Life Together Part 4: Loving God more than anyone or anything, Matthew 19:13-30

Our sermon passage for today is Matthew 19:13–30 (ESV)

Let’s look back at the sermons we have had in our Life Together series.

Part 1: Life Together is marked by humility

In Matthew 18:1-4 Jesus compares His kingdom to the humility of children. Often this passage is taught as a matter of innocence, but Jesus is talking about innocence in Matthew 18. Jesus is using children as a model for humility. When His disciples asked Him who would be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus told them that His kingdom was made up of people who are not concerned with things like that. His kingdom is made up of people who look one another the way children do, without any concern for social status or greatness.

In our passage today Jesus again uses children to demonstrate the nature of His kingdom. In Matthew 19:13-15 the disciples were trying to send the children away from Jesus, but He rebuked them and told them to let them come to Him. “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away.”

In our sermon from Matthew 18:1-14 we also pointed out that our humility is displayed when we place purity over our pride. This means that we are willing to do whatever it takes to live pure and holy lives, even it means we lose something that we or other people value.

Part 2: Life Together is shaped by the heart of God

In Matthew 18:15-35 Jesus teaches us how deep His love goes toward us, and how much His love determines how we relate to one another.

The passage we examined for this sermon reveals God’s heart for the ones who wander. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 18:12–14 (ESV), “12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

After this parable Jesus gives us instructions on how to restore a brother or sister who has wandered away from the flock. Jesus gives us instructions on restoration because that is His heart. Jesus came to save us not to condemn us. He told us in Matthew 11:27–30 (ESV), “27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Life together is marked by humility and grace, because life together is shaped by the heart of God.

In our third sermon in the Life Together series we examined Matthew 19:1-12.

Part 3: Life Together is according to God’s design and it impacts all of our relationships.

This means that God has saved us from a life of sin to live according to His original design and goal. When God saves us He transfers our citizenship from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. As citizens of a new kingdom we now have a new way of life that is actually the old way of life… the way God intended in the Garden of Eden.

And, because marriage was a part of God’s original design we learn that our marriages tell the story of God’s love and grace to us through Jesus Christ.

Marriage is a part of God’s original design means that it’s not the result of the fall. So, the roles and responsibilities that Scripture teaches are God’s original design, not the ideas and distortions of sinful men. In fact, the Bible says that it is in our sin that we distort and deviate from God’s design in marriage being between one man and one woman for life, for the multiplication of humanity, for the glory of God.

We come to the fourth and final part of our Life together series.

Life Together Part 4, Loving God more than anyone or anything

Sermon Passage: Matthew 19:13-30

Matthew 19:13-15

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

As we mentioned earlier in Life Together part 1, Matthew 18:1-14, Jesus uses children to demonstrate the humble nature of His kingdom and its citizens. Here Matthew contrasts the humble children with the proud rich young ruler.

Throughout this Gospel Matthew reveals the contrast of Jesus’ teaching from the Pharisees and leaders of the Jews. In Matthew 5 Jesus reveals the true nature of His kingdom, and it is not what the people were thinking about or looking for. But, it is exactly what God had said it would be.

Matthew 5:3–11 (ESV) says,

“3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Jesus’ kingdom is marked by humility, not by pride. Those who are blessed in the Kingdom of God are the “poor in spirit,” the “meek”, those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”, the ‘merciful”, the “pure in heart”, the “peacemakers”, and those who are “persecuted for righteousness sake.” This list of characteristics is radically different than the way most people around Jesus thought the kingdom of the Messiah would look like. It was radically different than what most of them were praying the kingdom would look like as well.

By using the humility of children to describe His kingdom Jesus was contradicting the views held by many, including His disciples, of what success and acceptance in God’s kingdom looked like. Matthew provides the contrast for us in the following verses.

Matthew 19:16-22

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?” 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.

In this exchange with the man Jesus again reveals the purpose of the law and the way the Jews were misusing it.

The law is not the path to salvation, it is the revelation that you need to be saved.

Warren Wiersbe points out that, “Jesus did not introduce the Law to show the young man how to be saved, but to show him that he needed to be saved. The Law is a mirror that reveals what we are.”

The man considered himself to be a follower and keeper of the law. But, there was still a part of the law that he was not keeping. But, he was doing enough of the law that he was confident of his accomplishments, But, he was like the man that James describes in his letter.

