the military might of America. They endeavoured to extirpate the Faith from their land and made every effort to ridicule the Faith into a mere memory in every other jurisdiction over which they exercised influence. Dr. W. A. Criswell, long pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, told of visiting on one occasion the only Baptist church in the city which was then known as Leningrad and which today is once again known as Petrograd. Dr. Criswell was visiting the Soviet Union and had requested opportunity to visit the congregation of saints which met there in Leningrad.
Though Intourist, the Soviet tour agency which also served to control foreigners visiting that darkened land, attempted to dissuade him from his requests, he persisted until they at last granted him permission to visit the Baptist Church in Leningrad. Among the conditions which were assigned him was the proviso that he could not advise the church that he would be visiting. So, on a day after arriving in Leningrad, he together with his Intourist guide began to journey which would lead him to the Leningrad Baptist Church.
As they neared the church, it became apparent that the underground telegraph which operates so swiftly and efficiently in those countries which attempt to stifle the human spirit was working at full efficiency. Gathered in front of the church was a great throng of people, all straining to look up the street to catch a glimpse of the preacher from American who had come to encourage them in the Faith.
Approaching the church on foot, the Intourist guide began to speak disparagingly of the saints gathered in the street before the church building. “Look at them,” she spat out. “Just look at them. They are parasites living off the goodness of our socialist state. Look at them, they are scum, the off-scouring of the earth.”
“Don’t say that,” responded Criswell. “These are my people. These are the saints of God. And though they do not appear to be much in your eyes, they possess all things. They are great in the eyes of their God, and He shall not forget them.”
It is the truth. We are so focused on this moment we call now that we cannot see the glories which shall be revealed at the renewal of all things. What did the Apostle say? I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently [Romans 8:18-25].
An elderly couple returned to North America after years invested in the African subcontinent, teaching the Word of God and seeking converts to the Name of Christ. On board that same ship was Teddy Roosevelt the former President of the United States. Roosevelt had been hunting in Africa for some months and was now returning home. As the tugs nosed the great liner into the docks in New York harbour, there was a large host of people with flags and banners accompanied by bands to provide a loud, raucous greeting for the great man upon his return from his African safari.
Standing at the rail of the ship, the wife who had laboured together with her husband in relative obscurity among nameless native tribes gave voice to her disappointment. “Husband, it just isn’t right. We gave our lives, over forty years, serving the King of kings. There isn’t one person here to greet us upon our return. He shoots some animals and gets a great greeting. It isn’t fair!”
What would you say to such an observation? How would you respond? Her husband, no doubt sharing her disappointment and feeling as hurt as she, responded by saying, “It’s all right, dear. We aren’t home.”
Viewing the world through the eyes of this world, we will always see matters with a distorted view. If we can only see with the eyes of Christ, things will look quite different. Many who are first will be last, let us insure that we are not among that group. Many who are last will be first, let us strive to be among this august body. Amen.
How many times have you heard someone say,
"If I had his money I'd do things my way."
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.
Once I was winning in fortune and fame;
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life’s game.
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime,
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind.
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold;
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind.
When life has ended, my time has run out,
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave, there's no doubt.
But one thing for certain, when it comes my time,
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.