A Greater Wealth

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "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."  "Which ones?" the man inquired.  Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' " "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"  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."  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.  Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man 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 a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When his disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Matthew 19:16-26

This is one of my most favorite passages, because there is so much meaning within it.  I'll just go ahead and start at the beginning and work through it.  It may puzzle some people why Jesus asked the man "Why do you ask me about what is good?"  And then that there is no response from the young man.  I suppose Jesus did not wait for a response, which means it must have been a rhetorical question.  Instead Jesus kinda answers his own question when he says "There is only One who is good."  I think what Jesus is really saying here is this - 'Do you really believe that I know anything about good?  If so, then you must believe that I am of the Father, because only the Father is good and knows good.'  It is Jesus' way of alluding to the fact that he is Son of God, though as he so often does, he reveals himself slowly, rather than plainly and all at once.

When Jesus tells the man that he must obey the commandments the man wisely asks "Which ones?"  You may think its a dumb question, but given that the teachers of the law had added all sorts of rules to the Law, it makes sense to ask.  Its also endearing to me that this man is practical.  He wants to know exactly what to do and he's asking the right man about it.  All he can do is all he can do, and he wants to know what it is that he must do.  Jesus answers him.  Notice which laws Jesus mentions.  Other than the vertical laws, the first four commandments of the Ten, he leaves out 'Do not covet'.  This is the commandment, of the Ten, that this man probably struggled with.  You might be thinking 'why?'  This man is rich, why would he covet?  Precisely because he is rich.  Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Rich people are most often focused on riches, and there will always be someone richer than they are.  They covet everything they don't have, because of the fact that there is so much they do have.  With much people begin to think that everything can be, and should be, theirs.  That's why this man could not give up his wealth, and why he went away sad.  So Jesus gave him one moment of gratification before he hit him with the requirement that would pierce his heart.

So what does it mean?  Can a rich person enter life?  Jesus says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.  That's Jesus' satirical way of saying that its impossible.  Don't think about it too long, you will never get a camel to go through the eye of a needle.  And when the disciples heard it they were astonished.  They believed that the first people that would be able to enter heaven would be the rich.  They thought that a rich person's wealth was a sign that God was pleased with them, and that they were blessed.  Now, if the rich cannot enter heaven, who can?  No one.  No one without God's assistance, that is.  With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

What this means for us today is that we must trust in the Lord to be our Savior.  We cannot do it but he can.  It also means that there are much greater things in heaven than what we could possibly attain on earth.  Just as Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."  We have the opportunity, just like that rich young ruler, to turn our earthly treasure into heavenly treasure.  Does it mean that we won't be saved if we don't?  I can't really answer that question, but I do think that a saved person would certainly want to.  Why waste your life working for money when you know that you'll die someday and you can't take it with you?  I mean, all we need each day is enough to live on and nothing more.  Those things that would be 'more' are nothing but distractions, and yes, I do think that being wealthy makes it much harder to be a Christian.  Your mind will be occupied with your wealth, and again like Jesus said, your heart will be too.  Instead we should focus on everything we can do for the Kingdom, everything for the glory of God.  If we do that we are not only pleasing to the Lord, but also making the wise decision to build up treasure in heaven, and that treasure will never be lost.