James 1:22–25 (ESV), “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

The young man was looking into the written law and missing what it was revealing. And, in this moment the man was looking into the eyes of the law in the flesh and was also missing the revelation that he did not keep the whole law. In fact, we see that he walks away sorrowful… but his sorrow was over the fact that he had a lot of stuff.

The law reveals that even the best of us are sinners. But praise God that He sent Jesus Christ to save sinners!

Jesus demonstrates the love of God through His death on the cross.

Romans 5:6–8 (ESV) says, “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus died for us us while we were still sinners. He didn’t die for those who figured out how to keep the whole law. Jesus didn’t die for those who had never sinned in their lives. Jesus didn’t die for the “good” people. No, Paul points out that it is hard to get a person to die for a good person much less a bad person. But, that Jesus came to die for all the bad people. But, the problem is that too many people are not willing to admit that they are sinners. Like the wealthy man in our passage their actions are motivated by rewards and fears. But, as we have learned from Jesus His kingdom is motivated by love, not fear.

The Jews believed that wealth and riches were a sign of God’s blessing. And there was a reason for this. Early in Israel’s history God had promised material blessings and losses based on their obedience of disobedience. If they obeyed, there would be a material gain. If they disobeyed there would be a material loss. But, as many have pointed out before, they were like little children who needed to learn through a series of rewards and punishments. But, just like the way that we raise and teach our children God eventually move them away from a reward or fear motivation to one of love.

When our children are too young and immature to understand we simply reward or punish behavior to guard them and guide them to what is right and best. But, as they grow older we begin to teach them the reasons why we have always said yes or no, and we teach them the reasons they should want to say yes- our love for them.

God raises Israel in much the same way, but they were clinging to the immature and childish ways. Through His ministry Jesus has continued to scold the Pharisees for still viewing God and His law like children when they should be teaching others of the motivation of God’s love.

However, the highest kind of obedience is not based on a desire for reward or the fear of punishment. It is motivated by love. In His life and His teaching, Jesus tried to show the people that the inner spiritual blessings are far more important than the material gains. God sees the heart, and God wants to build character. Salvation is the gift of God in response to man’s faith. Material riches are not a guarantee that God is pleased with a man.

Love, not fear, is the motivation of our obedience

Jesus said in John 14:15 (ESV), 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Jesus said it and He lived it. His motivation for the cross was love. His kingdom is motivated by love.

“It is true that the object of our love can always be detected in our behavior… (Jesus) isn’t piling on the guilt or hoping we’ll feel sorry for him and clean up our act. No, instead he knows that love for him is the only incentive that will stand up during trial and temptation, so he teaches us this vital relationship between love and obedience.” - Elyse Fitzpatrick

I think that it’s possible that God is currently teaching the American church this lesson:

Love, not fear, is the motivation of our obedience

For too long we have viewed our relationship with God like Israel did. We have been motivated by rewards or punishments. We have viewed our success and our wealth as approval. But, at this time in the history of the American church God is testing our motivations. Our culture is spiraling downward and we as Christians are feeling the impact of the changes more and more. We need to recognize the call to maturity in our motivations. Like Israel we must embrace the truth that God loves us, and find our motivations for obedience in the love God has given to us in Christ rather than the material stuff or quality of life we accumulate here on earth. As the culture around us presses in we must decide if we follow Him because of His love, or will we abandon Him because we really want the reward?

And know this, you can abandon Him by following after false teachings. You can use His name and invoke all kinds of promises out of context in an effort to live according to rewards and fears. But, as many have said we must place faith over fear, and that should mean that we find our motivation for obedience to Christ in His love and not in our circumstances or temporary blessings or punishments.

The man in our passage demonstrated what motivated him in his response to Jesus. He was motivated by his love for material blessings. He was motivated to stay the course by the fear of losing all of his stuff.

Matthew 16:26 (ESV) says, 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

This man was so motivated by his love for the world that he was willing to forfeit eternal riches in favor of the great possessions he already accumulated. He walked away sorrowful because Jesus had revealed the true object of his love.

But there was some confusion on the part of Jesus’ disciples. They were not the only ones who looked for God’s blessing as a motivation for obedience. It was just back in Matthew 18 that they were asking Jesus who would be the greatest in His kingdom? Look at the exchange between Jesus and His disciples in the next few verses.

