Entering the Kingdom
TRANSLATION
(17) As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (18) And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (19) You know the commandments: do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.” (20) And he said to him, “Teacher, all these things have I kept since I was a boy.” (21) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (22) But at this response, his face fell, and he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(23) And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God!” (24) And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus again said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God! (25) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” (26) And they were even more amazed and asked him, “Then who can be saved?” (27) Jesus looking at them said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”
(28) Peter spoke up and said to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” (29) Jesus said, “Truly I tell you that there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the Gospel (30) who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (31) But many who are first will be last and the last first.”
OBSERVATIONS
Gaining eternal life, namely, entry into the Kingdom of God, was the immediate concern of the wealthy man who approached Jesus. Repetitions in these verses included the striking use of “good” three times (in vss. 18 & 19), the verb “follow me/you” (vss. 21 & 28), the phrase “to enter the Kingdom of God” three times (in vss. 23-25), the use of “impossible/possible with God” (vs. 27), and the twofold occurrence of “left” (vss. 28 & 29). With the first repetition, Jesus took advantage of the questioner addressing him as “good teacher” to point to his own identity as Israel’s Messiah.
Four synonyms for material prosperity are also found in this segment: “treasure” (vs. 21), “great possessions” (vs. 22), “wealth” (vs. 23), and “rich person” (vs. 25). Jesus’ use of the proverb regarding a camel passing through the eye of a needle pointed to the impossibility of those who are wealthy entering God’s Kingdom apart from God’s enablement.
OUTLINE
I. Diagnosis: Jesus identified the questioner’s spiritual disease. (17-22)
II. Remedy: Jesus prescribed the cure for his malady. (23-30)
IDEA STATEMENT
Eternal life (entrance to God’s Kingdom) will be granted not to those who seek it by personal effort but only to those who follow Jesus by faith.
APPLICATION
The rich young ruler’s phrasing of his question, “What must I DO to inherit eternal life,” immediately betrayed his deepest need. Jesus lovingly provided the correct answer to his incorrect question: “Go, sell (what you must DO)...and come, follow me (who you must BECOME, i.e. my disciple).” In other words, it is not our works that save us although wealth may stand in our way. It is who we must BECOME that makes all the difference. This is, in essence, the same message Jesus gave to Nicodemus: “Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (born from above/regenerated by the Holy Spirit), he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). Neither our efforts nor our wealth can make us worthy of God’s Kingdom. Only God by his grace qualifies us for eternal life by means of the new birth.
The disciples provided clarification for us with their question, “Then who can be saved” (vs. 26)? Jesus gave an encouraging response: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (vs. 27). In other words, we cannot save ourselves by what we do or lose ourselves by what we fail to do. Salvation is the “impossible” work of God, accomplished through the death of his Son on the cross, which he freely gives us when we finally come to the place where we are willing to admit, “I can do nothing. I desperately need what only you, God, can give me.”