110 | Matthew 19:23-25 | Passing Through the Eye of a Needle

Mat 19:23 And Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25 And when the disciples heard it, they were astonished exceedingly, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26 And Jesus looking upon them said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

I’ve read a lot of commentary on this passage and most of them seem to focus on the question of whether or not it is easy or hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the statement Jesus is making here. He is clearly stating, by using hyperbole, that it is very difficult for a rich man to make it into salvation. Understanding this to be true our next logical question should be, who is a rich man?

The disciples seem to be perplexed and clearly surprised by Jesus’ answer and they ask Him, “Who then can be saved?” Notice in Matthew 19:16-22 that Jesus is dealing with a rich man who has been visibly “good” and kept the commandments as well as any man could expect to keep them. We might even assume by the reaction of the disciples in Matt 19:25 that they see this rich young man as the perfect image of someone who would be right for the Kingdom of Heaven.

What does it mean to be rich and in danger of losing the Kingdom of Heaven?

Now, on to defining what is meant by “rich”. Clearly having great monetary wealth and possessions is the physical and worldly definition of rich; but what about the spiritual definition of rich. What is it about being rich that makes it so hard to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? Was it just his money that made him rich?

We must take into account the common belief of the time. If you were sick or poor or crippled or any other “bad” thing it was the belief of the time that you were cursed by God because of a sin in your life. With that in mind we can now see the rich young man through the eyes of the disciples. They saw him as someone who was blessed by God, not cursed. They saw him as being close to God not only because of his obvious blessing of wealth but because he had also been a law abiding, tradition keeping member of the Jewish community. This is the reason for their astonished question “Who then can be saved?”. In other words, “If this guy can’t make it in, who can?”

Jesus sees the rich young man through spiritual eyes. He sees that he has only kept the commandments to be seen of men and that there is really no changed heart in him. Jesus knows that this rich man is only outwardly rich, but on the inside he is very poor. Humble selflessness is the money of heaven; not self exultation and outward show.

Jesus is using this experience to teach his disciples and also to hopefully bring the rich man to a place where he can contemplate his inner state. Jesus has already made it clear that keeping the commandments of God is not an outward display but a “circumcision” of the heart. This principle is more clearly stated by Paul in Romans so I will just quote him here…

Rom 2:28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.
Rom 2:29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

How do we become rich with heavenly reward?

• Do good to others, without a desire to be seen of other men.
• Love those who persecute you and hurt you.
• Love your neighbor as yourself.
• Forgive and forget.
• Give your heart to God.
• Make God first in all things.

…or as Jesus put it;

“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

These are true blessings. These are true wealth. These can get you through the eye of a needle.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

I praise You for Your Wisdom and Your Holiness. I come now to the foot of the cross and I see the true humbleness that goes beyond my sin-filled souls ability to comprehend. I believe that You accomplished the taking of my sins at the cross through an act of insurmountable humbleness and I PRAISE YOU and YOU alone for it!

Please Lord, I ask that You would come into my life today. Fill my heart with Your life. Give me Your Humbleness and Your Selflessness.

Watch over my children and the children of all believers. I lift up the grandchildren of Ellen Sauder. I praise you for her life.

I ask all of these things in Jesus name, and in His character. Amen.

102 | Matthew 18:15-17 | When do we get to stop trying? | Part 2

When do we get to stop trying? | Part 2

How do I, as a Christian, play a part in the redemption of the Lost Sheep? What can I do to help bring them back to the fold?

Mat 18:15  “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

Mat 18:16  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

Mat 18:17  If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

"But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses."

As a recap, let’s quickly refresh on the beginning of Step 1.

Jesus had just finished telling the parable of the Lost Sheep, a parable which finished with this statement:

In the same way, it is not My heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Remembering that this whole teaching, from Matthew 18:3-35, is in response to the question that the disciples asked Jesus; “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”, let’s move on.

Usually when there is a parable being used to teach a concept it is followed with the explanation of the concept. In this case Jesus does that very thing. He now explains the process for dealing with “a lost sheep“, or, as we see it explained, a fellow believer.

What are the steps in the process?

The steps escalate as time goes on and they are all contingent upon the “sheep” remaining lost. At any point in the process if the believer realizes his lost state (confession) and seeks to return to the fold, he or she does not need the next step. So let’s look at each step individually, and then as a whole process.

Step 1: “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. ” Matthew 18:15

If you have not read Part 1 of this 3 part series you should do that first. START HERE
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Step 2: “But if you are unsuccessful…” We are now entering Step two of this three step process. Notice that is starts with the word “but”. So, we must, from the start, remember that this step is only started if the first step was unsuccessful.

What does this protect us from doing?

This is basically a warning to not enter into Step 2 unless Step 1 has been completely explored and has been unsuccessful. Too often we want to do a quick drive by with step one, claim that it didn’t work and then jump to step 2 so that we can “get people on our side” before the whole mess spreads. Notice that the onus is on YOU. If you were unsuccessful. This means that you had entered step 1 fully trying to succeed in bringing back a brother. I also think that it implies that the people you might bring in with you during step 2 should ask you if you have fully explored step 1 before they try to help you with step 2.

Like step one we notice that most of the movement at this point is being done by the offended and not the one that did the offending.

“…take one or two others with you and go back again…” Assuming we were unsuccessful with step one we now must seek out 2 or 3 witnesses (other people) to take with us and go back to the lost sheep. The numbers mentioned here are significant. We are not asked to go back with just 1 person because that person may not be an impartial party. They may be a friend to you and might tend to want to lean in your direction. Jesus seems to be at this point recognizing that the truth needs to come out. Also notice that this says nothing about bringing church leadership into the mix. There is nowhere implied that the 2 or 3 need to be elders or deacons. In fact, I would submit that it might not be a good idea to involve them in step 2. This is about making sure that truth comes out and that both sides of the story are witnessed. The witnesses should be peers. You could even say that our judicial system by its’ use of a jury understands this principle. 

“…so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.” The word confirmed implies that we are in the business at this step of finding out the truth. Making sure that both sides are heard by multiple people so that the “he said, she said” problem does not enter into the equation. This is really a mediation step. Many misunderstandings can be solved through mediation. It is common practice today for a judge to order mediation to take place before allowing a divorce. 

"...so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses."

Are you starting to see the wisdom in what Jesus is asking us to do here. All of this work is intended to keep His sheep safe. Nothing is more important to Him than bringing back a lost sheep and He wants us to play our part in the process.

Are you starting also to notice that the “lost sheep” very well could be you? Remember, this whole thing starts with TWO people and a mediation never starts out assuming that one side only is in the wrong.

I hope that you have been learning a lot in our study of this wonderful counsel from Jesus; I know that I have been. Watch for the finishing of this passage study in Part 3, and thank you for reading!

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for this amazing wisdom. Whole judicial systems have been built from this endless knowledge. I love knowing that You are my King and that I can come to You for help and understanding in confusing times. Thank You for what You accomplished on the cross. I want to be open to Your good counsel.

Please be with my friend, You know him well Lord. He is seeking Your guidance. Give me the wisdom to share with Him those things that You want him to know. Help Him to wait on You Lord. Help me to learn from this situation and to also grow. Lord, most of all I pray that You are glorified by whatever takes place. Be with his son. Protect him from the enemy. Protect my family and my children as well, dear Lord. Please be with the young girl and help her also to experience Your love.

Thank you for all that you provide. Help this blog to be a blessing to someone. I ask all of these things in Jesus name. Amen.