“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Jesus in Matthew 19:26
It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is. (A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy, preface)
Jesus to the rich young ruler: You lack one thing. Treasuring me more than money. (John Piper’s tweet, January 22, 2011)
The rich young ruler has just turned away grieving, rejecting the Master’s call to come and follow Him (Matthew 19:22). Jesus had a special love for this young man (Mark 10:21) and His gaze on the rich young ruler lingers as he walks away (Luke 18:24). Jesus, turning to His disciples (Mark 10: 23), says, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (v.23).
Jesus is not categorically condemning rich people. Jesus is not saying that you must be materially poor in order to be spiritually wealthy. There is a school of thought here in Eastern Europe that says money is evil. Therefore those who wish to be spiritual give little thought to money. Even with the little money they have, they don’t plan, save, budget, avoid debt or give generously. They are poor stewards and put themselves and their families in a lot of hurt because they wrongly neglect money in the name of God.
Some of Jesus followers were wealthy men. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man and a disciple of Jesus and who buried Jesus after His crucifixion (Matthew 27:58). Assisting Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus’ burial was Nicodemus (John 19:39). We have good reason to believe that Nicodemus, to whom Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:3), was also a very wealthy man.
The go to the other extreme is also wrong: the love of money. Money then becomes an idol, something we pursue with a greater vigor than God. Wealth is the idol of choice for us humans. By it we think we gain security that only God can give. This is why the solution to the problem of the love of money is given as the promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
The tendency to make money an idol is not an affliction for only those outside the church. Those in the church also have a strong leaning toward the idol of money. A study quoted by World Magazine (Oct 22, 2005) as well as a 2001 study by Barna both revealed that the average Christian American gives back 3% of their income to Christian causes. Three percent! What does this communicate about our hearts? Most Christians spend more of their money promoting Starbucks than they do promoting Christ.
Randy Alcorn, in his book The Treasure Principle (p. 8) says this: “Jesus made many references to money and possessions. In fact 15 percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic – more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Why did Jesus put such an emphasis on money and possessions? Because there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and how we handle money.”
Next Jesus says, “Again I say to you, 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” (v. 24). The past several chapters of Matthew’s gospel have been rich with similes and metaphors from Jesus’ teaching: Moving mountains (17:20), cutting off feet (18:8), plucking out eyes (18:9) and forgiving 490 times (18:22). And when Jesus speaks of the eye of a needle, it is yet another metaphor. In Jesus day there was no hole in the Jerusalem wall called the Eye of the Needle. Whereas removing one’s treasures and proceeding humbly is Scriptural, however in this verse, Jesus is speaking metaphorically. For one whose riches are in this world, it is very difficult indeed to shed that affection and treasure Christ alone.
To this the disciples were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” (v. 25). This is the exact the point Jesus wanted to make. Jesus wanted to raise the bar so high that His hearers realize it is impossible for human effort to obtain the holiness of God needed for salvation. Even in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus raised the bar to a humanly impossible height. “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48; see also Matthew 5:20). The rich young ruler realized this and turned away dejected. The disciples now understand and are astonished. Consequently, Jesus fixes His gaze directly on His disciples and speaks the primary teaching point of this passage: “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (v.26).
Salvation is not a result of man’s good efforts and best intentions. Salvation is not a reward for those whose good outweigh their bad. This grotesquely exalts the goodness of man and greatly undervalues the holiness of the Almighty. Even those who embrace Christ yet want to add a work of man to salvation have greatly over-valued man’s righteousness in light of the supreme, awesome, terrifying holiness of Almighty God. We cannot in our own strength reconcile ourselves with God Almighty.
We need a Savior. We need the Lamb of God to cloak us with His righteousness. That is precisely what all-holy, all-righteous, all-loving God has done. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5: 21). May we cry out with the same wonder that 3rd century church father Athanasius cried out, ““What kind of person must He have been to bring us the salvation that He alone could have and did bring to us?”
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