Transcript

The Rich Man Who Was Poor

Matthew 19:16-22
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pastor Randy Smith

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The Bible says the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents (Lk. 15:10). We as children of God should share the same sentiment. Nothing should bring us greater joy than seeing someone converted, someone forgiven, someone transferred into the kingdom of light, someone now walking with Christ, someone saved from the curse of hell.

Unfortunately our passion to see people in the family of God has brought about methods and shortcuts that are resulting in false conversions - people who think they are saved when in reality they are not.

Here are some examples: "All you need to do is believe (implied: regardless of how you live your life"). "Invite Jesus into your heart." "Walk this aisle or raise your hand if you want to follow Christ." "God has a wonderful plan for your life." All of these invitations, and I could provide many more examples, if standing alone by themselves, tell the individual nothing about the demands of the Gospel. I'll sign any card if you promise that I can spend eternity in heaven. Who wouldn't?

In today's story we will encounter a young man. He was of a religious background, lived a moral live and was actually one of the few in the Bible that came to Jesus requesting salvation. Based on today's standards he was a "hot prospect" a "can't miss candidate" ripe for salvation. Even the most untrained "fisher of men" would have had no problem reeling this guy in. Failure to close the deal with this fellow would have resulted in an "F" in any evangelism class. Yet after his talk with Jesus, the Bible says the young man who wanted salvation departed in grief and without the salvation he sought. What happened?

Today, as we continue our study in Matthew 19 we will take a close look at the demands of the Gospel that are often eliminated from our presentations. We will see firsthand what Jesus Christ expects from those who follow Him.

1. WHO'S GOOD?

Let's begin with the first point, "Who's Good?"

This story is found in three of the Gospels (Mt. 19:16-22; Mk. 10:17-22; Lk. 18:18-23). When we put all the accounts together, we can formulate a picture that describes this individual. First of all we know that he was rich. Verse 22 tells us "he…owned much property." Luke adds he was "extremely rich" (Lk. 18:23). Second, according to verse 20, he was a "young man" and third, he was a ruler (Lk. 18:18). This probably denotes that he was a leader in the Jewish synagogue. Or as the subtitle over your passage probably reads, "The Rich Young Ruler."

So here is a man that has much going for him. He has money and youth and authority. No doubt he was pious and devout. He was steeped in religious education. He had much popularity, many gifts and talents and the admiration of most. To translate this into today's system; he had a successful job, intelligence, was in great shape, drove a nice car, sparkled with a magnetic personality, lived an upstanding life and could attain any girl of his choice. Most guys would give their right hand to have a resume like that! So we need to ask, what in the world could this man be lacking?

Verse 16 says he came to Jesus requesting "eternal life." "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" That is amazing - a teacher of the synagogue, forsaking his religious traditions and coming to Jesus in search of eternal life, moreover an individual esteemed by the masses asking this question in a public setting? Mark says he "ran up to [Jesus]" and "knelt before Him" (Mk. 10:17). All pride was cast to the wind. The scene screams with desperation. The man who had it all knew there was something indeed missing.

If we are honest with reality this is a dilemma that every person should experience. There should come a point in each of our lives when we begin to discard the trivialities of life and seek answers to the questions that matter most. "I am forever lacking purpose. What have I ultimately been created for?" "Despite my attempts with religion am I really right with the living God?" "Why have I tried everything and still find myself missing joy and peace?" "Why do I have an empty soul despite all my attainments?" "There must be something that comes next, so where am I going to go when I die?" All these questions are absorbed in man's quest for, verse 16, "eternal life."

Contrary to what people think, eternal life is not just living forever. Everybody will live forever. Once our soul is created it never dies. The only question is where we will spend our eternal existence when we depart from this earthly realm. So living forever could be really good or really bad.

