Open your Bibles with me to Matthew 19:16-26.
Throughout the year we have been working through the gospel of John with Pastor Marc and Aaron. However, this morning we are going to step away from John but remain close at the side of Christ through His ministry in the gospel of Matthew.
Some time ago I was able to preach on a small passage in Matthew’s gospel which was Matthew 9:35-10:1. The end of Matthew 9 marked a significant turning point in Christ’s ministry. It was a major transition that would open the door of opportunity for the twelve disciples to take part in the Lord’s harvest and win souls into the family of God.
Fast forward some chapters after Matthew 9 of teaching and miracles from Christ, we arrive at a well-known story. It is popular story that is both special and unique. In matter of fact, it is so special and unique that if you were to ask me what my most favorite passage in all of scripture is I would say that this is it.
Matthew 19:16-26 is my most favorite passage and always has been. Every time I read it, I continually fall in love with it more.
Matthew 19:16-26 is best known as the story of the rich young ruler.
About 6 years ago when I was in Bible school at the Word of Life Bible Institute in upstate NY, I was in a large meeting with all the students (about 400 of us). When that meeting started, our school’s worship leader asked if anyone could recite Matthew 19:26 off the top of their head. Since this story at the end of Matthew 19 has always stood out to me, Matthew 19:26 was there in my mind and ready to shout to seize that moment.
I proceed to raise my hand and proclaim in front of everyone,
“But Jesus looked at them and said, with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible!”
This verse rightfully so, is a life verse well worthy to have memorized because there are few statements as great as this.
Lord willing this morning, I hope that you would be as excited about this story as I am and be reminded of how Matthew’s main point that he builds up to, the point of “all things with God are possible” is life changing.
The story of the rich young ruler at the end of Matthew 19 reveals to us that salvation cannot be earned but is rather a gift from God alone.
Matthew in his account of this story, builds up to his thesis by recording multiple conversations with Christ. The first conversation is between the young rich man and the second is between Christ and His disciples. The two conversations while different, are told to point us to the big truth we already mentioned, that only with God all things are possible.
If you have your Bible open, follow along with me as I read our text,
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.
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.”
Grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever, let’s pray again as we turn our attention to what God has in store for us,
As I mentioned in my brief intro, this is my most favorite story in all of scripture. While it is my favorite, I must admit that this story is sad. It’s sad because we find an example of a man who rejects Christ. He comes before Jesus with the most pressing question of all and upon hearing Christ’s answer about the way into eternal life, he chooses the path he paved for himself in his possessions.
He loves his possessions so much that he cannot imagine going on without them. The action he took in turning away from Jesus revealed his heart and ultimately, the god of his life.
Despite the tragic ending for the young man, the end of this passage continues with a second conversation. That conversation unlike the one with the man, concludes with hope for those who follow the Lord.
The discourse between Jesus and the young man is carried on with the disciples to lead us to most profound statement and answer of all.
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
The opening words of our story, “And behold” in Matthew 19:16 set the tone for us. It’s Matthew’s way of saying LOOK! Bring your attention to this because something unusual is happening!
The interaction between Jesus and the young man is unlike any other in Matthew’s account. In all of the interactions before this one in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus speaks with religious leaders, pharisees, crowds, as well as his disciples. Everyone who has who approached the Son has come before him in search of something concerning His works, teaching, and what He can do for them.
This young man, however, doesn’t need to be healed, nor does he ask anything about Jesus Himself. Instead, he approaches our Lord with the greatest question of all. It’s a question that is commendable and is one I’m certain we’ve all found ourselves asking,
“What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
I remember as a young kid in Sunday school being fed with content from VeggieTales asking questions like this myself. “What’s going to happen to me when I die? And “Will I have been good enough to make it to heaven?”
Maybe I was bit young to be asking these questions, but I really wanted to know and have confidence that I would live forever end and enjoy heaven with God. The last thing that I wanted was to experience eternal torment in hell. So, out of fear for that possibility, this question of how one could inherit eternal life was one that I resonated with.
In flipping this over to you, amongst the many questions you could ask Jesus, the greatest teacher of all, what might you ask Him first?
Maybe it is the question this man asked or maybe it’s different. Regardless of the question, Jesus here as we see is approachable and a great application we can pluck out of this small beginning is that Jesus will listen and have an answer prepared. The answer could be exactly what we want, but if it’s anything like the one we see later in the story, it demands our heart and close attention to discern what that is.
In bringing ourselves back to verse 16 of Matthew 19, this is what the young man asks,
“Teacher (A small side note: if we were to look at Mark’s gospel account Mark includes the term, good to refer to Jesus as the “good teacher”), what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
Mark’s gospel account and the inclusion of the term good is helpful for us because it guides us in seeing the young man’s view of Jesus. He may not see Christ as Lord but does recognize Jesus as one who spoke with great authority and wisdom.
