Luke 18:18-30 MP

Today is really dealing with the same thing we dealt with yesterday. This time is story form. The will illustrate what we looked yesterday.

​ NASB95A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Many of your Bibles will include the title above this particular passage, The Rich Young Ruler. He is Rich. He is young. And He is a man in power. He’s a ruler and we get that information from all three accounts of this story. But despite all the things he had going for him, there was something unsettling in his soul. There was something missing. For this reason, he comes to Jesus. Being young, rich, and having power isn’t fulfilling him. He comes to Jesus asking the question: Good Teacher, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Here we find some good news and some bad news. The good news is he has come to right person for eternal life: Jesus. The bad news is, he is still blind to his own need for Jesus as we will see here in a minute. So again, He says to Jesus, Good Teacher, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus questions him on why he would address him that way.

​ NASB95And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

Two important things here: Jesus is not denying that he is a good teacherNor is he denying that he is God. In other words, Jesus is not rebuking the Rich Young Ruler because he has failed to identify Jesus properly. Jesus is the Good Teacher. Jesus is Good. Jesus is God.So what is Jesus doing here? Why the question in verse 19?I believe he asks him this question in verse 19 to challenge the RYR’s understanding of good. He properly understood Jesus as good, but at the same time, I think he also considered himself good. What Jesus seems to be doing here is teaching this rich young ruler, that only God is good.What Jesus wants is to show this rich young man that God alone is righteous. That God alone is holy. That God alone is good. This Rich Young ruler had yet to understand this truth. That man is sinful and only God is holy. He thought that he was good person.Most likely, because he compared himself to other people. But God’s understanding of good and our understanding of good are different. We tend to judge ourselves horizontally.

I love to play golf. Golf is very fun and difficult and frustrating game. When someone asks me how I am at golf? I answer: Compared to who?

Compared to pros like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Brooks Koepka.. I’m not very good at all.

Compared to most people I play with, I’m average. I can play with the average golfer. I’m not going to shoot par, but I’m not going to be burden on the course.

In other words, I would tend to measure myself with others.

Thats not the way God measures.God measurement is much more clear than that. There is Holy and there is sinful.But this rich young man judged Himself to be good. Look at verse 20

​ NASB95“You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

Jesus quotes five of the ten commandments for him and then he says, You know these things. In other words, you know the requirements of the Law and you know that God requires obedience. The question becomes for this rich young ruler and all of us: Are you rightly assessing yourself in light of God’s law?Unfortunately this man doesn’t.

​ NASB95And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

And herein lies the man’s problem. God’s requirement is perfection. ANY failure. ANY wrinkle. And he has fallen short. And of course, Jesus knows this man’s heart and he knows our hearts. But This man thinks he’s good. Now bear in mind here. Jesus has dealt with this before. Jesus had previously in the Sermon on the Mount exposed the reality that all are guilty in light of the Law. For instance, its in the Sermon on the Mount that we learn its not just the act of physical adultery, but a lustful heart that makes one guilty of breaking the law against adultery. Its not just the act of physical murder, but a heart of hatred toward someone that makes one guilty of Murder. Jesus in the Sermon on the mount has exposed everyone. But maybe this man wasn’t present for that.Because Jesus allows this man’s claim for a minute. Could Jesus have exposed this man’s lack of obedience from his youth? Could Jesus have proved his statement in verse 21 wrong? I believe he could have. But I think he allows this man’s claim for a brief minute in order to expose him. He does this out of love for him. How We know that? tells us that Jesus looking at him felt a love for him. Out of love for him, he tells him the truth. Look what he says in verse 22

​ NASB95When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

This man came searching. He came asking what he needs to do. Jesus tells him. Sell all your stuff. Give the money that get from selling it to the poor. All of it. And Come Follow me. What would we have said? Well, just pray this prayer. Just join this church. Just come to church a little more. Nope. Jesus, the greatest evangelist who ever lived, doesn’t say any of that. Why? Because true salvation involved repenting of sin and believing on and in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Give it all away, and Come Follow Me. Thats the command. Thats the answer to this man’s question. Jesus even gives him a glorious promise with it. You’ll have treasure in heaven. Just. Come and follow me. But did he?At this point, I believe the question before about why he uses the commandments he does in verse 20 gets a little more clear.This man had claimed to be free of guilt when it came to the sins of: AdulteryMurder Theft Bearing False Witness And Honoring his parentsHe says, “Yep, I’ve done those.” Lets see how he fairs when asked to obey the first two. What I believe Jesus is doing in verse 22 is calling upon him to obey the first and second of the ten commandments. Both of which he does not mention in verse 20, but this command touches them both. Let me remind you of those.

