Series: Matthew and Money (Part 3)

Life tends to be easier for the wealthy. Education, travel, healthcare, and leisure are often accessible to those with means, while the poor face significant challenges. Money serves as a passport to safety, security, power, and pleasure. Yet, the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man reveals how easily money can become a burden. It can even become a barrier to life’s most crucial pursuit—eternal life.

Choosing fortune over faith.

The rich young ruler approached the right person in his quest for eternal life—Jesus, the Son of God. He asked a crucial question about eternal life, revealing his sincere interest in God. However, he ultimately turned his back on Jesus and went away sad, unwilling to surrender his wealth to follow Christ. In his dilemma, the man chose fortune over faith, short term rewards over lasting riches. Jesus discerned the man’s heart and saw that money was his god.

From Jesus’s broader ministry, we understand that access God’s eternal kingdom is granted to those who repent and believe in Christ (Matt 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 24:47). For this man, true repentance meant letting go of his false god, but he couldn’t. Wealth had a firm grip on him.

This is Matthew’s account:

Matthew 19:16-30

16 Just then 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, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall 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.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
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, “Truly I tell you, 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 wife 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 Gateway to Eternal Life

Eternal life is mentioned in the man’s original question (Matt 19:16) and then repeated four times by Jesus (Matthew 19:17, 23, 24, 29). Jesus affirmed the importance of the man’s question, which begs another question: What is eternal life, and why should we even desire it?

Solomon wrote, “Eternity is set in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Humans have an innate awareness or longing for something that endures beyond physical life. Even atheists grasp for life after death when their lives are threatened. There is a divine imprint on the human heart, because we were created for an eternal relationship with God.

Eternal life is more than a continuous stretch of years beyond the grave. It is a life filled with joy, peace, and fulfilment in God’s presence. It entails both salvation now and a future hope of being with God in the new heavens and new earth. The New Testament speaks of a future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) where believers are transformed and given glorified bodies that are free from sin and death. This is the treasure of eternal life that the rich man earnestly desired. He was asking a good question, but Jesus’ response was hard.

 Hard Sayings

There is only One who is goodIf 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” (Matt 19:17, 21).

You may be thinking, “Couldn’t Jesus have been less offensive and more affirming to the sincere young man? Wasn’t the man at least trying to obey God’s laws? Why’s Jesus such a perfectionist?” However, Jesus knew the man’s heart and loved him enough to tell him the truth. He wanted the rich man to understand that eternal life is not a human achievement.

No one can gain eternal life by being sincere about Jesus, by going to church, or being a pillar of the community. Jesus pointed out that even this respectable man, an ‘ideal candidate’, failed hopelessly in loving the Lord with all his heart, soul and mind (Deut 6:5). By worshipping the god of money, he broke at least the first three commandments, as well as the tenth commandment–Do not covet (Ex 20:3, 17, Matt 22:34-40).

Jesus uncovered the man’s idolatrous heart (Matt 19:21-22).  It was not enough for the rich man to assent to Jesus intellectually and then keep all his baggage. He could not love God if he was a lover of money. The man didn’t go away defiant, but sad, burdened by his possessions. He remained unchanged and turned his back on eternal life.

In Luke’s parallel account, it is noted that Jesus regarded the young man “with love.” Christ felt deep sorrow as he watched the man walk away despondent, having placed his trust in wealth and thereby forfeiting the only true and everlasting treasure.

A Camel And A Needle

The imagery of a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle is absurdly comical. It’s like a ten ton truck with an abnormal load trying to drive down a narrow alleyway. It highlights the impossibility of a wealthy individual approaching God with empty hands, seeking His mercy with childlike faith and humility. Doesn’t wealth often lure us into a sense of security, pride and self reliance? It is the very opposite of the dependant faith we need to enter God’s kingdom. Wealth tends to blind us to the fact that we are not masters of our fate and captains of our souls.

This must have shocked Jesus’s audience, who viewed wealth as a sign of God’s favour. No wonder the disciples were shocked and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Matt 19:25). Jesus led them straight to this hopeless cul de sac.

“Who Then Can Be Saved?”

The disciples’ rhetorical question strikes at the heart of the gospel. Can a leopard change its spots? Can a self-serving person  become a Christian by our own efforts? Is salvation ever a human achievement? The answer is clearly no.

By nature, we are hostile toward God; we do not seek or submit to Him, nor can we do so without divine intervention. “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom 1:10-12). It’s impossible to be perfect or clean up our act, because we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Without God’s intervening grace, no one has a hope of eternal life. Eternal life cannot be earned by adding virtue. It is a gift from God, who makes believers alive and leads them into eternal life.

Jesus didn’t come to earth to make us feel good about ourselves. He came to transform our hearts and save us from the death that we deserve. Eternal life begins the moment we place our faith in Him. In John 3:16 and 36, Jesus claimed to be the gateway to eternal life, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”(John 17:3). Ultimately, eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus describes his eternal kingdom as a man finding a “hidden treasure,” a “pearl of great price”. Its value far exceeds any short-term cost of discipleship (Matt 13:51-52). Christ himself is the priceless treasure.

“With God, All Things Are Possible”

“With God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26).

Jesus’s words are reassuring for those who know that our hearts are idol factories, deceitful and desperately sick. (Jer 17:9) By sheer grace, our God performs extraordinary acts of redemption that we cannot even fathom. Ezekiel reminds us of God’s Old Testament promise to cleanse His people of their sins and idols, to give them new hearts, and to write His law on their hearts. Their stony hearts will be replaced with hearts of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:25-26 gives us hope that with God, all things are indeed possible: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel’s prophecy beautifully captures God’s promise of renewal and transformation for His people. Only God can grant us repentant hearts that willingly abandon everything for Christ and worship Him with devotion. With such transformation, we are able to cast aside our idols and respond to Jesus’s daily call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

These words of Jesus should inspire hope in every parent of a prodigal son or daughter, in every believer who prays relentlessly for their loved ones to turn to Christ and live. God rescues even the most unlikely individuals—rich and poor alike. Even Levi, the rich young man who recounted this story, left earthly treasures behind to gain the true treasure of Christ. With God, all things are possible!

“We’ve Left Everything to Follow You!”

Peter exclaims, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Like us, Peter wants reassurance that it’s been worth the sacrifice.

Jesus offers both encouragement and a warning: those who leave their earthly ties for His sake will receive abundantly and inherit eternal life. Yet, He also cautions, “But many who are first will be last.” This serves as a warning against complacency for every Christian. While the disciples had left everything to follow Jesus, leaving all does not guarantee faithfulness. Judas faltered, while Saul the persecutor became a devoted follower of Christ.

When Jesus challenges us to let go of our baggage, are we ready to follow His call?

Money is deceptive, as it promises a lot and takes up much of our time and energy. Accumulating possessions can weigh us down in our journey with Christ, and wealth turns many away from the narrow road to eternal life.  Jesus knows our covetous hearts and loves us as much as he loved the rich man. He knows how money can easily become a burden and a barrier.

If we are clinging to surrogate gods, our testimony will mirror the sad young man who walked away from Jesus. There is no deeper cause for regret than pursuing worldly gains at the expense of our souls. As Jesus said, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matt 16:26).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, shine your lamp on the hidden areas in our lives and help us to use our wealth to love you and others. Expose the barriers that obstruct us in following you with devoted hearts. Show us the priceless value of your eternal kingdom so we are willing to surrender lesser things. Thank you for emptying yourself of your glory and paying the ultimate price for our redemption. Guard our hearts against envy, greed and covetousness, so we are free to throw off every weight that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. In Jesus Name, Amen.

 

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