Entering the Kingdom Part 4 

We are currently looking at the topic of the Kingdom of God 

As I have previously mentioned the Kingdom of God is one of the primary topics in Scripture 

Yet even with that being said, there is still a lot of confusion over what exactly the Kingdom of God is 

In my opinion the Kingdom of God is basically us surrendering ourselves totally and completely to God’s rule 

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is … righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit 

In Matthew 6:33 we are told to “seek first” the Kingdom of God 

Even if we do not totally understand what it is, we are still to seek it 

For the last few weeks we have been looking at what it takes to enter the Kingdom of God 

I want to continue in that topic today 

Our passage for today is one that many of you will be familiar with 

We know it as the story of the rich young ruler 

In fact, I preached on this very story about a year ago so if you hear me say something and think “hey, that sounds familiar” you are probably right! 

This story of the rich young ruler appears in 3 out of the 4 Gospels 

Each version of the story is very similar, although there are some slight differences 

{elaborate on why this is so} 

For the purpose of the message today we will look at Matthew’s version of the story and add details from Mark and Luke 

Turn with me if you would to Matthew 19 

Matthew 19:16-22 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17  "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18  "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19  honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" 20  "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 21  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.  
 

Quite an interesting story, and one that tends to make people a little uncomfortable 

We have a man coming up to Jesus and asking Him what he must do to have eternal life 

We have no idea who this man is, Scripture does not give his name 

I’ve heard some people say that he could have been Nicodemus – the man that came to Jesus at night in John 3 

I’ve heard others say that it could have been Joseph of Arimithea – the man who asked for the body of Jesus after the crucifixion 

It certainly could have been either of these two men, but it could have been just as likely that it was someone else 

The bottom line is that Scripture does not tell us who it is so we cannot know, but Scripture does tell us a few things about this man 

What do we know about him? 

We know that he was young – Matthew 19:20 calls him a young man 

Matthew 19:20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 

In Luke’s version of this story we are told that he was a ruler  

Luke 18:18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  

This means that he probably sat on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council 

It was highly unusual for a young man to sit on the Sanhedrin, so this young man must have been particularly outstanding to have such a position 

We are told that he had great wealth 

Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 

He was not just rich, but very rich 

I have no idea where the line between rich and very rich is, but this young man had certainly crossed that line! 

What else do we know about him? 

We know that he was respectful 

Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  

Mark 10:17 tells us that when the man came up to Jesus he fell on his knees – a sign of great respect, and called Jesus “Good teacher” 

Jesus even questions the young man by saying something along the lines of “do you really know what you’re saying when you call me good?” 

Jesus was not denying that He was good, He was just asking the man if he knew that calling Jesus good was identifying Jesus with God 

We know that this rich young ruler was very spiritual 

He was concerned for his eternal destiny 

Again looking at Mark 10:17 

Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 

This is very evident in the question that he asked Jesus – “what must I do to get eternal life?” 

In other words “what do I have to do to get to heaven?” 

This is significant because most rich people do not give God a thought 

They are comfortable in their lives and have everything they need so they are not at all concerned about God 

But here is this wealthy, successful, and influential young man asking Jesus how to get eternal life 

I find Jesus’ response interesting 

Matthew 19:17,18 If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired.  

Jesus told the man he just needed to obey the commands of Scripture 

The man than asked “Which ones?” 

Why did he ask that? 

Because there were 613 laws that were given in Scripture 

In addition to that the religious leaders added hundreds more in their traditions 

This man wanted to know which commands he needed to be concerned about 

Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19  honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

Jesus gives him 5 of the 10 commandments and one of the two great commandments 

By the way, Jesus was not saying to ignore the other 5 of the 10 commandments or the other great commandment 

This was not an exhaustive list, Jesus was just basically telling the young man “you know what I mean” 

The young man’s response shows a lot about his character 

20  "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 

He told Jesus that he followed all these commands 

He was doing it right! 

He was a moral person that had compassion on others 

Loving his neighbor meant that he was probably using his great wealth to help others 

He was fair and generous and probably well-liked by everyone 

He then asked Jesus if there was anything else he was lacking 

I love what the Gospel of Mark says 

Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him … 

Here was a young man eager to serve God and do what was right 

He was following the law and in the eyes of society was doing everything right 

In fact, anyone looking at him would have thought that he had it all together – he was obviously in God’s favor 

Yet in his love for God he wanted to make sure 

He didn’t want to take any chances, so he asked Jesus if there was anything else he needed to do 

His eagerness to serve God and get it right was something that got Jesus’ attention 

Jesus looked at him and loved him 

There was still a huge issue in this young man’s life that needed to be dealt with 

And Jesus certainly deals with it, but in a very loving way 

Jesus did not yell, point fingers, or condemn this young man 

Jesus also did not speak to this young man uninvited – the young man asked Jesus and Jesus then responded in love 

Oh how I wish the Church would follow Jesus’ example in this! 

The young man asked and Jesus responded  

But I’m sure this young man was not expecting Jesus’ response 

21  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 

Here is where things start to get a little uncomfortable for some folks 

Why does it get uncomfortable? 

