Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:13-30 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them to come to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

¹⁶ And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” ¹⁷ And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” ²⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 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 farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

In today’s text it says: Someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”  Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.  And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

It is significant that Jesus says: “if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”  Many people seem to rely solely on what Jesus says in John 3:16: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”   Ephesians 2:8-10 says: By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  We are not saved as a result our works; by keeping the commandments, but if we truly believe in Jesus, the result will be that we will walk in the good works He has prepared for us and prepared us for. We cannot say that we believe in Jesus and not keep His commandments.

It is also significant that Jesus says: “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  I never stop being amazed at how much of the church today focusses on the very thing that Jesus says will make it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven. So many focus on the prosperity that believers should enjoy in the faith, when wealth and riches can actually be a stumbling block. In John 10:10 Jesus does say: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  The abundance of Christ though is not the same as what the world would consider abundance. It is not an excess of material things or lavish living. Those can be distractions from and hindrances to the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus says: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”  Wealth and prosperity become our master when seeking and striving to obtain them become our priority. It is not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to love money more than God. 1 Timothy 6:10 says: 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.  Paul offers us a great explanation of what the abundant life in Christ should look like. In Philippians 4:11-13:  I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. The abundant life we are to have in Christ begins with being content in Him regardless of our circumstances. A gospel of prosperity does nor preach well in impoverished places, but the gospel of contentment, of all of our needs being met in Christ, is universal.   In Psalm 37:4, David, of whom God said, I have found a man after my own heart, says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  It may not be that we get everything we ever wanted, it is that in Him we have all that we need. In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says:  “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 neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In today’s text it says: Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”  In Mark’s account, in Mark 10:29-31 it says it a little differently: “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”  To expect and pursue only that we would have blessings and provision without difficulties and persecutions in the present age is not in line with what Jesus says. It also seems that it is not what we see as evidence in the lives of those who walked with God in scripture. Those who were greatly blessed by God, also had their share of suffering and difficulties. Consider Job, Moses, David, Solomon and of course the apostles and disciples of Jesus who were martyred for their faith.

As we saw in yesterday’s meditation, may the words and the heart of David the psalmist be our prayer and declaration. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.  Amen