Matthew 19 presents two contrasting stories. One involves children, who had very low status in the first century. Children were often grouped with other vulnerable people, including widows and immigrants.
The other story involves a rich person. Wealthy people were often seen as blessed by God and held in high regard.
When children were brought to Jesus, He told the crowd to let them come to Him and not stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these. He laid His hands on them and blessed them (see Matthew 19:13-15).
The children who were pushed aside by the crowd are quite a contrast to the rich man who sought out Jesus.
The Man Who Walked Away Sad
While the children were not valued by anyone other than Jesus, the rich and supposedly righteous man was highly esteemed. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to achieve eternal life. Their interaction revealed much about the man’s intentions.
The man claimed to be someone who kept the requirements of the Ten Commandments (see Matthew 19:17-20). Jesus got to the man’s true heart condition when He touched something the man wanted to hold onto.
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'” (Matthew 19:21)
Dallas Willard’s definition of the kingdom of God is “the effective reach of God’s power.” How complete should God’s reach be? Jesus indicates His reach is all-inclusive:
“If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)
We may think of the command to sell possessions and give to the poor as extreme, but it is not as far-reaching as following Jesus to the cross. The young man wasn’t ready to give it all to Jesus.
“When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Matthew 19:22)
Have you, like me, thanked God that He didn’t ask you to give your entire bank account away before following Him? At the same time, have you minimized Jesus’ command to deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Him into some kind of acceptable discipleship? Please take a moment and talk this through with Jesus today.
The God of the Impossible
Jesus pointed out how it is difficult for people who consider themselves healthy, wealthy, and wise to be interested in His kingdom.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'” (Matthew 19:23-24)
One of my friends was the pastor of a large church filled with the leading citizens of Kansas City. One day in passing, he said, “My church members want a little bit of Christianity, like someone who puts on a dab of aftershave here and there.”
If you can identify with those who look at the cost of following Jesus and shrink back, you may fit into the category of those who want some of Christianity, but not all. Without a doubt, accepting the full extent of God’s power as members of His kingdom is difficult.
Praise God, it is not impossible.
“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.'” (Matthew 19:25-26)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 