Why You Must Follow Jesus – part 2
Matthew 19:16-26 (22-26)
April 8, 2012
I realize this being Easter, we likely have folks here from out of town,
And I know getting in on part 2 of any sermon seems to be a little strange.
So to kind of bring you up to speed, as we have studied through Matthew’s gospel last week we came upon a very interesting individual.
We call him “The Rich Young Ruler”
Most of heard of him as he proves to be a continually relevant illustration.
The purpose of this account in Matthew’s gospel is
To reinforce a very important truth that Jesus has revealed to us.
Back in Matthew 16 Jesus began to talk about the concept of the church.
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Jesus had a vision of a grand fellowship; a church,
One built upon Himself as the Messiah,
And one that even death could not destroy.
Jesus then revealed the means by which the church would come into existence.
Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”
The church that Jesus built could only come into existence
Through the sacrifice of the Savior.
Jesus had to suffer and die and rise from the dead.
And then Jesus revealed what was required in order for someone to become a part of His church.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
And it is this truth that Matthew is reemphasizing here
In this story of the Rich Young Ruler
The decision to be a Christian is not as easy as
Simply deciding that you want to go to heaven when you die.
Nor is the decision to be a Christian
As simple as just trying to be a good person.
• The only way a person is saved is by having their sins forgiven through the atonement which is in Jesus Christ.
• And the only way to have Jesus forgive your sins is to “follow” Him.
• And the only way to “follow” Him is to completely deny yourself.
Jesus taught that back in chapter 16 and He reiterates it once again here.
And so we began to look at this story of this rich young ruler.
Last week we saw three things that we can quickly revisit.
#1 A FUTILE ATTEMPT (16)
We call this a futile attempt because here is a man
That when you link the gospel accounts together we find:
• He was “rich”
• He was a “ruler” (most likely a synagogue ruler)
• He was “young”
• He was moral – (keeping most commandments)
He seemingly had conquered life, and yet this man
Had come across something he couldn’t conquer; DEATH.
Despite all his accomplishments
Despite all his successes
He comes asking “Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
Despite all that he had done,
Even he knew it was not enough to earn eternal life.
Thus far, his entire life had been a lesson in futility.
It almost echoes the complaint of Solomon in Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 9:2-6 “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”
This was a mentality he also summed up in:
Ecclesiastes 2:17 “So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.”
While he might not have been that angry about it,
The Rich Young Ruler was having similar thoughts.
Thus far all that he had done had managed to give him a good life,
But they had failed to do anything about his death.
Thus far his whole life had been a FUTILE ATTEMPT.
#2 A FALSE ASSUMPTION (16-20)
We even recognized that his futile life
Was directly linked to his bad theology.
He thought that eternal life was something he could “obtain” on his own.
And he thought he could obtain it by doing something “good”.
Jesus of course balked at this notion saying, (17) “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good;”
Jesus was almost appalled that the young man
Thought he could be good enough to earn life.
And Jesus quickly reminds him that being good isn’t within his ability.
No one can on their own be good enough to satisfy God.
But Jesus did humor the man.
(17b) “but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
And this makes sense, for the Law reveals the righteous standard of God.
If you want to be good enough to go to heaven,
Simply keep all of God’s commandments without ever breaking one.
If you do that you will go to heaven.
Of course this man knew that keeping all the commandments
Wasn’t possible so he asked, (18) “Which ones?”
We do that too by the way.
There are many people that think most of God’s commands are suggestions,
But that there are in reality only a few things that really determine whether or not you go to heaven.
• As long as I don’t kill anybody.
• As long as I don’t steal from people.
• As long as I don’t cheat on my spouse.
• As long as I go to church occasionally
• As long as I’m patriotic
• As long as I remember the Alamo
Then surely I’m good enough.
That is what this man wanted to know. Which ones really matter?
And so Jesus gives him 5 of the 10 and the second greatest.
And initially the young man was ecstatic!
(20) “The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
See, when he assessed himself he thought he was good enough.
That is often how we assess ourselves as well.
But that is a FALSE ASSUMPTION.
And Jesus revealed why.
A Futile Attempt, A False Assumption
#3 A FAIR ASSESSMENT (21)
When the young man assessed himself he found himself to be good.
When Jesus assessed him, he found him deficient.
“If you wish to be complete”
The word in the Greek is TELEIOS
It means perfect.
And it is what God demands.
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
And this man still lacked perfection.
“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Don’t misunderstand:
Selling his possessions wouldn’t make him perfect,
Jesus would make him perfect,
He just couldn’t follow Jesus without selling all his possessions.
AND THERE WE GOT TO THE POINT OF THE STORY.
