It Will Cost You Everything

Application: Pursuing … The American Dream (comfort and self-expression in this life) vs. The Glory of Christ (eternal purpose in this life and perfect rest in eternity)

The eyes of faith perceive greater value in God than anything this world can offer.

[Transition] (cf. Matt 19, Mark 10)

Luke 18:18–30 ESV

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

[where we’re headed…] … two parts to our passage…

A Rich Young Ruler’s Quest (vv. 18-23)

This young man (Matt tells us he is young) is clearly religiously pious and an active/useful member of society. Luke informs us that he’s a ruler, probably meaning not that he’s a member of the ruling religious body, the Sanhedrin, or a ruler in the local synagogue (both of which ruler can sometimes mean)—that is unlikely in his youth. “He’s probably an influential wealthy man or civic leader....” (Bock, 1476)

This young, wealthy, civic leader’s…

This man’s question to Jesus seems admirable.

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The request is about knowing for sure what it takes to be saved in the final resurrection, to share in the life of the coming world, the eternal kingdom of God.

And respectfully calling Jesus good sounds good too. … Not so fast.

Jesus responds in a way that exposes his lack of faith.

1. To the young man calling him Good Teacher: (Jews typically understood that sometimes people can be good, but that no one is truly good in comparison to God… so pious Jews didn’t even refer to their Rabbi’s this way as being “good”) So it seems to me that Jesus may be pushing back against this man’s flattery. Jesus intends that he should understand the implications of what he says. Secondly (and this is the important underlying thrust as Jesus continues the lesson), if only God is good, then he is the holy standard by which you must measure your piety.

Jesus isn’t denying his own goodness, but likely he is rejecting the ruler’s attempt at flattery, and certainly he wants to shift the man’s focus to the perfection of God and his will.

2. Jesus knowingly addresses this pious man’s expectation that he can be righteous by keeping the law (and therefore merit the inheritance of eternal life. Ironically, an inheritance in not earned).

Jesus doesn’t list all 10 commandments (only 5), and not in exact order, and the five are primarily social (dealing with the second table of the law) ***

… as opposed to the first table which is more aimed at the covenant community’s responsibility to God directly (no gods before me, no graven image/idols, do not use my name in inappropriate ways (calling upon God’s name in prayer for worthless purposes, trying to use God’s name as magic to get what you want, etc.), sabbath day each week set apart to rest and reflect on God’s creating work and rescuing them from Egypt… - 5th commandment, which Jesus mentions last, is sort of bridge between the two tables of the law — Honor your parents, because they are responsible to instruct you in the faith (Deut 6:7).

The overall point is that the audience is supposed to know these commandments well and be mindful that Jesus isn’t limiting expectation on this young man to only these specific laws. Why then these ones? Most likely because he’s reasonably able to say he kept these. Not perfectly of course, but in a primary sense he and other devout Jews could say “All these I have kept from my youth.”

Ah, but that isn’t enough, Jesus says. Sell everything (rich man) and give it to people who have need, and come, follow me. Why does Jesus do this? Is he giving the man a higher standard to follow that will allow him to earn salvation?

Of course, we must realize, as students of the New Testament, that Jesus isn’t saying that keeping the law will save him (even at its highest standard). Although this is all coming out in a conversation, the argument Jesus seems to be making is this: 1. Only God is perfectly good. 2. Even those who believe, as you do, that you are keeping the law fairly well, fall short of having a pure heart that honors God above everything else. (In this case, the man has placed his wealth and comfort above God, thereby breaking the first commandment that forms the foundation for the rest: don’t have any other gods before me.) 3. Your inability to keep the law should make you turn to Christ. The only recourse to inherit eternal life is to follow Jesus.

The rich young ruler’s quest ends in disappointment. - Why is he sad after this? He wants to have it all in this life plus eternal life. - Here we find the great danger that keeps so many at the wide gate and on the broad road, that prevents many from entering into saving faith that leads to eternal life: clinging to things of lesser value and clinging to control over one’s own life.

To follow Jesus, the rich young ruler must repent of his love of wealth and see God himself as the supreme value he ought to treasure. In fact, faith (a trusting relationship with God) was always what God intended: That was true with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel… Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Deborah… and all others who sincerely belong to God.

Now during the era of Moses when God brought Israel out of Egypt and formalized his covenant with them as his chosen community, giving them the law, it didn’t change the fact that faith (a trusting relationship) was what he wanted. Individuals would still not inherit eternal life simply by virtue of being Jewish, but by faith in God.

What do we learn in the New Covenant that makes it possible for faith to be the only thing sufficient for righteousness (even for Abraham, even for Adam… even for Mary, the mother of Jesus… even for you)? It was the gift of God, the God-Man Jesus Christ, who came not only to lead people to repent and turn to God, but to be the very means by which God remains holy and just, but forgives and restores sinners by grace through faith.