He seemingly presents Jesus with this question in the hopes of receiving an answer that would complete him and make him feel whole. This young man had everything but the one thing he missed in his life was assurance of eternal glory and maybe Jesus could reveal that to him.
Jesus however, is not just a good teacher, He’s God and is able to discern the hearts of men and proceeds to flip the conversation with a question of his own in the first half of verse 17,
Matt 19:17
“Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.”
This first part of Jesus’ response here appears to read as if He’s avoiding the man’s question to begin with. He interestingly doesn’t begin with the second half of verse 17 where he commands him to obey the commandments. No, he begins with the question of why do you ask me about what is good and concludes that only God is good.
The question and statement were said by Jesus to point the man into the direction of reflecting on his own heart. Jesus did this because…
- Jesus knows the hearts of men (as mentioned earlier).
- The heart reveals how you feel about God.
Jesus chooses to begin the conversation between Him and the young man in asking him to think about who or what he worships and how he thinks and feels toward God.
After Jesus says what’s recorded in the first half of verse 17, He proceeds to provide the answer to the young man’s question about what good deed he must do to inherit eternal life.
Amazingly, Jesus’s answer of “obey the commandments” in the second half of verse 17 is strange. In what we think may be the perfect gospel opportunity, Jesus gives an answer that is seemingly contradictory to what we know as the gospel and it’s a gospel based upon “faith”.
A few years ago, I shared this story to a nonbeliever and explained why I loved it so much in the hopes of them coming to faith. When I was telling this person about Jesus’ answer here, I had a moment of realization that struck me and was perplexed because this is non-gospel like.
After sharing this story, I struggled to reason with it for myself and how in a perfect moment for Jesus to communicate the gospel with this man, He tells the man to live in obedience instead of living by faith.
Then, after more time of contemplation and study, I had a moment of realization that Jesus answer here was very intentional because what Jesus says next regarding the man’s next question of “which commandments?” reveals where Jesus intends this conversation to end.
Before we get lost in what Jesus said in verse 17, we have to continue with the verses to follow,
“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.”
Anyone with little Old Testament knowledge knows that these commands come from the 10 commandments.
What’s most fascinating is that this is just a portion of the 10 commandments. This is not all the 10 but is only 6 of the commands.
If we were to open up the book of Exodus to the giving of the commandments, we would discover that these 6 are in order from commands 5-10 which is the latter half of the 10 commandments.
The latter half of the 10 commandments is often referred to by interpreters as the “2nd table” of the law. Commands 1-4 is the 1st table and commands 5-10 as mentioned makeup the second table.
There is a unique relationship between the first table and the second because the first table unlike the second lists commands concerning one’s heart and relationship with God.
To remind ourselves of the 1st table, the first four commands read as followed:
- You shall have no other gods before me
- You shall not make for yourself a carved image
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
- Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.
The 1st table is noticeably different from the 2nd table especially if we were to remove God from the equation. Commands to not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, dishonoring your parents and not hating your neighbor are commands that everyone should follow and can follow perfectly well.
Jesus’ reference to the 2nd table of the Law is fitting for this young man since it gives the man the best chance to feel like he has lived the “good life”.
In hearing the latter half of the 10 commandments, the young rich man is ecstatic about what Jesus has said and replies in verse 20,
“I’ve obeyed them all! What more must I do?
If we were to refer again to Mark’s account of the story, Mark includes a detail that’s left out from Matthew and it’s that after hearing the man’s response, Jesus felt love for him.
The sign of Christ’s love shows that Jesus knows going on within the man’s heart. He sees that he is torn spiritually and that what he has been missing is right in front of Him.
There is an invisible dividing wall that separates this man from realizing that he has been deceived by his earthly treasures.
He is somehow convinced that everything can be earned and accomplished by his own doing. He’s seen it all and done it all as proved in his wealth, but that wealth secretly holds him captive and from receiving (not earning) the greatest treasure of all: eternal life.
As Jesus feels for the man, Jesus commands him to forfeit what he has and follow him. This command presents the rich young man with a simple choice to either sell everything he has and give to the poor and follow Jesus or turn away.
It’s a simple yet, radically difficult decision, that requires an action from the heart. Either he chooses to follow and love God or his own wealth that will end perishing along with him.
Jesus answers the man’s question. He serves it on a plate for him and all he must do is follow Christ. But rather than submitting to that answer, he is disappointed and walks away.
The rich young ruler was disappointed because he had been convinced that he could maintain two loves without them in conflict with one another. He believed He could have both: God and his possessions.
This interaction is evidence of Christ’s teaching from the Sermon on the Mount and how man cannot serve two masters, God and money.
The example of relationships and marriage is good proof of this tension because saying that you love God and money would be the equivalent of having two spouses.
