Matthew 19:16-26 #1

Matthew 19:16-26 #1
The story of the rich young ruler has many lessons. The appropriate place to begin is to understand the motive and thinking of the ruler. There are many ways in which we should be impressed with this man. First, even though he is a young man he has excelled rapidly in his life. He is a ruler (Lk. 18:18). He may have been a ruler of a synagogue or a secular ruler. He had obviously also been aggressive and successful in secular affairs so that he attained great wealth. Most importantly, he served God and had a great desire for eternal life. If this man were a member of one of our churches today there is little question that we would think of him as being in good standing with God. If he died as a member of the church where we attended, would we not hear a fine sermon on how righteous he was and what a great man of faith?Now look at this man’s motive. Who could fault it? He came running to Jesus (Mk. 10:17), knelt before Him and asked what good thing he could do to have everlasting life. This man wants to go to heaven. He wants to go badly enough that he is asks the Lord what he can do and even what he lacks to reach the goal. How could he possibly be lost? Even the disciples were shocked when Jesus denied him the kingdom. But there is more to his motive than meets the eye. The motive was good, the method, however, was lacking. This man is taking the typical Jewish approach to salvation. “What good thing can I do…” He sees salvation as a “works system.” He is looking for some big work that will score him a lot of points with God so that he can assure himself of salvation. He sees salvation as dependent on how good he is and how many good works he has done. Jesus shows him his fault by telling him to sell all and come and follow Him. Salvation is dependent on the grace and mercy of the Lord. The condition of that salvation is that we give ourselves up completely for Him. Anything the Lord asks of us, we must do. “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:23).
Berry Kercheville