Focus: Jesus calls us to invest in the kingdom of God by possibly divesting our wealth.
Function: To encourage the people to invest in the kingdom of God
Text: Matthew 19:16-30
When I was about 10 years old, I began to earn some pocket money by helping our neighbors picking beans. I came home with my hard earned money and was ready to spend it right a way on a wristwatch. But my mother told me that I had to put the money in the bank to save it for the future. “What for?” I asked. “So that you have money to buy furniture and pay for a down payment of a house when you get married,” she said. Well, at the age of 10 I was not thinking about marriage, and I had a hard time understanding why I should bother with the distant future.
My parents were on to something, however: planning for the future is good and wise. Throughout the years, I’ve heard this message over and over again: Plan for, save for, invest for the future. But can someone here tell me how much is enough? How much is enough to step in the boat of marriage? How much is enough to live on with your family? How much is enough to retire with? And what about being content with what you have? Why am I always looking for more: more wage increases, more property, more living space in the house, more toys, more this and more that? And why do I find myself sometimes worry about retirement? And why is it that giving to charitable causes, including the ministries of the church, often suffers at the expense of personal goals and dreams and pleasures?
As we consider our role as stewards of our God-given resources, we enter the story of Jesus’ encounter with this rich young man. And through the story, we hear the Lord Jesus calling us to invest in the kingdom of God by possibly divesting our wealth and resources. If I want to possess eternal life and thus follow Jesus, I may have to give up my pursuit of earthly wealth. I may have to divest in order to invest.
The story in Matthew’s gospel shows us that Jesus was not always successful in making disciples. That was not Jesus’ fault, however. It was the man’s failure to divest himself that led to his disappointment with Jesus’ call to invest in the kingdom of God. What do we know about this man?
In the gospel of Matthew, we learn that he is a YOUNG man (vs. 22); and that he is a RICH man (vs. 22) “…he had great wealth.” We learn that he is a DEVOUT OR RIGHTEOUS man. For example, he recognizes Jesus as a Rabbi or Teacher, someone who knows the Law of Moses and who may be able to give him religious answers: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” And since this man keeps the commandments of God, he certainly would be considered a righteous man. In the Gospel of Mark, we note that Jesus “loved him.” Jesus recognizes something in this man’s heart that resonates with him. This man is a son of Abraham, a covenant child, a potential disciple of Jesus.
What else do we know about this person? He is worried about missing out on something. For this rich man, the idea of lacking something is a nightmare. From a human, financial point of view, he’s got it all. But he is worried about lacking eternal life. “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” And when Jesus points him to the commandments of God, reciting a number of them, the rich young man said: “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” You can almost feel the anxiety in his question. This rich man can’t stomach the idea that he is lacking something. He wants it all: earthly wealth now and eternal life later.
As I ponder Jesus’ reply to this young man, I think of Jesus as a doctor and this young man as a patient. The patient comes to Jesus with a problem: I am lacking something. How can I get eternal life? What must I do? Like a good doctor, Jesus examines the man; he directs the man to God: “Only God is good.” Then he takes the man’s pulse and checks out the man’s vitals by using the second tablet of the Law of Moses:
Do you keep the 6th commandment? (You shall not murder). Do you keep the 7th commandment? (You shall not commit adultery); What about the 8th commandment? (You shall not steal); And don’t forget the 9th. What about the 9th commandment? (You shall not bear false witness). All of these commandments are about loving your neighbor as yourself.
As the Lord Jesus examines the man’s vital signs of keeping the Law of God, the man feels good about himself. There are no aches and pains when it comes to the commandments that Jesus has checked off his list of vital signs. So far, so good. The patient seems to be in good shape. But of course, the rich young man is still anxious about lacking eternal life. So the man says: “All these commandments (you just mentioned) I have kept. What do I still lack?”
Ah, now the great physician is ready to examine and press the hidden tumor deep down this man’s heart. Jesus now applies the only remaining commandment he did not mention earlier from the second tablet of God’s Law—the 10th commandment about coveting, about wanting more and more, about greed, about idolatry, about our heart’s loyalties—either to God, or to Mammon, either to Christ, or to possessions and earthly riches. Thus Jesus says:
“If you want to be perfect (that is, if you want to get eternal life by running on all the cylinders of obedience to God’s commandments), then you must also keep the 10th commandment. That is: “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Sometimes, the medicine that the doctor prescribes for us tastes horribly. We rather do without it. In this case, doctor Jesus prescribes for this rich young man a bitter pill. And the man says: “No, thanks!” And, says Matthew in his gospel: “…he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” He is not willing to divest his wealth and transfer or invest his loyalties to Jesus so that he may have eternal life.