Because Jesus is asking this rich young ruler to give up literally everything 

People are okay talking about any topic where they are doing things right, but once you start to talk about something that people are not doing right they get a little uncomfortable 

I was at a conference a few years ago and the speaker was talking to pastors about preaching on money 

He said that most pastors shy away from preaching about money – and often times for good reason 

{elaborate} 

But then he made a comment that really caused me to stop and think 

He said “When you preach about adultery, the only people that get uncomfortable are the ones committing adultery. When you preach about lying the only ones that get uncomfortable are the people who are lying. And when you preach about money the only people who get uncomfortable are those who are not properly handling their money” 

I really believe this preacher was right 

I think the reason why so many people get uncomfortable with this Bible story and other passages about money is because, by and large, most of us do not handle our money properly 

And by properly I don’t mean having a budget 

I’m not even referring to tithing 

This is not a sermon about tithing 

What I’m referring to is the fact that we all have that one thing 

That thing that we refuse to surrender totally to God 

For many one of the areas that is difficult to surrender is their wallet 

And that is what I believe the issue was for this rich young ruler 

We must remember that the cross had not yet happened 

The Old Covenant was still in effect and this rich young ruler was apparently following the Laws of the Old Covenant just the way he should 

One of these laws was the tithe – giving 10% of your income back to God 

I am almost positive that this rich young man was tithing 

He was doing just what the Law commanded, but even though he was following all the rules there was still a problem in his heart and this problem centered around his money 

Money was his one thing – the area he had not totally turned over to God 

BTW: Jesus’ statement to sell everything and give it to the poor was not a blanket command for every Christian to do the same thing 

Never again in the New Testament do we see such a command – not from Jesus and not from any of the other New Testament writers 

Yes, in Acts 4 we are told that some people sold land or houses and gave the money to the Apostles 

But this was voluntary, not a rule, and not everyone did it 

Add to this the fact that Luke 8:3 talks about wealthy women who supported Jesus’ ministry and not once do we see Him telling these women to sell everything 

So Jesus’ statement to this rich, young man was not a blanket command, but was directed at this young man himself 

This young man had a problem that was keeping him from fully surrendering to God, and that problem was his money 

In fact this problem with money seems to be something that most rich people have because Jesus continues to talk about money 

Matthew 19:23, 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24  Again I tell 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."  

Again a pretty powerful statement 

Jesus is saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God! 

Jesus is speaking here in what we call hyperbole – using exaggeration to make a point 

Hyperbole is not meant to be taken literally 

What was the point that Jesus was trying to make? 

What was He saying about this rich young ruler and most other rich people? 

What is it about rich people that makes it very difficult for them to enter heaven? 

Jesus doesn’t say specifically, however when we put this story in context with the rest of the Gospel of Matthew I think we can make a very educated assumption 

In the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount He makes this comment 

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 

We don’t have time to get into the context in detail but let me summarize it for you 

Prior to this verse Jesus says not to lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves can break in and steal 

Right after this verse Jesus says not to worry about what we will eat or what we will wear, if we keep God number one in our lives He will take care of our needs 

So putting all of this into context I believe that the issue with many wealthy people is two fold 

1) They are laying up treasure on Earth, not in heaven 

In other words they are spending their money on their own wants, desires, and pleasures without considering how God wants them to spend their money 

2) They have the attitude of “if I do what God wants me to do with my money there won’t be enough left to take care of me” 

I think the bottom line is that Jesus was saying to the rich young ruler, and is saying to us today: 

“Do you trust me enough to give me control of your wallet?” 

 “Hey wait a minute Pastor Harry, I thought you said this message was not about tithing!” 

It’s not, it’s about surrendering control of your finances, and every other aspect of your life, to God 

If this message was about tithing I would be saying something along the lines of “give your 10% and everything between you and God will be copacetic!”  

Remember – the rich young ruler was almost certainly tithing 

God wants us to ask Him what to do with our resources 

For some people that might mean tithing 10% 

For others it may mean more or less 

The key is not the percentage you are giving, or even the amount you are giving 

Remember the story in Mark 12 about the widow that gave only 2 small copper coins? 

Jesus praised her because she gave everything she had while others gave only what was required 

Also, the primary point of my message is not about money at all 

We are simply using money as an example because so many people have an issue with it 

The primary point I am trying to bring across is that we all have that one thing that we have not surrendered to God 

That area of our life where we still control 100% 

That thing that we really do not want to give up 

For the rich young ruler it was money 

For others it may be an addiction, or a treasured possession, or a person, a reputation, a right for revenge, whatever 

What it is doesn’t matter so much 

What makes it an issue is that it is standing between you and the person God wants you to be 

It is preventing you from reaching your full potential in Jesus 

As we wrap things up I want to continue with the story in Matthew 19 

Right after Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich person to enter heaven we read this: 

Matthew 19:25- 30 25  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" 26  Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27  Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" 28  Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30  But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. 

The rich young ruler would have been the very model of “blessed” in our modern capitalistic society 

But Jesus is saying that real success is submitting everything to God 

Asking God what we are to do with our time, our talents, and our resources 

Again, the bottom line is do we trust God enough to take care of us? 

Is God big enough in your life for you to surrender everything, including that one thing? 

One final thing about the rich young ruler 

Many people assume he did not follow Jesus’ instructions 

In fact one preacher even wrote a sermon about this story titled “The man who went to hell with heaven on his mind.” 

The bottom line is that we do not know what the rich young ruler did 

He could have walked away from God at this point 

Many people do when God asks them to surrender everything 

He also could have done exactly as Jesus said and sold everything 

Just because he was sad about what Jesus said does not mean he didn’t do it 

I’d be sad too if God told me to sell everything 

It’s not that I have a lot, but I like what I have 

So, what is your one thing? 

What is it that you do not want to surrender to Jesus? 

What is holding you back? 

Will you give it all to Him today? 

If we want to enter the fullness of God’s Kingdom we must surrender it all