Bible Materials

Luke 18:15-30 (2011)

by Paul Choi   10/23/2011   Luke 18:15~30

Message


TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE

Luke 18:15-30

Key Verse:18:22 “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

  Last week we learned about persistent prayer. Jesus said that we should always pray and not give up. One of our members said that he would not die until God raises 10 Bible teachers through him. The other said that he has persistently prayed to be a professor shepherd for college students. I pray that God may answer all these prayers as long as they always pray and not give up. We should pray persistently not only for these personal requests, but also for our national prayer topic that America may become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  Let us also pray that God’s kingdom may come into the hearts of young students on campuses in the city of St. Louis. Amen.

  Today’s passage contains two events: first, Jesus blesses little children, second, Jesus counsels a rich ruler.  However, the themes are the same: “Who will receive the kingdom of God?” “How can we inherit eternal life?” I pray that God may through this passage open our hearts to understand the secret of inheriting eternal life. Amen.

First, the kingdom of God is given to those who receive it like little children. (15-17). Look at verse 15. “People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.” In this verse, Jesus’ touch meant his blessing on the babies by laying his hands on their heads. All parents want their children to be blessed. This is the reason why Joseph in the Old Testament brought his two children Ephraim and Manasseh to his father Jacob to be blessed. (Ge 48:1) The parents in today’s passage also witnessed many sick people being healed by Jesus. A man with leprosy came to Jesus and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. (Lk 5:13). A woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.(Lk 8:44) Likewise, those who were touched by Jesus received healing and new life. These parents desired their babies to be touched by Jesus and be blessed.

  What was Jesus’ disciples’ reaction? When they saw this, they rebuked the parents. “Take away your children from our master. We do not work for a nursery.” The disciples thought that the parents were senseless and that the babies were useless to their ministry. Generally children are noisy and often out of control.  In Jesus’ time, women and children were ignored. To the eyes of the exclusive disciples of Jesus, children were helpless and useless. So how did Jesus respond to this? To their surprise, Jesus welcomed the children. Look at verses 16,17. “But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Not only did Jesus welcome the children, but he also taught his disciples to receive the kingdom of God like little children. Jesus said that the kingdom of God belongs to such as children. What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like little children? Children have simple trust and obedience.  They trust their parents and obey what their parents say. Children do not calculate or have second thought when they receive gifts. They are just happy with their gifts and say, “Thank you!” On the contrary, adults are not simple like children. They calculate, speculate and even manipulate for other’s favor, saying, “Isn’t it a string attached? Is there anything hidden about it?”

  The kingdom of God was given to men as God’s gift. Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in the kingdom of God is the unimaginable and unfathomable grace of God upon unworthy sinners like us. We don’t deserve God’s gift at all since we have sinned against God and become enemies of God. Due to the price of our sins we were doomed to be judged and condemned to eternal death. However, God so loved us that he gave his One and Only Son Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16).  God demonstrated his justice not by condemning us due to our sins, but by loving us and saving us through the sacrificial and substituted death of his son Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul described this as the mystery of God. (Ro 16:25, Col 1:27)

Indeed, God showed his grace and gave eternal life as a gift to unworthy sinners like us. We receive the kingdom of God when we simply trust in God and receive it by faith with joy, saying “Thank you, God!” It is not difficult or complicated, like taking Calculus 5. It is easy, so easy that even little Paul Lee can solve it. Nevertheless, last week I had a hard time giving this gift to a Ph D student at Wash U, who explained many reasons why he wouldn’t believe in God. The kingdom of God is given to those who simply trust and believe like little Paul, not to those who constantly doubt and make excuses like some Wash U students.  There is a funny but true story. An expensive Corvette sport car was advertized in a local newspaper for only a dollar. People didn’t believe the advertisement, thinking that some crazy guy was joking. However, a young man bought the sport car with one dollar. The fact was that the owner of the sport car wanted to get rid of the car which his ex-girl friend had bought him for his birthday gift. The kingdom of God is not worth comparing to a junky sport car. The kingdom of God is a treasure in heaven. The kingdom of God is a treasure for which we sell everything we have to purchase. (Mt 13:44-46) The kingdom of God is our eternal dwelling place where we can live forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is given to those who simply trust in Jesus and receive it like little children. May God grant us simple trust, pure faith like little children so that we all may receive the kingdom of God. Amen.

Second, the kingdom of God is given to those who value treasure in heaven.(18-27) While Jesus was blessing the children, a young man interrupted him with a question. Look at verse 18. “A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This man must have been known as a man of standing with much wealth and morality. He was moved by Jesus’ teaching and desired to possess the kingdom of God as he had gained other property. Probably he felt meaningless and unsatisfied with the things of the world which he had accumulated.  How did Jesus reply? Look at verse 19. “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good-except God alone.” In his reply, Jesus did not mean that he himself was not good. Indeed, Jesus is good. He is the perfect God. What Jesus really desired was to teach him that no one can become good in the sight of God by achieving human morality. Jesus continued.  Look at verse 20. “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” Jesus taught the ruler that he should keep God’s commandments in order to be good before God. At that time, people misunderstood that Jesus came to destroy the law of God. But this was not true. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. …Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus acknowledged the Pharisees and teachers’ efforts to live according to God’s commandments. Jesus also taught us that our efforts to live according to God’s commandments should surpass those of the Pharisees and other religious leaders.

  Indeed, though we live by God’s grace, we should not neglect living according to God’s law. We were saved by God’s grace and received the kingdom of God as his gift. However, the kingdom of God and his gift should not be taken for granted, because they were bought by the precious blood of Jesus. God’s grace is not a certificate for our lawless life. God’s grace is a certificate of new life in and with Christ Jesus. That is why born again Christians must struggle more than before to deny their sinful desires in order to obey God’s law. We should not commit adultery even in our thoughts and imagination.( Mt 5:28) We should not kill others by hatred (1 Jn 2:9). We should not steal or lie for our selfish purposes. We should not neglect our parents by making excuses that we serve only God the Father.

