It always amazes me that whenever Jesus gives us a hard lesson, he always provides a way to make it easier to swallow. We, however, tend to take the lesson out of context and make it much more difficult to understand and adopt than is necessary. One such incident occurs in Luke chapters 18 and 19.
The story of the Rich Young Ruler is one that means a great deal to me because for a time I was he. Here was a man that was every bit religious, but his faith was in his wealth and his religion, not in his God. We can only imagine that the reason he sought out Jesus was because the rumor was going around that Jesus had answers to his religious questions. Indeed, his question is a deeply religious one… What must I do to inherit eternal life? However, when confronted with the truth of the answer, he was unwilling to accept it. It is indeed a difficult lesson because it appears to teach that Christians must sell everything they own and live a life of poverty. To make it easier to deal with in our materialistic society, we allegorize it and say that Jesus was really just saying that we need to rid ourselves of anything that hinders us from being saved. Actually, that is not what took place. The answer to the question “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” was not “sell all your possessions.” It was “follow me.” The selling of his positions was just a necessary pre-cursor for that man to be able to follow Jesus. The problem is that we delude ourselves into thinking that our wealth and our affluence are not keeping us from following Jesus. Thus we get Jesus’ words in Luke 18:25 where he says “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”. Again, this is a difficult teaching, but then we once again take our comfort in his words that follow where he says (in verse 27) "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
When we look at this teaching from Jesus, we really have to look hard at ourselves to make sure we are not completely deceiving ourselves about the impact of American wealth on our Christianity. We have become so very comfortable and these words apply to us every bit as much as they applied to the rich young ruler. It truly is a hard teaching.
What makes this message easier to accept, however, is not so much the words that everything is possible with God, but rather the very real example that immediately followed in Luke chapter 19. The story of the Rich Young Ruler occurred while Jesus was on his way to Jericho. As Jesus entered Jericho (perhaps the very same day that the Rich Young Ruler approached him outside the city), Jesus met another man - Zacchaeus.
The story of the Rich Young Ruler is one that means a great deal to me because for a time I was he. Here was a man that was every bit religious, but his faith was in his wealth and his religion, not in his God. We can only imagine that the reason he sought out Jesus was because the rumor was going around that Jesus had answers to his religious questions. Indeed, his question is a deeply religious one… What must I do to inherit eternal life? However, when confronted with the truth of the answer, he was unwilling to accept it. It is indeed a difficult lesson because it appears to teach that Christians must sell everything they own and live a life of poverty. To make it easier to deal with in our materialistic society, we allegorize it and say that Jesus was really just saying that we need to rid ourselves of anything that hinders us from being saved. Actually, that is not what took place. The answer to the question “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” was not “sell all your possessions.” It was “follow me.” The selling of his positions was just a necessary pre-cursor for that man to be able to follow Jesus. The problem is that we delude ourselves into thinking that our wealth and our affluence are not keeping us from following Jesus. Thus we get Jesus’ words in Luke 18:25 where he says “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”. Again, this is a difficult teaching, but then we once again take our comfort in his words that follow where he says (in verse 27) "What is impossible with men is possible with God."When we look at this teaching from Jesus, we really have to look hard at ourselves to make sure we are not completely deceiving ourselves about the impact of American wealth on our Christianity. We have become so very comfortable and these words apply to us every bit as much as they applied to the rich young ruler. It truly is a hard teaching.
What makes this message easier to accept, however, is not so much the words that everything is possible with God, but rather the very real example that immediately followed in Luke chapter 19. The story of the Rich Young Ruler occurred while Jesus was on his way to Jericho. As Jesus entered Jericho (perhaps the very same day that the Rich Young Ruler approached him outside the city), Jesus met another man - Zacchaeus.
As a children’s story, we focus on the fact that Zacchaeus was a short man who had to climb a tree just to see Jesus, but that is not the real story here. Like the Rich Young Ruler, Zacchaeus was a very wealthy man. He had also put his faith in his wealth, but he did not claim to be religious in any way. In fact, he was a cheat and a scoundrel. Why didn’t Jesus tell him to sell everything he owned? Surely a man who made his riches through corruption would have more of a need to rid himself of his “evil” wealth than the religious rich man. Unfortunately, Luke doesn’t tell us exactly what Jesus said to him. All we know is that Jesus ate with him that evening, and as a result Zacchaeus voluntarily took action to remedy all his past wrongs and to stop being corrupt. Zacchaeus did not sell everything he owned, nor is there anything to suggest that he lived out the remainder of his life in poverty. I suspect he remained fairly well off. Yet Jesus tells us in Luke 19:9 regarding Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Thus we have the real story of Zacchaeus - a rich man enters the kingdom of God immediatly after Jesus tells his disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle... God showed us that it wasn’t so impossible after all when God gets involved in changing the heart. Zaccaeus didn’t have to sell everything he owned. He only had to admit to and repent of his wrongdoing and follow Jesus.
Here were two rich men. Both sought out Jesus. Both had a choice to make. To repent of their wrongdoing and follow Jesus. The Rich Young Ruler’s wrongdoing was his faith in his wealth. Zacchaeus’ wrongdoing was the corrupt manner in which he obtained his wealth. The difference is that one made a choice to repent and the other did not. What will be your choice?
Here were two rich men. Both sought out Jesus. Both had a choice to make. To repent of their wrongdoing and follow Jesus. The Rich Young Ruler’s wrongdoing was his faith in his wealth. Zacchaeus’ wrongdoing was the corrupt manner in which he obtained his wealth. The difference is that one made a choice to repent and the other did not. What will be your choice?
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