"It's reminiscent of the old Greek mythology story of Aurora who was the goddess of the dawn. And Aurora fell in love with Tithonus and Tithonus was a mortal youth. And when an eternal goddess falls in love with a mortal youth, it's got its limitations. And so she didn't want to ever lose him and she knew he would die so she went to the head of the gods in the mythology who was Zeus. And she said I want one wish from you. And he said I will grant you one wish in behalf of your lover Tithonus. And she said I wish that he would live. I wish that he would never die, that he would live forever. And he said the wish was granted. And he did. But she left out one important element. She forgot to ask that he would stay young. And so in the Greek mythology, he lived forever but he just kept getting older and older and older until life was a horrible punishment" (John Macarthur).

When the Bible speaks of eternal life it has more to do with the quality of one's life. We are talking about a fulfillment, a satisfaction, a completion that begins the very moment we give our lives to Christ and continues forever into eternity. All will live forever, but the Christian gets the fullness of life now. And the only change for the Christian is the change of address and upgrade of pleasure when we physically die. To put it in the man's words, "Everybody says I have it all, but I know deep down inside that I am missing something, Jesus. I am not happy or content despite all my great accomplishments."

It reminds me of the December 2007, 60 minutes interview with football superstar and sex symbol, Tom Brady. Interviewer, Steve Kroft seemed genuinely surprised to hear this young athlete with fame and wealth tell him: "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'It's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be." Steve Kroft then asked him: "What's the answer?" "I wish I knew. I wish I knew," responded Brady, " I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find." One commentator said, "It wasn't a flippant response. The facial expressions and the tone of his voice captured in the video underlined the deep desire this young celebrity has to find the real purpose for his life - the answer that will bring him true and lasting fulfillment - not fleeting successes and thirst for something more."

The young man in our account wanted eternal life, so Jesus starts to probe his heart. His whole dialogue centers on the man's understanding of goodness.

First, Jesus works with the man's comments. Verse 17, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good." Or as it is recorded in Luke, "No one is good except God alone" (Lk. 18:19).

This is not Jesus denying His deity, but rather His attempt to make sure that the young man realizes that the ultimate standard of goodness is God Himself. I believe Jesus wanted to eliminate the error that most individuals make today - erecting a standard of goodness based upon human speculation. In other words, "I exceed the goodness of Judas and Hitler, so I must be alright with God." "I never cheated on my wife or killed anybody, so I must be alright with God." "I went to church every Sunday and read my Bible constantly, so I must be alright with God." "My Mom still tells me after 50 years I am a good boy, so I must be alright with God."

Jesus wanted this man to realize that humans do not set the standard that determines true goodness, but that this is God's prerogative and it is based upon God's character. And since the commandments are a reflection of God's character, Jesus now points him in that direction. The remainder of verse 17, "But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." So if you want to get to heaven based on goodness, do all that God says.

So the young fellow comes to Jesus looking for something to do to obtain eternal life. Jesus informs him that God, only God, is good and if he wishes to enter heaven based upon his goodness he will need to live up to God's expectations. And to meet God's expectations he will need to perfectly fulfill all the commandments.

Now, the dialogue up to this point should have floored the man. It should have silenced him. Rather his comments no doubt floored Jesus. In verse 18 he has the audacity to reply (in regard to the commandments), "Which ones?" That takes us to our second point.

2. WHICH COMMANDMENTS?

It is important for us as Christians to follow the commandments given to us by God. I believe the greatest evidence of true salvation is to be moved by the Holy Spirit to have the desire and ability to do as God says. For the true Christian, the commandments become the interior components of our holy house - the bed to rest upon securely, the compass to point us in the right direction and the table to feast upon God's character. Yet this man was expecting the commandments to be the door that allowed him entrance to the house. In this sense, the commandments never provide entrance into God's kingdom because none of us are able to fulfill them with the perfection God requires to achieve our own goodness. Rather the commandments expose our sin and the need to run to God for a goodness that only He can impart to us.

Since this man wrongly thought eternal life could be earned, Jesus in verse 18 rattles off five of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17): Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie and honor your father and mother. And then adds for good measure, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

One of my small groups has been studying Romans. Romans has been called the greatest articulation of the Gospel ever composed. This past week we just entered chapter 4. However, chapters 1-3 only deal with the sin and the large degree to which every human falls short of the glory of God. Before Paul could share the good news of how to be saved, he had to make it clear that we are all lost in need of salvation.

