Matthew 19:13-26 I. Matthew 19:13 (NASB) Then some children were brought to [Jesus] so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. Why did the disciples rebuke them (whether the parents or the children)? Why did they try to stop the children from coming to Jesus for His blessing? We ve already seen that in Jesus day children were not valued very highly and part of this was just a matter of being practical. Children could not fight, they could not lead, they could not accumulate wealth; in fact, there was little to nothing that a child could contribute to the running of an adult world. The disciples were not trying to be mean. They were just being realistic. Jesus is an important person. Not only that, He s presently on a journey to Jerusalem where He ll be up against the entire religious establishment. Jesus is an important man with important business the business of the kingdom. There is no time now for nonessential distractions. What could a child possibly contribute to a man such as this, and especially in a time such as this? Now maybe we re wondering how in the world the disciples could have forgotten so quickly all that Jesus just said about the little ones (18:1-14). But I don t think they ve forgotten. They simply haven t yet understood. In their heads, they get it, but not yet in their hearts. The amazing and wonderful thing about all of Jesus teaching is that it demands more than just intellection comprehension it requires spiritual understanding. So may we not pride ourselves in knowledge without understanding. Even if we were to know everything, even then there would always be room for a deeper, and truer, and fuller, and more faithful understanding. May God grant us this understanding, then, as we are taught His Word this morning. Then some children were brought to [Jesus] so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. II. Matthew 19:14 15 But Jesus said, Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. After laying His hands on them, He departed from there. The shocking thing here is not that Jesus allowed the children to come to Him for His blessing. Even though this truly is a wonderful, and beautiful, and encouraging thing, it s not at all the main point. The real shock comes when Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. That s the main point. In chapter eighteen, Jesus said that those who turn and humble themselves to be like children, they are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven actually belongs to such as these. And so now we even have the idea of possession and ownership! The kingdom is possessed and owned by children! Now I think we d have to admit that this sounds rather unlikely if not even crazy! And yet the point here is not just children, but rather all those who are unimportant and insignificant, having nothing to contribute. The kingdom is possessed by the lowly. Doesn t that sound strange? 1
But is Jesus speaking literally or figuratively? When Jesus speaks of those who are lowly like children, is He talking in worldly and earthly terms or in spiritual terms? I believe the answer is both. It s much easier to find people who are lowly in spirit among those who also have a lowly lot and station in life! The lowly of heart are most often found among the lowly of society and the nobodies of this world. When Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the lowly, this is true in more ways than just one and as a proof of this, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all go on to relate the following story. III. Matthew 19:16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Now before we jump on this man for his bad theology, let s at least pay attention to his sincerity, and his earnestness and seriousness about eternal matters. There are many who wouldn t even bother to ask the question. In fact, there are many who have better theology than this man who came to Jesus, and yet who practically show much less concern for the pressing matters of eternal life. Could that be us? Is there some way in which we should actually be more like this man who has come to Jesus asking questions about the things that really matter? Now when we think of eternal life, we may think only of unending life in heaven. But when this Jewish man thought of eternal life, he was thinking more specifically of an everlasting life of bliss and happiness in the promised kingdom of the Messiah. When he asked what he must do to have eternal life, he was actually asking what he must do to possess the kingdom. Does this ring a bell, or sound at all familiar (cf. 13-15)? But now we have to acknowledge that there are two serious problems with this man s question. First of all, he calls Jesus Teacher. In Matthew, it s only the uncommitted and neutral outsiders who call Jesus Teacher. So this man doesn t yet understood who Jesus really is. He asks about matters of the kingdom, but doesn t recognize that he s talking to the King! And second of all, he asks about what he must give and contribute in order to gain possession of the kingdom What good deed must I do. Now this morning we may be full of all the right answers, but how many of us have never asked a similar question? How many of us have never asked what good deed we must do in order to deserve or merit something from God? We all want to contribute something, because not to contribute something, anything, is to be nothing! And who wants to be nothing? Really? Who ever wanted to have nothing to contribute, nothing to give, nothing to offer? And so this man actually asks the question for all of us: Teacher, what good deed must I do to [possess the kingdom of heaven]? IV. Matthew 19:17 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. This inquiring man has asked Jesus what good thing he must do. But why would he ask a question like this unless he was completely ignorant of God s law? Apparently, he must think that there is some secret, extra-special good deed (cf. Lenski; Carson) that will gain him possession of life in the kingdom. And this explains Jesus response! 2
