Matthew 19

The Hardest Thing For Humanity To Do

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Jesus said unto him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.  Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
“Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:21-26

Jesus has just given to the rich young man words of great instruction, and He does not give himself to the word and will of the Lord.  The man had asked Jesus, “What thing might I do that I might receive eternal life?”   Jesus’s answer is basically telling him to obey the law.  Jesus only uses the last six of the 10 Commandments, sums it all up by saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said that he had been obedient to live by them since his youth until this day, then he asked, “What do I lack?”

Jesus gives him an answer that is quite hard to conceive, and is very difficult for someone who has many things materially, yet that is not   this man’s main problem.  He does not need to be perfect, he needs Jesus.  He only sees Jesus as a good man.  He sees his wealth as being more important than repentance, and faith in God or His Son.

Remember the young man was asking what he had to do to have or to earn eternal life.  The Law says, “Obey every commandment, and you will be saved, or right with God.”  James, the brother of our Lord teaches that if we break one law we are guilty of breaking the whole law (James 2:10).

All of Adam kind (mankind) are condemned, and headed toward eternal torment except they are perfectly keeping every law of God which is impossible.  Only one Man has been faithful to the obedience to the Law of God, and that was God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

You cannot earn eternal life.  It is a gift given by God the Father, and the Son to come to earth to die in our place, be laid in a grave, and to be raised by the Spirit of God, never to die again.  Doing so secures our eternal life when we ourselves to Him, and eternal salvation.

The hardest thing for mankind to do is to stop working for their salvation.  We cannot save ourselves from our set path, since we were born into sin, and all its darkness, and condemnation.  Some of you reading this may think that God will see all my good works and deeds, and they will outweigh the bad I have done.  Not so.  If you flaunt your good works before God, He will declare unto you, “O do not know you,”  and you will be cast out into eternal torment.

Jesus is the only was to heaven and to eternal life.  He paid our sin debt which was death, an eternal death which separates from God.

Believe Him.  Call on His name, and be saved by grace through faith in Him alone.  With God all things are possible.

The hardest thing for you to do is to give up trying to earn your salvation from death.  If you will do so though you will find yourself eternally blessed through Christ Jesus.

What God Has Joined Together

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And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; and great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto “Him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”  And He answered and said unto them,
“Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?’  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Matthew 19:1-6

Which Ones?

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And, behold, one came and said unto Him, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” And He said unto him,
“Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He saith unto him, “Which?” Jesus said,
“Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
The young man saith unto Him, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” Jesus said unto him,
“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.                                              Matthew 19:16-22

There is an eternal peril who have possession of great riches, in material things. There is also eternal peril to those who do not have those possessions.

The “rich young ruler” who came to Jesus supposed that he could have eternal life by doing something good. He asked Jesus, “…What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” That is an assumption that most people make; that eternal life is attainable by some good deed.

If we look at the commandments Jesus gave to the young man, they are four of the final six of the Ten Commandments, and all have to do with how we treat our neighbor. The rich young man believes he has been obedient to all those Jesus has mentioned; and Jesus has not mentioned the first of the Commandments which have to do with our relationship to God.

This young man’s relationship with God was not what it ought to be. He had riches which blinded his eyes to God and to seeing Jesus for who He truly is.

We of Adam’s race must realize that all things are God’s. What we have in our possession, and under our feet is not ours. No matter whether you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ or an non theist – All Things are God’s.

Would you like to have eternal life? Then be perfect. That is not going to happen except by realizing you are imperfect, lost, dying in sin, and calling on the name of Jesus Christ who died on the cross  for our sins, was buried, and He rose again; and in doing so gives eternal life to all who have received Him.

Jesus Questioned on Marriage and Divorce

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“The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?’ And He answered and said unto them,
‘Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?’
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.’
They say unto Him, ‘Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?’ He saith unto them,
‘Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.’ ” Matthew 19:3-9

Words Of Jesus; Son Of God, God The Son -072920

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“And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; and great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them there.
The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?’ And He answered and said unto them,
‘Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?’ Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.’
They say unto Him, ‘Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?’
He saith unto them,
‘Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.’
His disciples say unto Him, ‘If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.’ But He said unto them,
‘All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.’ ”  Matthew 19:1-12

The Cost of Wealth

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To many who have great wealth it is their life.  The wealthy without God, are always grasping for more.

“And, behold, one came and said unto Him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ And He said unto him, ‘Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He saith unto Him, ‘Which?’ Jesus said, ‘Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The young man saith unto Him, ‘All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?’ Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.’
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto His disciples, ‘Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’” Matthew 19:16-26  (KJB)

What was the cost to this young rich man?  It cost him his soul and eternity.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy…

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10

The verse from 1 Timothy is not saying that money is evil, but rather the “love of money”.  Money over God.  Wealth over peace with God.  Prosperity rather than love for God.

What will your wealth cost you?