And,
behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do,
that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou
wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not
commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from
my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If
thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the
young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great
possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of
heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and
said unto them, With men this is impossible; but
with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him,
Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you,
That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall
sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for
my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting
life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. St.
Matthew 19:16
The Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
G
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The Collect.
RANT, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Matthew tells us of a young man who came to Jesus seeking to know what he
might DO to inherit eternal life. In the account Mark gives us of this same
ruler, we are told that he “came running” to Christ. Though there is much to be
said about how we approach Christ, there is far more meaning in how we are
changed by the encounter.
We are told in John 3 that Nicodemus came under cover of darkness, and left
with the light of heaven burning warmly in his heart. Jairus, the ruler of the
synagogue, came bearing the grief of a dying young daughter, and found his
daughter restored to life. Many came to Christ for healing, and received that
healing of the body, but left with the same dark hearts with which they came.
Some men come to Christ in the midst of the hell of battle, standing in the
mire of a foxhole, and pleading among mournful mutter of the battlefield for
salvation. Others may have come to Christ is the midst of affluence attended by
an empty misery that revealed a vacant hole in their soul that only Christ can
fill. Moreover, this rich ruler was young, according to the text. Jesus has
just completed laying his hands of love on the little children to bless them,
and then comes this young man who is, beyond doubt, quite morally good and
respectable. However, though a young man has had less exposure to temptation
than an old one, no one is without guilt – no one has perfectly kept the Law of
God.
Some come to Christ out of poverty, and others out of opulence; but it is not
the manner in which we come that is decisive, but the manner in which we leave.
This young man probably desires the best of heaven now that he has acquired the
best of the world. It has always seemed logical to his material mind that
anything that is valuable must be acquired through some great labor or price.
Of course, he is right – but who would be qualified to pay the price for the
free grace made available in Christ. Did Jesus not pay with his last measure of
blood for us?
The divine mind of Jesus sees beyond the outward appearance into the heart. He
will test this young man’s faith and desire. Let us examine the text as
written:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing
shall I do, that I may have eternal life? This young man came to
the right Person and for the right reason. Once we have come face to face with
Christ, how should we present our petitions? Should we call Jesus a good
teacher (Good Master), or should we recognize Him as our Lord? This improper
address to Jesus was the first error of the young ruler. What was the second?
“. . . . what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
I can understand the young man’s naiveté in believing that he might DO
something to earn his own salvation. This had always been the approach to gain
wealth in his family. When I was a child, I, too, wondered what I must give for
Christ to save me. Our society is a performance driven society. There will
always be a fair price for a loaf of bread produced by the Baker Hanson. But
the cost of the Bread of Heaven cannot be reckoned in earthly measure. It cost
the Father His only Begotten Son, and the Son His own life’s Blood. How could
we ever begin to place a value on THAT? The question itself presumes that good
works can gain Heaven. This also is true, but the good work must be done by the
Son of God and not by you or me. There is nothing that you or I can do to earn
salvation for that price has already been paid. The young man did not recognize
Jesus as the Son of God which is apparent by the manner of addressing Him; however,
Jesus will reveal that error promptly. Now see the Lord’s response:
Why callest thou me good? there is none good
but one, that is, God? This verse has been misinterpreted time
and again by men who have missed the point just as the young ruler had done. Is
Jesus saying that He is not good? Heaven forbid, NO! If there is only One who
is good, and that is God, then certainly Jesus is good because Jesus IS GOD! So
Jesus is fathoming the depths of the young man’s understanding just as He has fathomed
the depths of your understanding prior to your own salvation.
Jesus then tests the young man’s understanding, not of Himself, but of the
means of salvation: “……but if thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandments.” Jesus is presenting salvation
in its most simplistic form. Simply keep ALL of the Commandments perfectly, and
you need not worry of doing more. Of course, Jesus knows that no man can be
worthy of perfect obedience to the Commandments of God. We too often try to
bargain with God for His blessing: “Lord, if you will only grant this one
request, I promise to faithfully attend church” or some other act of works.
Jesus asks this young man this question not only for his own good, but that of
those listening by. The young man believes that he has been good and
moral. And by the standards of the world, he probably has been so; but the
standards of heaven are not the same as those of the world. The righteousness
required to gain the gates of Heaven must be PERFECT righteousness! No man can
be so.