Don t ask me about what is good when you already have it written down in your law. If you really think that there is any other good to be found apart from the one who alone is good, and who has fully revealed this goodness in His law, then you are terribly mistaken. Lenski puts it this way: Not for one moment will Jesus allow this man to speak as though God had failed to reveal what good he must do Does this man presume to ask Jesus and thus to ignore God? Does he think that Jesus has certain secret information that has not been revealed by God? If you would enter life, Jesus says, keep the commandments. In other words, You already know the answer to your own question, and for My part I have nothing more to add. Now I believe that at this point, Jesus is assuming the right use of the law. * On the one hand, the law was given to reveal our sin and guilt (our inability to keep the law) and drive us to trust only in God and His gracious and merciful promises. Paul writes: Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. On the other hand, the law was given so that those who do trust in God s grace and mercy may know how to express their love and gratefulness to God in righteous living! No, we re not saved by works of the law (far from it!), and yet apart from true obedience to the law, there can be no salvation (cf. James 2:14-26). 1 Corinthians 6:9 10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Hebrews 12:14 Strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Leviticus 18:5 (Neh. 9:29; Ezek. 18:9; 20:11) You shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD. When Jesus says to the inquiring man, If you would enter life, keep the commandments, I believe He is assuming this right use of the Law. Don t ask me about extra-curricular good deeds, as though there is some good beyond what has already been revealed by the only good God! Just keep the commandments for it is those and only those who keep the commandments who will gain eternal life. Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Luke 1:6 (Psalm 119:1-3; 37:18, 37) [Zechariah and Elizabeth] were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. And so Jesus says to us today, If you would enter life, keep the commandments. V. Matthew 19:18 19 He said to him, Which ones? * Jesus was certainly not implying that eternal life can be successfully earned or merited through law-keeping, but neither do I believe that Jesus was challenging the man to try the impossible (cf. France; contra Lenski). 3
To this point, Jesus answer has been something of a let down. This man has come looking for some secret, special knowledge that only a great teacher can impart. This man has given Jesus his vote of confidence, believing that Jesus has discovered the answer he s looking for. And yet so far, Jesus has told him nothing new; just, keep the commandments. OK, so maybe the secret has been lying there all along hidden in the law. He said to Jesus: Which ones? VI. Matthew 19:18 19 And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Mark tells us that Jesus actually began His answer with these words: You know the commandments (10:19). So once again, Jesus brings the man back to what he already knows back to the same old stuff that he s known ever since he was a child (cf. Mark 10:20). There are no secret, extra-special good works that one must do if he is to possess the kingdom. Everything has already been clearly written down and revealed in God s holy law. But while Jesus continues to assume the right use of the law, He knows our hearts. The fact that this man is looking for some secret, extra-special good deed is a sure sign that he has not rightly understood the law. He sees the law not as the means of driving him to trust only in God s gracious and merciful promises, and not as the true and necessary evidence of this trust and faith, but rather as a means of contributing something to God in return for possession of the kingdom! Jesus knows this, and I think this is why Jesus lists only the commandments from the second table (the ones concerning our neighbor) because these are the commandments that a selfrighteous person can most easily assume he has kept. Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. VII. Matthew 19:20 The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? How can our hearts not go out to this man? Unless, indeed, we fail to see in him a true picture of ourselves? When he says, All these I have kept, he is not making an idle boast, any more than Paul was when he wrote: As to righteousness under the law, [I was blameless] (Phil. 3:6). Like the unconverted Paul, this man was a sincere and zealous follower of the law. He was a good and moral man certainly as good and moral as any one of us, if not more so. But that s the problem. It s possible to be outwardly good and moral, and to outwardly keep the law, and even to be inwardly full of zeal and devotion, and still not be among those who possess the kingdom! When the man says, All these [commandments] I have kept, this is a very different thing than when Luke says that Zechariah and Elizabeth walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Luke is assuming the right use of the law, while the man inquiring of Jesus is assuming the wrong use of the law. He has viewed the law as a means of contributing something in exchange for the kingdom. And yet now, after working so diligently for all his life to keep the law, he has the horrible, sinking feeling that all of his law-keeping is not enough. 4
There must be something more some extra-special good deed to perform. What do I still lack? What must I still contribute? VIII. Matthew 19:21 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. When Jesus says, if you would be perfect, He s not thinking of moral perfection or some level of super spirituality. Perfect can simply mean complete or fully mature. But the meaning of perfect here in Matthew nineteen is very easy to see. The young man has just asked what he still lacks, and so Jesus tells him. If you would have the one (and only) thing that you still lack, if you would have the one (and only) thing that will give you possession of the kingdom and eternal life then go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Now Jesus is not giving this young man something else to do in addition to everything he has already done. If that were the case, then this deed would be just as worthless as all of the others! Nowhere does God s law command that everyone must sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the poor! And yet God s law everywhere commanded (and assumed) trust and faith in God and especially in His promise of the Messiah. And so now Jesus is calling this young man to that one, fundamental requirement of a relationship of trust and faith in God s Messiah. The young man has called Jesus Teacher, but he needs to see that Jesus is more than just a teacher, He is the promised Messiah and Savior. And as the promised Messiah and Savior, Jesus demands not the simple outward keeping of the law, but rather the absolute and radical discipleship (cf. Carson) of those who have placed their whole-hearted trust and faith in God s Messiah in Jesus Christ. And Jesus knows that in the case of this young man, there is one thing that stands between him and this life of faith and true discipleship and that one thing is his worldly wealth. If you would be perfect [if you would have the one and only thing that you lack, and that will give you possession of the kingdom], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Jesus answer is not law, but Gospel! It is not rules, but grace. Sell what you possess and come, FOLLOW ME. IX. Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Aha. So this man was rich. Here is a rich young man looking for an extra-special good work that he might contribute to God in exchange for the kingdom. And instead, Jesus calls him to the absolute and radical discipleship of those who have placed their whole-hearted trust and faith in Jesus, the Messiah. And in doing this, Jesus reveals to the rich man and to all of us the right and true use of the Law! Carson says it beautifully: The condition Jesus now imposes not only reveals the man's attachment to money but shows that all his formal compliance with the law is worthless because none of it entails absolute self-surrender. What the man needs is the triumph of grace. Instead of the life of discipleship that flows from a relationship of trust and faith, the rich young man would rather contribute something of his own in exchange for the kingdom. So when the 5
young man heard the gracious call of the Gospel ( sell what you possess and come, follow me ) he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. X. Matthew 19:23 24 And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 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. Compare this with what Jesus said to the disciples in verse fourteen: Do not hinder [the children] from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. The disciples tried to turn the children away, but certainly they would never have done the same thing with the rich young man! Here was someone to whom a kingdom would more naturally belong! Here was someone the kingdom could use! He was rich, he was young, he was influential (Luke tells us that he was a ruler ), and he was spiritually zealous and devoted. And yet it s the rich young ruler that Jesus seems to put off, even as He makes special room for the children to come for His blessing! The rich in worldly goods are very often the ones who find it most difficult to see how spiritually poor they really are and so they are unable to wholly surrender themselves to the absolute and radical discipleship that flows from a life of simple faith and trust in Jesus Christ. But we keep saying they. What about us? Material abundance translates so often and so very easily into spiritual self-sufficiency. But the lowly in heart are most often found among the lowly of society and the nobodies of this world (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-31). It is to these kinds of people, Jesus says, that the kingdom belongs. But for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, that s even more difficult than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. XI. Matthew 19:25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? Jesus seems to the disciples to be saying that no rich person in the history of the world has ever been saved! But if it s this impossible for the rich to be saved, then how much more likely can it really be for the poor to be saved? And we who have such an abundance of worldly possessions how then can we be saved? Do we dare take the answer to this question for granted when Jesus has worded the problem so as to make our own salvation seem totally impossible? How, then, can we be saved? XII. Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. To borrow Lenski s words: The more all hope of our own activity dies, whether we are rich or poor, the more our hope in God and his grace rises like the morning sun with healing in his wings: with God all things are possible, even the saving of the rich. Who will measure the ability of his grace? Who will describe the miracles it is able to work? Conclusion 6
If you would be perfect [if you would have the one and only thing that will give you possession of the kingdom], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Do we joyfully hear in these words the gracious call of the Gospel do we really? Or do we go away sorrowful because we have many possessions? Jesus calls us not to the outward keeping of the law, but rather to the absolute and radical discipleship of those who have placed their whole-hearted trust and faith in God s Messiah in Jesus Christ. And so even as Jesus extends to us the gracious call of the Gospel, He warns us that our material abundance is truly a most deadly peril. What is it that you would not be willing to give up for the sake of following Christ? What is it that I would not be willing to give up for the sake of following Christ? Our money and our possessions are an incessant and a deadly peril to our souls. They make it even more difficult for us to be saved than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But just when we have despaired, just when we have lost all hope, Jesus says to us, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So then, by God s grace, let us hate our money and our possessions for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let us despise all of our wealth and our abundance so that we might live that life of absolute and radical discipleship that flows from simple faith and trust in Jesus. Since we have nothing of ourselves to offer or contribute, then let us gladly suffer the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that we may gain Christ (cf. Phil. 3:7-8). If you would be perfect [if you would have the one and only thing that will give you possession of the kingdom], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, Jesus said, follow me. May we not go away sorrowful because of our many possessions, but rather may we joyfully hear in these words the gracious call of the Gospel. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. 7