JESUS MET A RICH YOUNG MAN; AN ANALOGY OF SOMEONE WHO IMPRESSES HIS FLESH BY THE COMMANDMENTS HE KEEPS.

JESUS MET A RICH YOUNG MAN; AN ANALOGY OF SOMEONE WHO IMPRESSES HIS FLESH BY THE COMMANDMENTS HE KEEPS.

(See Matthew 19:13-30)

I wrote in my post earlier this morning that the Peace of Jesus eludes those who impress themslves by their ability to keep commandments. We shall take a closer look at such people in this rich, young man that came to Jesus.

1. CHILDREN VERSUS 'RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE'

Teachers of Law like to think of the Grace Teachers as 'Children who remain mesmerised by their New Creation and do not want to move on to kingdom responsibility'.

In our story of the Rich Young Man as recorded by Matthew, Jesus had just finished addressing little children before the man came to Him.

Hear what He said about 'Children'.
'... Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven' v 14.

So Jesus encourages 'children' to come to Him always. He said they are the ones that have access to kingdom realities or responsibilities.

Hear Jesus in another place...
Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The verse directly above that, Jesus had said 'Seek ye the kingdom...' but to 'little flock' He said 'THE FATHER IS PLEASED TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM'. Wow!!!

IT PAYS TO BE A CHILD, (FOR NO MATTER HOW GROWN THE MAN IS, HE REMAINS A CHILD TO HIS FATHER).

SO YOU SEE. WHAT THEY SEEK IS GIVEN TO US.

Okay, let me seal it with this words of Jesus to His disciples.

Matthew 18:3-5King James Version (KJV)
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as LITTLE CHILDREN, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this LITTLE CHILD, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

2. CHILDREN ARE DEPENDENT, MEN ARE SELF-MADE.

Matthew 19:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Jesus had just (most likely) carried children in His arms. Children are not necessarily humble people. What is certain about kids are their DEPENDENCE. In fact, they are called 'DEPENDANTS'.

But here comes the 'MAN'. He is self made. He comes with the DO Mentality.

Hear him say to Jesus' '...WHAT MUST I DO...?'

It has to be what they do. They became rich that way. They became young that way. So it cannot be any other way. That is how they define 'responsible'. Their WILL POWER hardly fail them. They are the generation of the Self-Made. The products of the Motivational Movement. The teachers of law.

And we must give it to them. They are hardly flimsy people.
THEY DO KEEP THE LAW.
EVEN JESUS LOVED RICH YOUNG MAN FOR THIS.

See Mark's account;

Mark 10:20-22King James Version (KJV)
20 And he answered and said unto him, MASTER, ALL THESE HAVE I OBSERVED FROM MY YOUTH.
21 THEN JESUS BEHOLDING HIM LOVED HIM...

But only children can follow Jesus.
ONLY CHILDREN CAN FOLLOW JESUS.
MEN CAN KEEP COMMANDMENTS.
DEPENDANTS FOLLOW;
SELF-MADE MEN DON'T.

3. ETERNAL LIFE V. LIFE.

Now watch the question the man asked Jesus and the response Jesus gave.

Rich Young Man: Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

The Lord Jesus: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

YOU SEE, I INDEED FEEL FOR THE LEGALISTS.
THEY THOUGHT THEY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, BUT THEY HAVE LIFE.

The best the Commandments offered was Life. Eternal Life came by Jesus Christ alone.

Every religious and other responsible organisation subscribe to morality. You do not need to be a Christian to be a moralist. Those who have the best life material offers are mostly non Christians who keep the various Laws of Life (Laws of Wealth; Laws of Health; Laws of Greatness; Laws of Relationships etc).

SO EVEN THOUGH JESUS LOVED THIS MAN FOR KEEPING THE LAW (AND NOTE THAT HE DID NOT EVEN NEED JESUS TO KEEP THE LAW), JESUS TOLD HIM TO LEAVE ALL THAT AND SIMPLE FOLLOW HIM LIKE A CHILD WOULD.

THAT WAS TOO MUCH FOR THE SELF-MADE MAN.
THAT IS TOO MUCH FOR TEACHERS OF LAW.

4. GOOD V. GOD

The man said to Jesus 'Good master...'.

And Jesus addressed that headlong before He addressed his main question.

Matthew 19:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

SELF-MADE MEN JUDGE EVERYTHING BY GOOD AND EVIL. THAT IS THE ORDER OF 'THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL'.

CHILDREN DON'T KNOW MUCH. THEY ONLY KNOW LIFE. THEY FIND THAT THEY HAVE LIFE, AND THEY SIMPLY LIVE IT.
THAT IS THE ORDER OF 'TREE OF LIFE'.

It's sad that believers become saved and still judge themselves by 'good and evil' when what they have is life; eternal life.

THEY ARE TOO SENSITIVE TO LIFE TO LIVE IT.
THEY ARE TOO CONSCIOUS OF BEING GOOD THAT THEY NEVER LIVE THE LIFE OF GOD.

CAN YOU IMAGINE GOD PUTTING SO MUCH EFFORT INTO BEING GOOD? COMME ON! HE IS GOD. HE CAN ONLY BE GOOD AND DO GOOD.THIS IS THE LIFE GOD CALLS US TO LIVE IN CHRIST.

5. GOOD V. PERFECT

Matthew 19:
21 Jesus said unto him, IF THOU WILT BE PERFECT, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: AND COME AND FOLLOW ME.

The man was good. That is the best any man can attain.
Yet, in the world of men, good is relative.
In the relam of God, GOOD IS GOD!

How could he be made perfect? By following Jesus. Like a child.

'go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor' only underscores the life of a child.
Children have nothing. That's why they follow. Thats why they depend so much.

QUIT BEING SO MACHO, MAN.
BE HUMBLE. BE A CHILD.

- Adeolu O. V.