In Matthew 19:23-26 (ESV) it says,

“23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

This man had admitted to keeping a significant amount of the law, and he had a great deal of wealth. The assumption is that he was wealthy because the Lord was blessing his obedience. But, when Jesus reveals his heart and his true motivation it raises the question… if this man cannot be saved, who then can be saved?

It is also worth pointing out that the disciples are just as much considering this, that if a person who loves money cannot be saved, then who is there that can be saved?

James Montgomery Boice notes the cause for their astonishment and exclamation. Boice writes, “If you can’t earn heaven by wealth or good works, which the young man hoped he could do, and if every desire of our hearts, even for good things, is actually a fatal desire because it keeps us from trusting Christ completely, the only way anyone will ever be saved is if God operates entirely apart from us and for his own good pleasure. In other words, our only hope is God’s grace! Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.”

But, in the moment the potential for any person to be saved seemed impossible, but as Jesus says,

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

There is no hope for any person in the world apart from Christ. It’s not that salvation is the result of adding a little Jesus dust to the good way you are already living. No, not at all… Jesus means it when He says that it is absolutely impossible for a person to be saved by his own actions or intentions. And, Jesus absolutely means it when He says that with God it is possible.

Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV) teaches us of the impossibility and the possibility.

Paul writes, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Paul points out the impossibility of our salvation when he says that we were dead. He doesn’t mean metaphorically speaking, he means eternally speaking. Apart from the grace of God you are dead. I mean literally dead in your sin. Condemned and deserving of the judgment of hell as the punishment for your sin. You are dead and following the course of this world, living according to the flesh and revealing your true nature like the rest of mankind. This is the human condition. And it is this condition that the disciples are face to face with in Matthew 19. They have realized that there is absolutely no hope for any of them if the man who walked away from Jesus cannot be saved. The have realized that the law does not offer a path to salvation, instead the law reveals the need for salvation. No one will ever be good enough to deserve the reward of God’s love, because no one will ever have the right or pure motivation to earn it.

But, Jesus says it is possible with God for a man to be saved! Paul says it here when he says that “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.”

God has demonstrated His power to raise the dead to life… and in Ephesians 2 Paul places the entire hope of the world on the dead raising grace and mercy of God toward sinners.

This was the heart of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The catholic church was teaching that we weren’t completely helpless in the effort to raise ourselves from the dead. But praise God for the truth of the Gospel and the boldness of men like Martin Luther who staked their lives on the truth of Scripture and aimed our hearts and minds back at the truth of the Word.

And, this is still a widely debated issue today… Are we really as helpless as the Bible says? Or does the Bible say one thing but really mean another?

The impossible is possible by the grace of God,

or as Paul says in Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV), “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Your doing results in death and hell, God’s gracious doing results in life and salvation. Or as John Piper said, “Only grace could raise us from the dead. Only Christ could become our punishment and our perfection.”

Jesus makes the impossible possible through His death, burial, and resurrection. He takes the punishment your sin deserves to then give you the gift of grace that you don’t deserve- the life that His righteousness deserves.

Peter, sensing that this is all in the hands of God, speaks up in Matthew 19:27 (ESV), 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

He’s asking, if this is only possible through the power of God, then where do we stand Jesus? The man who had everything and who had done everything walked away receiving nothing.

Peter points out that the disciples hadn’t really done anything and they had left everything to follow Jesus… what then would they receive? Jesus answered them in Matthew 19:28–30 (ESV), “28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit 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 lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus reveals that those who love God more than anyone or anything will receive everything.

Matthew 16:24 (ESV)

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

It is impossible with man, but it is possible with God. Peter and the disciples had come after Jesus, denied themselves, and were following Him. As their relationship with Jesus grows and continues they are learning the truth that following Jesus also comes with truly taking up your cross. This means dying to the dead way of living to live the life that Jesus died to give you.

This is the way of His kingdom. Those who have earned nothing receive everything, and those who have earned everything receive nothing. We will see this again in the parable we will study next week. But, for this week we need to land the plane with our focus on the truth that salvation is a gift of God’s grace to undeserving sinners for the only deserving glory of God.

Life together is filled with loving God more than anyone or anything

Do you?

Will you?