I never grow tired of explaining how the gospel of God fits together, because God has saved ME by his grace. How does he do that? How can one be saved? How can one inherit eternal life? That’s the question the disciples will also ask after Jesus gives them an illustration of difficulty flowing from this man’s response.

Jesus discusses the man’s decision with the disciples.

Followup Discussion With the Disciples (vv. 24-30)

We know that Jesus turns to his disciples at this point because Matthew tells us so. (Matt 19, Mark 10) Jesus expresses to them directly how difficult it is for those who have earthly wealth to enter the kingdom. …So hard in fact, that it’s like trying to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle… and yes, Jesus means for it to sound that ridiculous. The hyperbole is on purpose. (And no, he doesn’t mean some gate with a small door as some try to suggest.)

He really means it can’t be done, and that’s how the disciples take it. “Who then can be saved?” Before we explain how Jesus answers that, let’s camp out for a second on the problem that the wealthy have that makes it so difficult to place their faith in God alone.

Here’s the crux of the problem: a trust in self rather than God.

The rich trust in their riches. (And that isn’t the only kind of wealth to be considered.) The powerful trust in their power and influence. The intelligent trust in their intellect. The beautiful trust in their beauty (external attractiveness). Those with unique physical ability or artistic talent trust in their strength and skill. The religious trust in their own righteousness.

But what is required to is to stop trusting in man or material and trust only in God. To trust only in God is to see that it’s all mercy and grace for him to rescue, for him to save, for him to make us his own and give us his eternal inheritance.

Trust in self is a false security. (whether it be wealth or righteous works) Trust in God. There is no other faithful foundation.

Now the question raised in the disciples’ minds is this: if the wealthy can scarcely enter the kingdom, who can? They betray here the common wrong thinking of their culture, that the wealthy are probably more righteous and are therefore being blessed by God, plus they have the advantage of being able to give more, and so on. So who can merit the kingdom, who can be saved?

Jesus answers:

It is God who makes salvation possible.

It is all grace for God to do what is needed so that we can be saved. It is God who sent Jesus to accomplish what is necessary: to be perfect humanity, to die as substitute for sin, to propitiate the righteous wrath of God, to rise again in power, and to send the Spirit to give birth to the church. And it is God who regenerates a person to grant spiritual life. Even faith is a gift from God. (Eph 2:8-9)

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Impossible for man, yes, but not for God. — Zacheus, 19:1-10, is just such an example, that God can save even the wealthy. A camel can’t fit through the eye of a needle, but God can change a rich and selfish tax collector so much that he’s ready to change everything to follow Jesus.

Of course, Zacheus is far from being the only example of such miraculous grace of God in the hearts of men. But Peter, wanting to make sure that he and his fellow disciples are among the few for whom God is doing the impossible says, but we have done what the rich ruler would not do, “we have left our homes and followed you.”

Yes…

By God’s grace, some leave all to follow Jesus.

This is not to say that we are to forsake our responsibilities and loved ones. The New Testament has much to say to the contrary. (That’s probably obvious, but if you have doubts about that, let’s talk later and at examples from Ephesians 5 & 6.)

But the point is that God graciously choses and enables so that some do forsake all else to follow Jesus. And make no mistake, that’s what it takes. If you hang on to anything so much that you won’t put God above it, then faith (a trusting relationship with God) is not what characterizes you.

Jesus essentially agrees with Peter that such is exactly what they’ve done, and he tells them that…

It’s worth it.

These are indeed great sacrifices—leaving loved ones and comfort and safety behind—to follow Jesus (“for the sake of the kingdom”). The sense is to no longer treasure the things of this world above God, not even things that are good and right responsibilities. To follow Jesus is to put God above everyone and everything else.

And Jesus says it’s worth the cost, both now and later. Even in this time, in the present age, you will be gaining an even larger family in the body of Christ, the people of God who comprise the NT church. And the disciples literally experience that greater family life in Christ and even provision for one another in the church (Acts 2).

(Side note: Nobody among us should ever go hungry or cold while others feast like kings. Now you can’t feed everybody everywhere and put a roof over their heads, but we sure can make sure that happens in our own church family… and perhaps even in other church families that God providentially gives us connection to.)

Anyway, if it’s worth it now, just wait. The thing the young ruler originally asked about—the eternal kingdom—will be yours.

The reason even this age is so fulfilling for the believer is (for the one who gives up everything else to follow Jesus) 1. The certain hope of eternal life in the future, and 2. The presence of God in us to be his people and to invite others to faith in Jesus.

[***]

CONCLUSION:

Following Jesus will cost you everything… to gain something of greater worth—God.

“God is ‘not only more demanding than people cared to think, but also more generous than they dared to hope’ (Richardson, p. 31).” -Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 286.

Matthew 13:44–46 ESV

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The eyes of faith perceive greater value in God than anything this world can offer.

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