“The Rich Young Ruler”
Matthew 19: 16-22
May 19, 2013
Intro: A new missionary was assigned a car that wouldn’t start w/o a push. After pondering his problem, he came up w/a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of the class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this tactic for 2 years until an illness caused him and his family to leave. When his replacement came, he explained the car situation to the man.
-As he talked @ how creative his plan was to run the car, the new missionary popped the hood and was looking at the engine as the missionary spoke. Before he finished, he new missionary said, “Hey, I see a loose cable here.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, turned the key, and to the old missionary’s surprise, the engine roared to life.
-For 2 years he’d come up w/a routine that was totally unnecessary. The power had been there all the time. But a loose connection had kept him from being able to put that power to work.
-This story’s very similar to the story we’re going to examine in the Bible. There was a man who was trying to come up w/a plan for how to live his life in a way that would be pleasing to God. It was an admirable desire. But there was a loose cable in his relationship w/God. And instead of fixing the cable, he was coming up w/a routine that left the power of God out of his life altogether.
-The name of our series for this month is called “Breaking Bad.” And we’re looking at people throughout the Bible who ended up in places they never dreamed. We’ve seen King David, called a man after God’s own heart, separated from God b/c of adultery and murder. We’ve seen the incredible strength of Samson collapse around him as he put himself at the center of his world instead of God. We’ve seen the spies in Israel headed to the land promised to them by God, only to begin to doubt God’s power. And each time, the people ended up in places they never wanted to be.
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see a young man approach Jesus and ask Him the most important question of all time...”What must I do to have eternal life?” That is a GREAT question! There were a lot of things this young man did right. But he made a series of mistakes that led him to missing out on the power of God in His life; that led him in the direction of breaking bad.
TEXT: MATTHEW 19: 16-22
Bckgrd: At this point, Jesus was still very popular. Crowds of people were still gathering around to listen to Him teach. People were seeking Him out b/c they wanted to hear what He had to say. During this time of teaching, a rich, young ruler approached Jesus and asked Him a question all people want to know the answer to.
-”What must I do to have eternal life?” I love the question! But there was a problem w/it. He was looking for an answer that wouldn’t inconvenience him. And b/c that was his natural bent, he ended up, like so many of us, breaking bad.
-What we’re going to see today is some key mistakes of the rich, young ruler. His 1st mistake was:
1: HE DIDN’T RECOGNIZE JESUS AS LORD (v. 16)
Exp: This story is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And when you combine the stories, here’s what you come up with. We learn the man who asked Jesus this question was rich, young and a ruler. Ruler of what? Very likely the ruler of the local synagogue. He was probably of the more traditional sect of the faith which would’ve been ruled by the Pharisees b/c he was asking @ eternal life. The liberal sect of the faith, the Sadduccees, didn’t believe in eternal life.
A.As I look at the beginning of this story I see that this man was on the right track in so may ways. First, he came to Jesus! Next, he came to Jesus w/the RIGHT question! But you can see a recognition problem midway thru v. 16 when he addresses Jesus as “Teacher.” Obviously there was nothing wrong w/this title. It was a term of respect. The man recognized that Jesus was somebody worth listening to.
1.If you look in the previous verses you’ll see was being asked questions by religious figures trying to trip Him up b/c they were jealous. You can see Him being asked @ controversial subjects like divorce and runaway slaves. Mothers were brining their children to be blessed by Jesus. So the young and rich man knew there was something different @ this Jesus. He realized Jesus was a man worthy of his respect.
a.But his recognition stopped short. While he saw Jesus as a worthy teacher, he didn’t see Jesus as LORD. And you know what my fear is? My fear is that many of us don’t see Jesus as Lord either. We see Him as a good teacher. We see Him as a nice guy. But the whole idea of Him being “Lord” is a little much for most people.
b.Why? Well, think of what the name “Lord” means. In a nutshell it means “Master.” It means “Boss.” And most people I know have very little interest in someone being their boss. Most of us had rather BE the boss, or at least we’d rather be free form having anyone hold us accountable. I’m just like you. I like it when I can do whatever I want, whatever I please, w/o having anyone telling me what to do.
2.My gut feeling is this young man saw himself as Lord and was looking for advice on how he could keep hold of being in charge of his own life and yet reap the benefits of God being the Savior. How can I say that? B/c when you look at the entire context of the story you see the man is trying to figure out how he could remain in charge of all that he had.
a.As much as things change, the more they stay the same! The concept of Jesus as Lord is still an issue we struggle w/today. We like the idea of Jesus being SAVIOR. Everyone in here is going to say, “When I die I WANT to go to heaven!” But before heaven’s attainable, we have to be willing to give up CONTROL of our lives and open ourselves up to Jesus being our MASTER! Remember what Jesus said to His disciples when He called them? He said, “Come, follow Me!” He didn’t say, “Hey, can I follow you?”
b.None of us, on our own, does anything good enough to merit eternal life. Rom 3: 10-12 is very clear @ this. It starts off by telling us that there is no one good! So if we’re going to be able to be a part of God’s family and reap the benefits of eternal life, it requires us to surrender our very lives to the only one who is good...God! It requires us to give up control of living for self and living under the leadership of God.