The man’s response exposes his sheer ignorance of the obedience required by
God. He saith unto him, Which? Can we pick and choose
which Commandments of God are worthy of obedience? The response of Jesus is
intended to include ALL of the Commandments, but Jesus only makes direct
reference to those that involve our duties and obligations to others. Jesus,
for a purpose, has withheld stating the Commandments that express our duties
and obligations to God.
Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not
commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. You may recall that once, when challenged by a scribe
regarding the most important commandment, Jesus responded: The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The
Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31) Jesus, at that time gave
both parts of our obligation under the law 0 first to God, and then to our
fellow man. He summarized the law according to Deuteronomy 6:4,5 and Leviticus
19:18. So why did Christ, here, only quote half the lawful duty of man? As I
mentioned earlier, Jesus is leading the young man to recognize his lostness
for, if we fail to recognize that we are lost and condemned by our own lack or
righteousness, we can never come to terms with our need for repentance. Let us
see how the matter will come to light.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my
youth up: what lack I yet? Though it is unlikely that this man has
perfectly kept these quoted commandments, it is true that, even if he had,
there is a greater one that he has omitted in obedience. Jesus felt compassion
on the tortured mind of the man. He gave him one more opportunity to open his
mind and heart to Christ: If thou wilt
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. Remember: only
perfection is acceptable in God’s Heaven. Jesus, knowing the heart of the man,
suggested the very Commandment which the man had so egregiously broken from his
youth – the very FIRST COMMANDMENT! I am the LORD thy
God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou
shalt have none other gods before me. (Deut 5:6-7) Jesus is
attempting to show the man that he has not even kept the FIRST Commandment,
much less the others. He has allowed something to come between him and his God
– that something (idol) is RICHES.
Did the man understand now, or, like many sinners, did he choose not to
understand? But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful: for he had great possessions. The young man could not
argue with the truth that Jesus exposed, but he was inclined to his idol over
the salvation that Jesus offered. The Christian is like the earth bathed in the
radiance of the Sun (God). It has life and light everywhere the warm rays of
the Sun appear. But, if any object (Lunar eclipse) is allowed to come between
the earth and the Sun, the earth will be in darkness. That is the same darkness
of any man who allows wealth, sex, or mind altering drugs to come between him
and our Lord. He will remain in darkness if he holds to the idol and rejects
his Maker. In the end, the young man was no different from Judas Iscariot who
went out on the night of his betrayal into eternal darkness. He then
having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. (John
13:30) So do all who forsake Christ: O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that
forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in
the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
(Jer 17:13) Perhaps the same names that Christ may have written upon the earth
before the accusers of the Woman taken in Adultery.
Are you amazed that the young man was not accounted righteous before God? If
so, you are in good company for the disciples, too, were amazed: When his
disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be
saved? We judge books by the cover and people by the outward
appearance, but God looks INSIDE the book, and INSIDE the heart to judge.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With
men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. I
have known some really rough and untamed men in the profession of arms over my
long career with the military. They were men who used vulgar and unseemly
language and who were accustomed to the vicissitudes and dangers of many
battles, but, contrary to my own judgment of these men, some were changed in a
heartbeat from a ruffian to a humble saint of God. That which may appear
impossible with man is certainly possible with God for He is a God of impossible
results!
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and
followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
As was usual,
Peter spoke more out of emotion and ignorance than true understanding. When had
Peter forsaken all? Did Peter not yet cherish his life? Did he not deny Christ
three times the night of His betrayal? Peter, too, is thinking that he was
deserving some special consideration for that which he felt he had done above
and beyond the call of duty. In short, he believed in the false works of
supererogation. It is not enough to follow Christ a certain distance and no
more. The rich young ruler had done as much. But Christ expects His disciples
to follow Him ALL the way. And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in
the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye
also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And
every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an
hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall
be last; and the last shall be first.
In the wise counsel of God,
there are many who appear first in the eyes of man but are last in the eyes of
God. The overriding point is this: We shall lose NOTHING in following God. We
shall receive a hundred fold of that which we surrender for Him. But do not
jockey for first place in the Kingdom of Heaven, else you will have the mirage
disappear at the last moment.