If a man said that he loved wife number 1 and wife number 2, there would eventually have to come a point where he has to prove his love for one over the other. Consider if the man was asked which woman he’d want to die with and he had to choose one, he’d have to give an answer that would prove which woman he ultimately loved.
The love that God demands is the kind of love that you would die for. It’s a love that says you God are LORD of my life.
As you are listening to this tension between the love that God expects of us, if you were confronted by Christ and he spoke to you like he did to the young man, what would be your heart posture?
In this moment, you probably want to give the everyday Christian answer and say “obviously Jesus” but remember, Jesus was getting at this man’s heart. He exposed the ruler of his life. What could be secretly ruling you right now?
Could it be lying and cutting corners at work? Could it be trying to make a name for yourself and wanting the approval of another person or group of people? Could it be trying to acquire as many likes and comments on your social media feed?
There is probably something that is ruling us or is attempting to take ownership over our lives that could deviate us from making the choice to follow Jesus regularly. This is what makes repentance and turning to Jesus so crucial.
God demands our attention and our love which is the kind of love that Jesus alludes to in His final words to the young man in verse 21…
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.”
Give all that you have and come, follow me is the challenge Jesus presents to the man as well as us. Whether you’ve been a Christian your whole life or are currently contemplating having a relationship with God, we regularly are left with a decision to follow Jesus daily.
By God’s grace, our story doesn’t end there with the conversation between Jesus and the man who turns away. This story continues with those who have followed Jesus and have left all they own to be at His side every step leading to the Cross.
Although this story has been centered on the encounter with the rich man, this story’s focus is not so much on the rich man and his wealth, it’s on something much greater than that.
It’s not a text that should cause us to think a certain way about those who have wealth. Whether you are making millions or are scraping by to make ends meet, this text applies to everyone in this room.
Is it “harder” for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven than it is for the poor? Given what Jesus has just communicated here, we have no doubt that this is what this is true. It is so hard for the rich to enter heaven that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”.
It may be difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom, however, the poor don’t have the easy path either.
We see this to be especially true with what is perceived by the disciples.
Looking at verse 25 of Matthew 19, what is their response to Jesus’ profound statement regarding how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom?
They do not hear his words then immediately think, “Yes! We have a chance!” Instead, they react with confusion and surprise as the text says, “they were astonished.” They did not anticipate these words from Jesus.
Thinking back to the Old Testament momentarily and even some people in our day, what do you think might be a common misconception people have regarding those who have acquired great wealth?
A common misconception in the Old Testament particularly is that having wealth was a sign of God’s blessing and favor for His people. In our age today, we still see this as many fall victim to a prosperity gospel.
That if you do this thing for God then God will reward you with fill in the blank. God doesn’t want His people to struggle so what He really wants is for them to thrive! Therefore, if you are living the godly live, you are living the “abundant” life.
While it’s true that God promised great blessing to men like Abraham and David, not everyone was rewarded for what they did. In matter of fact, God often blessed His people despite their failings which proves that God never rewarded them for what they did necessarily. What they received was always a gift not something they worked for.
The best way that we can shoot down the misconception of wealth being a sign of God’s favor is most certainly demonstrated in the life of Christ.
If you were to be asked who was the most godly individual in the history of the world who would you answer? David? Maybe Moses or Elijah? You could maybe say John the Baptist?
No! The obvious answer is Christ! As Christ is fully God He is also fully man, which in consideration of His humanity, we have to recognize that He is the example of what it looks like for us to live and walk in godliness.
And as He did so, was He rich?
Was He the most worthy, righteous, without sin and perfect man flaunting around with great wealth? The one man most worthy of doing so refused that kind of life and so much so that rather than living the life of a king, He lived the life of a servant.
He chose to stoop down at the feet of His disciples and wash them clean and then proceeded later to hang on the cross like the worst of criminals on Calvary to bear the sin of the world and declare us righteous before God as He is righteous.
Then of course, on the third day following His death, He rose from the grave as proof of His Lordship and that there is such thing as eternal life.
By looking to Jesus, is the matter of your financial state a sign or curse of God’s blessing? Just because you might be better off than most, that doesn’t make you one of God’s most favorite people.
God might “choose” people but that doesn’t mean He has favorites. Your state of financial well-being communicates less of what God thinks of you but more about the responsibility He has presented you with in this life. The decisions you make with your finances have great consequences and are a reflection of how you worship God or yourself.
It is harder for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven as Christ says, but if we adopt the mindset and think like the disciples did, we would have a difficult time trying to make sense of how the rich have it harder than the poor!
They appeared to believe the misconcpetion that the rich have it better than everyone and that they are God’s blessed people.
If they cannot make it, then who can be saved? This is what they ask Jesus.
Their hearts must have felt conflicted and torn when they asked this since the fate of their eternal destinies were dependent upon what Jesus would say next.