B.Think @ the question logically. What do we gain if we live under our own will and leadership? Well, we get to do what WE want. We can accumulate a lot of stuff. And those things can be fun! It’s nice when everything revolves around us.
1.But how long does that stuff last? Only as long as you do, and that’s not very long. It’s why Jesus said in Matt. 16: 24-26, “If anyone wants to come w/Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life b/c of Me will find it. What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life?”
a.The rich, young ruler misidentified Jesus. He didn’t see Jesus as Lord. Instead, he saw himself as lord. And the result is he had the whole world by the tail, but the cost was his soul; the cost was his eternity.
ILLUS: A man found a young eagle that had fallen out of its nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens in the coop. One day a man came by the man’s farm and saw the eagle walking around in the chicken coop scratching and picking at the corn.
-He asked why the eagle was doing that. The man told him that since he’d given it chicken feed and taken care of it like a chicken, the eagle thought he was a chicken. The man said, “Surely it still has the heart of an eagle and can learn to fly!” But the eagle just kept on scratching at the dirt. He had no idea that he’d been created to be the king of the sky.
b.In a similar sense, God has created us to soar in this life but way too many of us settle for scratching at the ground for a few grains of corn here and there. We’ve traded in a life of flying for a life of being contained w/in the fences of this life.
2.So here’s the question. Who’s Lord in your life? Is it you or is it Christ? A good way to find out is simply to examine the decisions you make in how you treat others, how you spend your $, how you spend your time. Do you seek and follow God’s direction or your own?
Reit: The 1st mistake the rich, young ruler made is he didn’t recognize Jesus as Lord. The 2nd mistake he made was:
2: HE DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIS OWN FAULTS (vv. 17-21)
Exp: The young man had asked Jesus how to have eternal life. What’s very intriguing @ this is that it’s not like it was some secret. It’s not like there are a bunch of hoops to jump thru in order to “earn” your way into heaven. So how did Jesus answer the question? He starts off by telling him that if he wants eternal life it begins w/obedience to Him. This is a part of Jesus being LORD! Obedience is surrender! It’s dying to self and living for Him! How do we do that? Jesus tells him to follow His commands. The young man responds w/an interesting question.
A.He asks Jesus which ones he’s supposed to follow. And Jesus then names 6 of the 10 commandments. What @ the first 4? By not mentioning them, Jesus wasn’t saying they weren’t important. The 1st 4 commandments deal w/our relationship w/God. The last 6 deal w/the practice of the 1st four!
1.So the idea is that it’s not just enough to KNOW the commandments, but it is to LIVE them; to put them into practice. And one who has Jesus as Lord of their life will, as a natural by-product, keep the commandments of God. Jesus said in John 14: 15, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.”
a.Well, the young man gives a good response. He tells Jesus he’s kept all of these commandments! Then he says, “What do I still lack?” Concerning outward obedience, this guy must’ve been stellar! He was checking off all the little religious boxes, just like we do. I went to church this morning...check. I read my Bible...check. I prayed...check. I put money in the offering basket...check. I opened the door for a little old lady...check.
b.None of those things are wrong! But we can’t forget that God doesn’t just look at our outward actions, but He also examines the motivations of our heart! Heb. 4: 12-13, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
2.The young man said, “I’ve performed all these tasks! What else do you want from me?” And Jesus goes right to the man’s heart. In v. 21 He tells him to give away all he has to the poor and then come follow Him.
a.The man performed all the religious stuff on the outside. But Jesus wasn’t interested in all the outer activities of this man’s life. He was interested in where his heart was. And the man’s heart was w/the stuff of THIS world. He wanted to hang on to his wealth MORE than anything. So Jesus told him, “If you really want eternal life, then you have to surrender all that you have and come follow Me.”
b.Just as a side note, Jesus wasn’t telling us that we gain eternal life if we give away all that we have. The problem wasn’t the man’s wealth. The problem was his heart was w/his wealth. Jesus said in Matt. 6: 21, “For where you treasure is there will your heart be also.”
B.What is it you value most in life? What is it that you refuse to relinquish in your life? B/c whatever it is, that’s what you treasure and that’s where your heart is. And if your heart is w/anything other than following God; if you’re heart is w/anything that pulls you AWAY from obedience to the Lord, you’re called to let it go. Why? B/c the stuff of this world weighs us down. It trips us up and causes us not to run the race of life well!