If you want to go to heaven, then you must be perfect,
Which requires following Jesus, which requires denying self.
You cannot keep your sin and follow Jesus.
You cannot keep your idols and follow Jesus.
You must fully surrender your entire life in order to follow Him.
And that is what Jesus told this young man.
A Futile Attempt, A False Assumption, A Fair Assessment
#4 A FOOLISH ANSWER
Matthew 19:22
“But when the young man heard this statement he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”
His answer?
“he went away”
Jesus said “follow Me”, this young man said, “no”.
Now we do notice that he was “grieving”,
But don’t confuse that with repentance.
When talking about Esau’s sin of selling his birthright, the writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 12:17 “For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”
We even know that Judas later felt remorse for betraying Jesus
And threw the money back and hanged himself,
But the book of Acts makes it clear that he did not inherit eternal life.
See, “grieving” or feeling remorse or even crying
DOES NOT EQUAL REPENTANCE.
• Jesus’ goal was not to get this man to grieve…
• Jesus’ goal was not to get this man to cry…
• Jesus’ goal was not to get this man to feel remorse…
WHAT WAS JESUS GOAL?
To get this man to leave his sin and follow Him.
And this man would not.
He grieved because he knew he was not going to heaven.
The question is why would he not just go ahead and follow Jesus?
“for he was one who owned much property.”
HE LOVED HIS SIN!
WHY WOULD HE NOT DENY SELF AND FOLLOW JESUS?
Because he had a lot to lose.
(or so he thought)
Jesus had said, if you do that “you will have treasure in heaven”,
But I’m not sure the young man ever even heard that.
All he heard was the word “sell” and he never got past it.
You see Jesus came right up against the idol of his heart.
And Jesus always does this.
• With the woman at the well it was her love life.
• With Peter and Andrew it was their fishing business.
• With James and John it was their father.
Jesus will not let you keep your idols and follow Him at the same time.
God is a jealous God.
He is happy to have you follow Him,
But you must be solely devoted to Him.
And this man said no.
It is the most foolish decision recorded in Scripture.
Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
A FOOLISH ANSWER.
A Futile Attempt, A False Assumption, A Fair Assessment, A Foolish Answer
#5 A FRIGHTENING ANALOGY
Matthew 19:23-24
Now the first thing I would want you to notice is
That Jesus did not go after the young man.
Jesus didn’t say, “Oh, it’s ok, we’ll work on it, your good everywhere else, why don’t you stick around.”
This man had to choose between sin and Jesus and he chose sin,
There really wasn’t anything else to talk about.
So Jesus turns from the young man and addresses the disciples
And His point is shocking.
(23) “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Now please understand this is not a statement about money
So much as it is a reminder that everyone must pay the same price.
In order to enter the kingdom, everyone must give all they have.
Everyone must deny self,
So logically we know that some pay more than others.
And those with the biggest cost have the toughest time entering.
I used to teach college students and loved it
Because they had nothing to lose, and easily followed.
And so Jesus said it is “hard” for a rich man “to enter” the kingdom.
People with much to lose don’t easily go to heaven.
And then comes the real shocking statement.
• Perhaps the disciples weren’t really paying attention…
• Perhaps they were just letting the lesson go…
So Jesus says it again in terms to grab their attention:
(24) “Again I say to you, 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.”
WHAT!?
How hard is it?
“easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Ever try to push thread through the eye of a sewing needle?
(some are good, others of us not so much)
Now imagine trying to push a camel through there.
When He says it is hard to get people to leave everything and follow Him, He means it.
And yet we know Jesus means it, because if you look up
You can see the young man walking away having failed to enter.
That moral, successful, young man didn’t enter.
And if you want to know why, Jesus says, “because it is hard; really hard!”
WHY IS IT SO HARD?
Because people don’t like to part with their riches.
Now, please understand money is not the problem.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
It isn’t necessarily money that is the problem,
It is just that money is really easy to love, and really hard to let go of.
In fact, when you study the Scripture (which says a lot about money)
The Bible seems to always ask the same three questions.
HOW DID YOU GET IT?
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”
Psalms 15:5 “He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
And so if you got your money through deceptive means
Then there is obviously a problem.
Some say, “No, I worked hard for my money.”
Ok, well the Bible has another question.
WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE IT?
The Bible is clear that money is to be used to further the kingdom,
Not to be hoarded to make this life better.
Luke 16:9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
Furthermore James indicates that the reason some still have their money
Is because they have overlooked the needs of the poor.
James 5:1-5 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.”
So if you have money Scripture wants to know how you got it,
And why you still have it instead of using it for the kingdom.
And if you are on the up and up with both of those questions,
Then Scripture has one more question for you.