​ NASB95“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Jesus, out of love for this man, is exposing his disobedience despite his prideful claim to have kept the Law perfectly. Essentially, he is saying, You’ve kept them all? Then just do this one thing for me. Get rid of your idols. Stop worshipping your idols. Stop serving your idols. In other words, obey the Law you claim to obey perfectly. Get rid of the things that are coming before me, and worship me alone. Sell your idols, shatter them, give it all away, and worship and serve me.That is what Jesus is doing. He is exposing the obvious flaw in the man who thought he lacked nothing. Contrary to this man’s belief, he was not a law keeper. He was a Law Breaker.Let me ask you today. What is it that you lack? We all need to understand.

​ NASB95because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Meaning the Law of God, the ten commandments, exposes all of us as sinners. We have broken God’s Law. None of us have kept his Law perfectly. We are guilty sinners. We have not kept these things from our youth. I’ve always: (“I’ve always believed.”)As if to say there was never a time where you rebelled against God in your sin.

​ NASB95as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

We have not ALWAYS believed, and the proof of thats is that we have not always obeyed. All of us have sinned. Only God is good. Only Jesus Christ was sinless. And Jesus in His grace, tells this man in so many words, to repent of his idolatry to turn from his sin and believe and follow him and he will have eternal treasure. But what happens?Surely, this self professed keeper of Law will obey this command from the Law Giver. Right? He came asking for eternal life, surely he is willing to do what God in the flesh tell him to do right?Nope. Look at verse 23.

​ NASB95But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

Very Sad- Deeply Sorrowful. Why? Because he was extremely rich. Mark tells us, he went away that away. Grieving, because he owned a lot. This is amazing to me. He comes to Jesus. Obviously eager. Mark’s account tells us he came running. Eager to find out what he must do to inherit eternal life. Good Teacher, what must I do? Jesus tells him to sell all his stuff and follow him and he will have eternal pleasures, and he walks away. Essentially saying, Nah! I’ll keep my possessions. He trades eternal life for stuff and he walks away grieving.This shows us the deceitfulness of sin, and our condition apart from Christ. Look at verse 24

​ NASB95And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! “For 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.”

Its hard for the wealthy man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He illustrates, by comparing the possibility of this happening to a large animal, a camel, being able to walk through the eye of a needle. Thats how hard it is. Its impossible. The people who are there get this metaphor. They understand what Jesus is saying.

​ NASB95They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

They understand A camel can’t possibly fit through the eye of a needle. That’s right. Its impossible. And here in verse 27 we find the grace of God. Look what Jesus says

​ NASB95But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

This answers the question that so many of us have at this point: Why does this rich young ruler walk away after having came to Jesus seeking and being told where to find eternal life? Why? He looks the Messiah the son of God in the face and says no I’d rather have my stuff. Why?What about those we know? We’ve shared the Gospel. They’ve come to church. And They walk away. They’d rather be at the ball field, or the race track, or the river. Why? We tell them what is required to have eternal life, and they walk away. Because it is Impossible with people to be saved. Left to himself this man and any other person will never choose Christ over sin and the pleasures of the world. Why does he walk away?

​ NASB95But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Spiritually speaking, this man is blind. Jesus tells him what is required to inherit eternal life and he rejects. He has to sell it all and come to Christ, and he will not do that.Why? Because he loves his sin and he loves his stuff, and apart from God’s changing his heart through through effectual call of the Holy Spirit, his heart his always be set on his flesh and his earthly desires.He would rather have his stuff. It is impossible for this rich man to be saved in and of himself. He came asking what he could do. Here is where we seeThe salvation of any man is ALL of God.It is by God’s grace that any of us are saved. My righteousness and your righteousness don’t get us there. Our family ties or a church membership doesn’t do it. If any of us are saved, it is because God in His grace has changed our desires, our nature, and has saved us from our sin. We need God to regenerate us and awakens us to the deceitfulness of sin, and transform us to where we see to follow Christ is better than anything this world has to offer, and then by His grace and through His Spirit we cry out to Him as Lord and Savior. Let me ask you: Where are you in this? We are all searching for life. Where are you looking?Do you see your self as a sinner, as completely unable to save yourself in your unrighteousness? Are you willing to follow Jesus? Will you call upon him as Lord to save you and then follow Him obediently no matter what that obedience requires that you lay down?Or will you in your sin, walk away, knowing what it takes, yet unwilling to give up the temporary for the hope of eternal life because your heart mirrors that of this rich young ruler?My prayer today is that God would do his perfect work in your lives to give you eyes to see Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer. Come follow him and find eternal treasure.