The
story of the rich man who approached Jesus dominates most of chapter 19, and in
some ways it continues the themes we saw in chapter 18 about status under the reign
of heaven. The man asks Jesus the burning question in Judaism of his day: how
does one become worthy of life in God’s new age. (I’ll invite you to Wednesday’s
Bible class to hear more about what the man is really asking; suffice it to
say, it’s more complicated than a question simply about dying and going to heaven.)
Jesus leads the man through the commandments, which he boldly claims to have
done (but compare the way that Jesus had sharpened the commandments in the
Sermon on the Mount; more on that Wednesday, too.) Jesus, understanding the man
better than the man understands himself, challenges him where it hurts: he must
give up his wealth. And the man went away sad.
Here’s
where privilege and status enter. Jesus tells His disciples that it is hard for
the rich to enter the reign of heaven, and they are shocked. The presumption
was that rich meant uniquely blessed by God, so if it was hard for the rich to
enter the kingdom, what chance was there for anybody? Jesus’ answer is profound:
“Impossible for humans, but God is able.”
Once
again the usual measures of the world don’t work. The young man’s defense of
his righteousness doesn’t matter; the young man’s wealth doesn’t matter. We’re
reminded in the snippet before the rich young man about the place of children.
(Remember Saturday’s devotion about the status of children in that world.)
If I
could just summarize a much longer discussion, what matters is grace. God does
things that are impossible with humans, and that’s not just a statement about
His power. It’s a statement about His character. He does things that we can’t
do and that we don’t deserve! A little child has done nothing to deserve
the kingdom, yet it belongs to them by grace. A rich man doesn’t deserve the kingdom,
yet, if He would have embraced that kingdom’s call by faith, he would have received
it. Our perceived goodness doesn’t merit the kingdom; it’s God who calls us out
of the darkness (1 Peter 2:9).
The
kingdom is a kingdom of grace from top to bottom. We don’t bring anything into
with us; as a matter of fact, the Scriptures teach that we resist and oppose
the kingdom by nature. But God works this miracle of grace, that while we were
sinners, while we were God’s enemies, God acted for us, sending His Son to die
for us (Romans 5:9-10). What humans cannot do, God can—and does, in Jesus.
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