SOME INSIGHTS
Jesus diagnoses the rich young man’s problem as one of being enslaved to his wealth; this man is not a steward of his resources; he is a slave. His possessions have taken a hold of him in such a way that he is bound or hooked to his wealth. This man does not use earthly wealth to serve God and neighbor; no, he bows down to his possessions and makes an idol of worship out of it. He does not manage his wealth for God; rather, his wealth has become his god.
Jesus’ prescription for this man is radical surgery: divest to invest. Listen to these action verbs:
“go”—there is immediacy in Jesus’ voice; “sell your possessions”—divest, get rid of your properties and stocks and gold coins. No, don’t translate your wealth into a stockpile of cash to sit on; Rather, “give to the poor”—that is, sever your allegiance to your possessions. No longer seek your security in your wealth.
But then I have nothing left to hang on to, the young man thinks. But that’s not the case. For Jesus says: “…and you will have treasure in heaven.” In fact, you will have what is lacking. You will have eternal life. How can I take possession of such a great treasure as eternal life, you ask? Listen to Jesus: “Then come, follow me!”
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus provides access to our Father in heaven; Jesus invites us to enter his rule of heaven, to participate in the kingdom of God. How? By divesting our earthly loyalties and treasures and by investing ourselves in Jesus and his heavenly rule on earth.
Perhaps, you wonder if Jesus’ prescription to this rich young man is a prescription that applies to all rich Christians. In other words, is Jesus saying to everyone of us that we must sell our possessions, give to the poor and follow him? If that were the case, then all Christians would be poor. Then you could say that poverty is the true mark of a Christian. I think that Jesus’ medicine to this rich young man applies to anyone of us who is a slave to wealth; who is driven by wealth and riches; who can’t get enough of money and possessions and who is willing to even sell his soul for more earthly possessions.
As the rich young man walks away from Jesus—still a slave, in bondage to wealth, and without having eternal life found in Jesus—the Lord Jesus turns to his disciples; He does two things: he warns us and he calls us to invest in the kingdom of God.
The warning sounds like this: “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Note, Jesus does not say that you and I, as rich people, cannot have eternal life because of riches. He says that it is hard for a rich person to enter the rule of God. Earthly wealth and riches—these are gifts of God to us. But we must be very careful NOT to serve these gifts as gods to whom we bow down; Rather, we must manage the riches God gives us in such a way that God’s kingdom is advanced in our world. And sometimes, for rich people such as you and me, that means: divest to invest.
The disciples are troubled by Jesus’ words. Surely, their loyalty and devotion to Jesus and his preaching of the kingdom of heaven must pay off in some way. There’s got to be something in it for them. So Peter asks: “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Jesus’ response gives us
further insight into the principle of divest to invest. Listen: “I tell
you the truth, 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. And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will
receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”
Note: Jesus acknowledges that the disciples have divested themselves: they left their wives, their family, their livelihood all to serve Jesus in proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. From a financial point of view, the disciples may be close to bankruptcy and their families may qualify for welfare. Their loyalty to Jesus, however, leads to a rich investment: they have treasure in heaven.
Jesus also calls us to expect our rewards at the renewal of all things—when he comes again and restores his kingdom of eternal life. In other words, we must have a long view—the view of faith that God, in due time, not necessarily in our earthly lifetime, but at the end of time—will reward us with treasure in heaven.
In this life, persecutions and hardships, divestments of all sorts—not only divestments of money or wealth, but also of family relationships, of friendships, of major career advancements perhaps—make up the cost of following Jesus. But oh, the rewards!
For his immediate circle of friends, Jesus points to an eternal reign, where they will sit on thrones of judgment; And pointing to us, Jesus summarizes our reward by referring to rewards of “a hundred times” and of “eternal life.”
It’s interesting to note in this passage, how Matthew describes the territory of rewards that the Lord Jesus has in mind. The rich young man speaks of “getting eternal life” (vs. 16). Jesus speaks of “entering life” (vs. 17); In vs. 21 Jesus speaks of “having treasure in heaven;” And in vs. 23 Jesus speaks of “entering the kingdom of heaven;” in vs. 24 he refers to “entering the kingdom of God.” The disciples ask: “Who then can be saved?” (vs. 25); and in vs. 29 Jesus speaks of “inheriting eternal life.” All of these references point to our investment that is found in Jesus. We may have to divest all kinds of earthly loyalties, so that we may have treasure in heaven.
Are we willing to swallow the pill of divestment in order to gain access to eternal life in Christ? Shall we be slaves to wealth and earthly riches, or shall we be stewards of all our time, talents, and treasures?
Glory be to God! As it was in the beginning, is now and always shall be: world without end. Amen.