WOULD YOU LEAVE IT?
That is what Jesus asked this young man.
Remember Zaccheus?
Luke 19:8-9 “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.”
And we will all admit those are tough questions to answer.
But Jesus is clear if you won’t leave it, you can’t enter heaven.
Because love of money is idolatry, and Jesus won’t rest in 2nd place.
And money isn’t the only idol
• You also can’t love fame
• You also can’t love family more than Him
• You also can’t love comfort
• You also can’t love power
Jesus won’t let you have anything before Him,
And if you won’t deny yourself and leave it then you can’t follow.
You’d have better luck trying to force a camel through a needle.
IS THAT SHOCKING?
Does it surprise you that it is that hard to go to heaven?
We live in a day when people act like going to heaven is easy.
We even have the ABC’s of salvation.
We make it easy.
Walk a carpeted aisle,
Sign a simple card,
Get in our heated Jacuzzi style baptistery.
And you will go to heaven.
Here we thought it was easy.
And Jesus said, no it isn’t.
Going to heaven is very, very hard.
It is a narrow gate, and it is a narrow way,
And in reality there are only a few people who actually make it.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Does that shock you that most people who think they are going to heaven aren’t?
Does it shock you that it is so hard to go to heaven?
You aren’t alone.
(25) “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”
“astonished” translates EKPLESSO
It is a compound word “plesso” = “to strike”
“ek” = is an intensifying word that literally means “out”
• The disciples were struck hard in their mind.
• They were dumbfounded
• They were blown away
• They were heavily shocked
They could not believe what Jesus was saying.
They looked at that young man walking away with all his credentials.
• A synagogue ruler
• A wealthy man
• A moral man
• A young man full of potential and promise
And yet a man Jesus said was not going to heaven and it would very hard (if not impossible) for him to ever do so.
And the disciples can’t believe what they’ve just heard.
And they ask a question, “Then who can be saved?”
• You almost get the idea that the disciples are angry.
• You almost get the idea that they are afraid.
• You certainly get the idea that their whole mindset on salvation just got heavily damaged.
If this is the way it is, then no one can be saved.
“Who can be saved?”
Let’s see the answer.
#6 A FINAL ALTERNATIVE
Matthew 19:26
Now please notice Jesus did not say, “I’m just kidding, I wanted to see what you would say.”
When Jesus said it was hard He meant it and He did not retreat from it.
In fact the disciples understanding was dead on.
“With people [salvation] is impossible.”
Listen, there is not a thing you can do to be saved.
You can’t live good enough…
You can’t be pleasing enough…
You can’t sacrifice enough…
So you go to church…
So you read your Bible…
So you never killed anybody…
SO WHAT!
That is not enough, not even close.
Salvation is impossible.
“BUT with God all things are possible.”
Here is the point,
Salvation is something that only God can accomplish in you.
Can you save yourself? No
But you can’t even deny yourself and follow Jesus on your own.
Who can honestly pay that high of a price to follow Jesus?
No one – unless God does it in you.
Can I remind you of an overlooked passage?
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
On their own no one can come to Jesus, the cost is too high,
Yet through God it can be done.
In fact, look down to verse 27, “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”
The disciples recognized it as impossible, and yet they had done it.
HOW?
God did it in them.
With God salvation is possible.
He is by nature a Savior.
And He can move in your life and give you the grace
To deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus.
But you have to come to Him for it.
If you come to him like the rich young man did and say, “What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
You’ll never enter it.
But if you come in brokenness and humility
Throwing yourself on the mercy and grace of God,
He can do it for you.
Romans 3:19-24 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
Friend, Jesus can save you.
And God can draw you to Him.
Now at this point one could easily say, “So why bother?”
If I can’t do it anyway, and only God can,
I guess I’ll just go about my business.
That misses the point.
The command to you is this:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
You must turn from your sin and commit your life to Christ.
Just know that if you do that, it is only because God did it in you.
And this morning I invite you to do that very thing.
The reason you must follow Jesus
Is because He is the only way to be saved.
On your own you will never be good enough to go to heaven.
There was only ever One who satisfied the righteousness of God,
And that is Jesus Christ.
• He lived a sinless life.
• And He gave that life on a cross as a payment for sin.
• He then rose from the dead proving His sacrifice was effective.
And now salvation is offered to all
Who will turn from their sin and fully trust in Him.
• He doesn’t want church attenders…
• He doesn’t want Bible readers…
• He doesn’t want moral people…
(even though His followers do all that)
What He wants is followers.
He wants self-sacrificing, super committed, no matter the cost followers.
Those are the ones He grants salvation to.
This morning let me encourage you to commit your life to Christ.
Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