It has been said, "You can't preach grace until you preach law." In other words why would someone run to Jesus for salvation unless they see their need for a Savior? And how will they see their need for a Savior unless they see their sin? And how will they see their sin unless they are exposed to the commandments of God (cf. Gal. 3:24)?

So he never murdered anyone? Jesus equated anger with murder in Matthew 5:22. So he never committed adultery? Jesus equated lust with adultery in Matthew 5:28. He never stole? Not even a pack of sticky sheets from the office supply closet? He never lied? Not even a white lie? An exaggerated fishing story? He perfectly honored his mother and father even during his teen years? And if he denied all the above, you would think there was no way he could wiggle himself out of the last one. Did he really think he loved his neighbor as himself?

This man is still unmoved and without remorse. In verse 20 he responds, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"

Now, I believe the man was sincere. He was dead wrong, but sincere. Either he really felt he was without sin or he totally misunderstood God's standard of absolute perfection. Salvation to him was like a Boy Scout earning another patch. There was no childlike faith that we have been learning about in this section. Like most people, salvation to him was achievement based, achievement based on his own attainments to make himself righteous before God. "I've done everything You suggested Jesus. Is that all or is there anything I might be missing?"

Expecting a pat on the back he receives a slap in his face. Not only did this man already violate all the commandments presented, he miserably failed on the greatest commandment, the First Commandment that Jesus didn't mention. "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex. 20:3).

Following God requires strict allegiance. All gods and idols must be removed. God must be number one in our lives. And whether he acknowledged it or not, he loved something, trusted something, worshiped something much more than the living God. Jesus saw right into his heart. His true god was…money.

So if he really wanted to do as God said, if he really wanted to follow the commandments, if he really wanted to get rid of his false gods, he would have no problem getting rid of his money.

Verse 21, "Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'"

It might sound like Jesus was asking for a lot, but His request was quite reasonable, an answer to what the man requested and promoting the man's advantage. After all, he did come to Jesus seeking eternal life, completeness. Here was the answer he requested. He did say he loved his neighbor more than himself. Why wouldn't he want to meet their physical needs? Treasures in heaven are much better than treasures on earth. And can you go wrong when the Second Person of the Trinity invites you to follow Him?

J.C. Ryle said, "One idol in the heart may ruin the soul forever" (Commentary, Matthew 19). This is the only biblical account that I am aware of where Jesus calls a person to give away all that they own. Money in and of itself is not the problem. There are many godly people who are wealthy. The problem is the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10). His god was money. When Jesus encountered the woman at the well her problem was sexual immorality. "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband;' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband" (Mt. 4:17-18). Timothy made a god of fear, Jonah a god of nationalistic pride, Martha a god of her work, Diotrephes a god of his ego, Lot's wife a god of her home and Saul a god of human approval.

Is there a god in your life? Is there something that controls your allegiance more than the living God Himself? Could the true God take away your false god and still find you thanking Him and praising Him? Can you be content with God alone? For this "Rich Young Ruler," the answer was "no."

3. WHAT RESPONSE?

As we move to the third point, let's look at his response. Verse 22, "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property."

The man who was prepared to do a great deed for God, did not have that one in mind. Yet in doing so he attached himself with characters with names like Judas and Ananias and Sapphira who are forever remembered in the annals of Scripture as having chosen money over God. And barring any repentance, I believe this man is presently in hell living with an eternity of regret. The man loved his money more than he loved his soul.

God will not accept a divided heart. True salvation comes not by following a personal standard of righteousness that you believe you can attain. Salvation comes by acknowledging your sin, believing on Christ's death on the cross to pay the penalty and vowing to submit to Jesus as Lord of your life. The price was too high for this young man and it is for many deceived churchgoers all over our great country.

A great parable that illustrates this truth is found in Matthew 13:44. "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Are we willing to forsake whatever God calls from us to have true eternal life? As the parable says, we relinquish it with "joy" to always gain a greater joy that awaits us.