We arrive at the crescendo of our passage, the verse worthy of memorization,
Matthew 19:26
“And Jesus looked at them and said, with man this impossible, but with God all things are impossible.”
Salvation is not something earned. It’s not something you can attain or work for and then when you reach the Mount Everest of the journey In living your best life now you will hear well done, my good and faithful hard worker.
It is not that!
Salvation, the greatest treasure of all belongs to the one who is given it by God.
A few years ago, I heard a story that is a fair representation of the gospel and the reality that God does the impossible. It’s a story that I believe agrees with the theology of the New Testament writers as well as the early church.
It begins a man who is dead at the bottom of the ocean. He has fought hard in his life and attempted to travel across the ocean to achieve impossible tasks but fails miserably and wrecks and is left dead. His body just rests there with nobody around and knowing what took place but then miraculously one day another man suddenly swims down to the bottom of the ocean floor through the depths of the water and carries him on His back hundreds of miles to ocean shore. When they arrive to land, this individual, the Savior breathes life into the lungs of the dead man and makes him born again!
This illustration serves us well in recognizing a truth that the Apostle Paul in Romans teaches us that while we were dead as sinners, God made us alive through Christ.
With man nobody can be made born again. The thought of something like this (being born again) is like Nicodemus in John 3 (Another unique conversation between a man on a quest for the eternal life) is incompressible. It’s not just impossible, it’s something that a normal person wouldn’t consider at all!
With God, through the power and revelation from Jesus Christ, man can be made new and be reconciled (made right with God) and live for eternity!
Another Bible verse worthy of print on a mug, Philippians 4:13.
That’s where Paul writes,
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
You see, this is one of Paul’s ways he chooses to describe the work of God through Him.
God is the source! Without God, Paul could not persevere, he could not travel on the journeys he ventured or perform the works he did. Without God Paul would’ve been spiritually dead and killing Christians as a pharisee.
God takes dead people and raises them up to give them new life which is the most impossible thing anyone could do.
With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.
God doesn’t just make people new creations, He takes the smallest of things, the lamest of things, he grabs dirt to demonstrate His glorious power. A common and incredible theme in communicating the gospel is that God chooses the least likely to bring glory to His name.
In April of this year, I had the luxury of visiting Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky which is where I am in the middle of completing a Master’s of Divinity online. While I was there, I sat under a well-known professor, one you might know, Dr. Thomas Schreiner.
In Dr. Schreiner’s testimony of faith, he regards his youth pastor as the greatest influence in his life. Even amongst all the Bible giants and pastors he’s been around or learned such as John Piper, Mark Dever, Doug Moo, Don Carson, Timothy Keller. If you don’t know any of these guys, look them up and read their works as I assure you these men are examples of leaders passionate about Jesus…
But even amongst the giants such as these who can explain the depths of scripture, Dr. Schreiner chooses to think most highly of a man no one would consider when talking to him, his youth pastor.
Dr. Schreiner’s testimony is a testament to how the most influential people in our lives are often people that are never in the spotlight. It’s always the faithful, committed, behind the scenes kind of people that alter the course of our lives.
While in the moment their influence is like a ship making a 3 degree turn on its sail, when we arrive at the destination’s, we see how the one small turn produced a lifetime of change.
God works through the smallest of acts and the least likely kinds of people.
Whether you serve in the children’s ministry, lead a prayer hour or sit behind the tech booth on Sunday mornings, your demonstration of faith never goes unnoticed and may very well have a significant impact on someone here in this room.
The Christian faith is never about moving mountains, it’s never about making missionary journeys as great as Paul, and neither is it fixated on bringing revival.
What the Christian faith is all about is one person, Jesus Christ.
He is the one who calls us to follow Him like He said to the rich young man.
Will our choosing to follow Him be perfect? No and that’s okay because our perfection is not determined by how we obey the commands of the Law but is in our decision to follow Him.
The best example this is demonstrated is in the life of Peter. Peter had his ups and downs (most certainly on the day of the crucifixion). He denied Christ 3 times especially on a day it matter most. In the last interaction recorded in John’s gospel (something we shall see later in the John series) between Peter and Jesus, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. He doesn’t just ask him this one time but He asks him three times because Peter denied him three times.
After asking Peter the question of if he loves him, He commands Peter to follow Him which are the very same words He told the Rich Young Man. Peter was far from perfect, but his testimony is an astounding testimony of a man who followed Christ.
By the strength of our bodies, we will never move mountains. By our own will and desire, we can never endure or accomplish tasks like Paul or Peter. And lastly even with eloquent speech and incredibly gifted people skills, we will never awaken the souls of individuals.
With man everything is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
So in a sense, mountains can be moved, missionary trips can be accomplished revival can be done but never by the act of our own doing.
It’s only by the power of God that such things can be done. This power is a gift, the greatest treasure of all and it’s given by Him alone.
Let’s pray…
