Matthew 19:16-22

Matthew 19:16-22

And behold!  After one drew near to Him he said, “Teacher, what good should I do in order that I should have life eternal?”  And He said to him, “Why do you ask me about the good thing?  One is good.  And if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He said to Him, “Which?”  And Jesus said, “You will not murder, you will not commit adultery, you will not steal, you will not bear false witness, honor the father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man says to Him, “I obediently observed all these.  What yet do I lack?”  Jesus was saying to Him, “If you desire to be perfect, go away.  Sell the things that belong to you and give to the poor.  And you will have treasure in heaven.  And come follow me.”  And after the young man heard the words, he went away while being sad.  For he was having many acquisitions.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In the middle of this passage, Jesus makes a very humbling statement.  The young man asks Jesus about goodness, and Jesus is quick to correct Him.  In other Gospel stories, the young man calls Jesus good, but in this story the young man merely asks about good things.  Jesus’ response is still the same, though.  Jesus reminds the young man that there is only one who is good: the Father.  God is good alone.  If we take this thought seriously, it exposes serious problems in our world.  How often do we hear people around us talking about each other as “good people!”  Yet what does Jesus teach here?  Jesus deflects the characteristic of good even away from Himself!  We are not good people.  We are sinners in need of God.  Only God is good.  Only one is good: the Father.  

What does it really mean to believe that only one is good?  Do you truly believe this teaching of Christ?

For an Old Testament parallel to this teaching, see Psalm 14.

Second Thought:

Ultimately, I think that this is one of the more sad stories in the New Testament.  Here is a young man who genuinely seemed willing to listen – or at least inquire.  Even if he came to justify himself, he certainly wasn’t coming to entrap Jesus like the Pharisees or Sadducees.  The reason that it is sad is because here we see that a willing and inquiring heart comes to Jesus and goes away sad.  He makes the wrong decision.  He cannot put aside his possessions for the sake of Christ.  He cannot give up what little he has in this life in order to receive the benefit of eternal life and all of God’s blessing that comes with it.

What do you have in your life that would cause you stress if God asked you to give it up?  Do you have anything that you absolutely would not be able to give up?  What do your answers here tell you about yourself?

Third Thought:

I find this young man troubling for deeper reasons than I state above.  Here is a man who is seeking eternal life.  He is genuinely interested in what Jesus is teaching.  In fact, by his own admission he is already trying to follow the Law out of obedience, even!  He seems to have everything going for him.  Yet, as I mention above, he doesn’t choose to follow God.  We can have all the external trappings of genuine faith.  We can seem obedient to God.  We can have genuine interest in His ways.  But in the end, if we aren’t following Him then we aren’t really His.  If He asks us to give something up and we refuse, then we really belong more to that which we won’t give up than we belong to Christ.  External interest and obedience can never cover for internal submission to Him.

Is Christ truly first in your life?  Where in your life do you proclaim obedience but in reality you aren’t quite as submissive as you present?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 19:23-30