1.Heb. 12: 1-2, “let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us, and run w/endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus.”
ILLUS: There are a lot of hindrances that trip us up in walking w/God; that keep us from living a life surrendered to Jesus. Imagine you are at a track meet, and they’re lining up for the 100 meter dash. Everything’s fine except for one contestant. Instead of the regular shorts and track shoes, he’s wearing a snowmobile suit and galoshes. Now that’s probably not against the rules, but he’s not going to win, if he even survives the race. -Why? B/c the clothes he’s wearing will be a hindrance to his success! Let me encourage you to do this. Take an inventory of your life to see if there are any hindrances to your walk with God. B/c if you want to run the race of life well, you need to recognize the things in your life that are holding you up in your walk w/God and then be willing to remove those things from your life.
Reit: The 1st mistake the rich, young ruler made was he didn’t recognize Jesus as Lord. The 2nd mistake was he didn’t recognize his own faults. And the final mistake he made was:
3: HE WENT AWAY (v. 22)
Exp: This same story is told in Mark 10. And from that reading of this story we learn that when the young man came to Jesus, he did so running to Him! But by the time he leaves Jesus we see him walking away grieving. This young man messed up when he saw life as revolving around him! And there are a lot of times when we all fall into this same trap.
A.A prime example is when we’re driving! If someone cuts us off we’re TOTALLY offended! How dare they drive in FRONT of me like that! How dare that person think he can PASS me! So what do we do? We cut them off at the next opportunity. Or we can speed our car up so they can’t get ahead of us. Why do we do that?
1.I’ve actually thought @ this for a while. And all I can come up w/is this. We like to think the world revolves around us! And when someone breaks the news to is that it doesn’t, we take offense and decide we’re not going to hang around someone who doesn’t think WE are the center of the universe!
a.There is no doubt in my mind that this man was concerned for his soul. It’s why he asked Jesus what he had to do to have eternal life. He was absolutely committed to finding out how to have eternal life. In our text he prods Jesus a little deeper when he asked him what he lacked in his life that was keeping him from life eternal. It’s obvious he knew he was lacking something so he asked Jesus what it was he was missing.
b.What was he missing? A TOTAL surrender of his life to God! Where he made the mistake is that when he heard what Jesus wanted him to do he was grieved. Another word for “grieved” is “sad.” He was sad b/c Jesus was asking him to give up that which was most important to him in his life...his possessions.
2.And he responded to Jesus’ request by walking away. Isn’t that tragic? Jesus gives him the answer to eternal life, which is to place your faith and confidence in Him w/obedience, and he walked away from the answer!
a.That’s real easy to just sort of skim over but I want you to digest this for a minute. You’ve just been given the cure for cancer. You know what it’s going to take, not just to get a few more years out of life, but to actually be healed! You’d think a normal, sane person would REJOICE in this news! But in our text, it’d be like YOU walking away from the answer to cancer!
b.That would be idiotic! None of us are going to do that! It’s real easy for me to be judgmental towards the rich man and think, “He was an idiot.” Yet the fact is it’s our tendency to trade in the things of God for the things of this world! Think of the times when you’ve traded in God’s desires for your life for your own.
B.Can you think of times when you’ve chosen dishonesty over truth? Can you think of times when you’ve sold out your faith to do things you shouldn’t do just to be a part of the IN crowd? Can you think of times when you chose to respond in meanness instead of forgiveness to satisfy YOUR feelings?
1.When we do this we’re showing by our ACTIONS that our treasure is firmly rooted in THIS life. So why did this man walk away from Jesus’ answer on how he could have eternal life? B/c he loved the pleasures of THIS world more than the treasures of God.
a.His outlook was short-term and not long-term. Now in the short term it worked out b/c he got to keep all of his stuff. But in the long-term it cost him eternity! What do you think is the better trade-off? My hope for you AND for me is that we’ll respond to God like Moses did.
b.Heb. 11: 24-26, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer w/the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.”
Conclusion: The rich man in our text made 3 critical errors in his life that caused him to break bad, to end up in a place he never wanted to be. His mistakes were he didn’t recognize Jesus as Lord; he didn’t recognize his own faults; and finally, he went away.
-If you want to see if you’re on track to break bad or if you’re on track to break good, do a check list on what you truly treasure in life. Some of you might be ready to place your treasure in Christ. If you’d like to do that, it’s time for you to invest your life in Him. You can do that by praying this prayer to God:
-Dear Jesus, today I’m investing myself in you. I realize I’m sinful and I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I believe you died for me and rose from the grave and I’m asking you to be the Lord and Savior of my life.