  The rich ruler responded immediately as if he was waiting for Jesus’ answer. “All these I have kept since I was a boy.” (21) He was confident of having kept all these commandments. We do not know whether this man really had kept all these commandments without missing one. But, one thing we know is how much this man struggled to deny himself in order to live according to these commandments. According to Mark’s gospel, Jesus looked at him and loved him. (Mk 10:21) Jesus loved the man and answered him how he could inherit eternal life. Look at verse 22. “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” What Jesus meant was, “You gained 99 points, but still lack one point.” What was the one thing this man lacked? What should he do to inherit eternal life? He should sell everything he had and give them to the poor and follow Jesus. In other words, he should get rid of the things of the world in order to buy treasure in heaven, which is eternal life. This rich ruler accumulated too many earthly treasures for himself. So he had no room for the heavenly treasure in his heart. In order to gain and store the heavenly treasure, he should empty his heart and clean it. Jesus said in the Sermon on Mount, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also….No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Mt 6:19-24) This rich ruler was not lazy. He worked hard and became rich. He also struggled to live righteously before God by observing all God’s commandments. He wanted to gain treasures on earth as well as treasures in heaven. He desired to be perfect. However, he did not know that he cannot serve both God and Money. He did not know that he was deceived by the love of money and was worshipping money knowingly and unknowingly. Jesus loved him and wanted to save him. Jesus really wanted to grant him eternal life and to call him as one of his disciples.

  How did this man respond to Jesus’ invitation? Look at verse 23. “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.” The ruler was moved by Jesus’ words. However, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. He went back home sad because he had to give up all things in order to inherit eternal life. He loved his money more than God. He loved visible earthly treasures more than invisible heavenly treasure. He is like a young man in Korea who came to UBF church with an expectation to grow into a great spiritual leader. He liked Bible studies and enjoyed fellowships. However, he suddenly quit everything and went back home sad. This was because he came to realize that he couldn’t meet his selfish dream and God’s will at the same time. He knew that he would become a great servant of God when he followed Jesus. But he would not give up his selfish human ambition. He did not want to repent.

  Jesus did not give up on him. He looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (25) Do you think it is possible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? It is impossible even to imagine. It is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than this! This is because the love of money deceives rich people’s hearts and does not let them go to Jesus. According to Jesus’ word, it is impossible for all the billionaires and millionaires in the world to enter the kingdom of God unless they repent. That’s true.

Third, the kingdom of God is given to those who have faith in Jesus Christ (27-30).How did Jesus’ disciples respond to Jesus’ words? Verse 26 says that those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” The disciples thought that it was impossible for them to enter the kingdom of God because they had hidden dreams of becoming rich and powerful in Jesus’ kingdom-to-be when Jesus destroyed the Roman Empire and restored the kingdom of Israel.(Lk 24:21, Ac 1:6) How did Jesus answer them? Let us read verse 27 all together. “Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Indeed, it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. What Jesus meant was more than this. It is impossible for a man to save himself by his own human efforts and merits. Look at this rich ruler. He said that he had kept all the commandments since he was a boy. However, he was lying to Jesus and to himself. He did not keep the 10th commandment, which is ‘do not covet’. He was greedy and selfish. Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments with two sentences: “First: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; Second: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 22:37-39, Mk 12:30, 31) This rich ruler violated all the commandments. He loved money more than God. He also loved himself more than his neighbor. He looked perfect to the eyes of people. But, in the sight of God he was nothing but a selfish and greedy sinner. What Jesus here wants to say is that it is impossible for a man to be saved by keeping the law. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:11, “There is no one righteous, not even one;” He continued, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Ro 3:23) Paul continued saying that by keeping the law it is impossible for man to be righteous before God. No matter how fiercely a man struggles to save himself from the power of sin, it is impossible for him to be perfect in the sight of God and to meet the standard of God’s salvation.

  However, what was impossible with men God made possible through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24 says, “…and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Sinners like us, who were impossible to save by our own struggles or efforts, can be justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Here, ‘being justified’ means ‘to be pronounced not guilty’. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are freed from condemnation and eternal death, which means we are saved. This is only by God’s grace, not by our own efforts or merits. Since we are justified by faith, we have nothing to boast about ourselves. Paul said in Romans 3:27. “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principles? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law... (Ro 3:27,28) Eternal life is the gift of God. It is not a product of our good deeds or achievements. It is given to those who receive it like little children. It is given to those who simply trust in God and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only by God’s grace. Paul said in Ephesians 2:8,9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.”  This is why Jesus said to his disciples, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

  Look at verse 28. Peter was moved by Jesus’ words and said, “We have left all we had to follow you!” Peter wanted to convince Jesus that his chosen twelve were different from the rich ruler. Indeed, they left all things to follow Jesus. They were great. What did Jesus say to his disciples? Look at verses 29,30 . “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” We may interpret these verses in three ways; literally, allegorically, or spiritually. Here Jesus meant that disciples of Jesus should put their first priority in Jesus and in seeking the kingdom of God. If any human attachments or ties hinder our relationship with God, we must sacrifice them for the sake of Jesus and for the kingdom of God. (Mt 6:33) The kingdom of God is not given to the foolish, just as pearls are not to pigs. The kingdom of God is given to those who value eternal life more than gold and silver, more than human relationships and ties, and to those who pursue it as a matter of life and death. May God bless all of us here to inherit eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. May God grant us to sacrifice our pride, greed, selfishness, human ambition, and all earthly treasures in order to buy the heavenly treasure, the kingdom of God. Amen.


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