Jesus and the rich man

The story of Jesus and the rich man is a goldmine of truth, of which I can only scratch the surface. The Bible is a multilayered book that can be studied a lifetime and still so much is left un-gleaned. And, yes, I’m going to be doing a little bit of preaching (but when am I not?) on this post. 

The story of Jesus and the rich man is related three times in the New Testament (Matthew 19:16–30, Mark 10:17–31, and Luke 18:18–30 (Where were you, John?)), and three is a very important number of completeness. If you find the number three coming into play, pay attention. A good example of the use of three is how Jesus was dead for three days and after that was resurrected. In Jewish tradition at the time, if someone rose from the dead after only one or two days, they were not really dead. So because Jesus was dead for three days and came back to life, he was truly dead and defeated death for all of us by rising from the dead. As a side note, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, he was also dead longer than three days ("Lord, by this time, he stinketh"). I may write about the Lazarus story, too, because it has some amazing things I’d like to talk about. 

So we’re all on the same page, I’ll relate the account from Matthew. I chose the King James Version because, for being translated in 1611, it is still the most sound and richest version (though certainly not perfect). Some of the other versions are very good. Use what works best for you. 

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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.

¹⁸ He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

¹⁹ Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

²⁰ The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

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.

²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

²³ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁵ When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

²⁶ But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

²⁷ Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

²⁸ And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

³⁰ But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

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There are a number of ways to break this down, and it has been done a million times. I just want to point out what this means to me, personally, in my walk with God. Otherwise, y'all will get to watch me go haywire trying to go in all directions. A lot of people read this as rich people *almost* can’t get in heaven. That is where the conversation starts, but it doesn’t end there. Salvation and the kingdom of God are two different things, in my humble opinion. The kingdom of God is what you (hopefully) do after you are saved; you go to work for God in some capacity. You follow Jesus, which was what the man was admonished to do. But let’s back up. 

This was a very unusual man who came to Jesus. He kept the commandments from “his youth up.” And when he told Jesus that (who surely knew what kind of man He was talking to), Jesus loved him. (It could be the man was relying on his own goodness because Jesus told him there is only one good, and that is God. And our own goodness only gets us so far.) I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone who could say the same as this young man. He was literally perfect (according to the law, but the law only gets us so far); all he had to do was one thing. And this is what I get out of this story. God always knows what is preventing us from moving forward with Him. Jesus knew he was talking to a rich, young man, purportedly also of the ruling class. He knew his riches would prevent him from following Christ. And He put his finger on it immediately. Jesus always puts His finger on what prevents us from following Him. Greater blessings than any earthly riches await us if we follow Him. So why is it so hard? 

We all have our riches. We all have things that prevent us from moving forward with Jesus. What is mine? Haha! I’m not going to tell you! But it means a great deal to us. It might be garbage to anyone else, but to us, it means the world. If I was standing there talking to Jesus like this young man, would I let riches stop me from following him? No. But, then again, I would probably settle for a lot less. We all have our price. I mean, what have I given up to follow Jesus? Nothing. I would have to have something first in order to give it up. I'm just a beggar lucky to follow my Lord.

Much has been said about the eye of the needle part of the story. Can a camel go through the eye of a needle? Yes, but we need to define what that is. In those days, after dark, they would close the main gates of the cities. If you came to a city after the gates were closed, your options were limited. You didn’t want to be out there with the risk of being robbed or worse. You wanted to be inside with all of your stuff safe. The eye of a needle was a small opening in the city walls where — conceivably — people and their animals could enter. But getting a camel, which is an animal that is notoriously difficult to wield, through the gate was another matter. They had to bend down and go through on their knees, for one thing. And they are such hateful animals to begin with. They prefer wide-open spaces, not claustrophobic tunnels. Often, the camel’s burden had to be taken off, as well. It was a difficult and arduous task, getting a camel through the eye of the needle. Not impossible. Just very difficult. But with God, all things are possible. And that is Who makes our admittance to heaven — and the kingdom of God — possible. 

What convicts me about this story is God always sees where we get stuck. He longs for us to follow Him completely, which means letting go of whatever besets us. I recall reading Where the Red Fern Grows, and in order for the boy to train his dogs to hunt coons, he had to first get a coon pelt. So he made a trap. He put a small, shiny trinket in a hole in a log. The hole was big enough for the raccoon to slip its unclenched paw into, but it was impossible for it to withdraw its clenched paw holding the trinket. And the boy knew the coon wouldn’t let go of its shiny trinket, even though its life was at stake. It was the perfect trap. Sometimes I feel the devil does the same thing to us. What do we give in exchange for his shiny trinkets? (Matthew 16:26) 

One last thing I should mention. Following Jesus is, of course, voluntary. Even salvation is not foisted on us. Jesus knocks. It’s our choice to open the door. It’s the same with following Him. Jesus is the consummate gentleman, and no one can make that choice for us. No amount of preaching can change someone’s mind. Just as the rich, young man walked away, people walk away from Jesus every day. But those who follow Him — though they may lose all — ultimately make a better choice. And gain a hundredfold on the other side. God has a rewards system unlike any other. And, considering all the things that are going on in our world today, it appears wiser to put our treasure in heaven.

Thank you for reading. And God bless.