Matthew 19:16-30Lately I've been reading the book of Matthew, and I have tried to read it from a new perspective, kind of as if I'm reading it for the first time without any preconceived ideas. That's pretty much impossible, but God is helping me to really learn things that I have just skimmed over before.
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments."
18"Which ones?" he inquired.
Jesus replied, "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,'[c] and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"
20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
28 Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
As I've been reading about Jesus' life on earth, I've realized how truly backwards Jesus' teachings are from the ways of the world. Now, some of you might have worried when you saw the first part of the passage I'm using that I was going to tell you to sell all of your stuff and give to the poor. Well, though I will probably post later about Jesus' teachings about the rich and the poor, I'm using that part of the passage mainly for context for this post. I want to really focus on the last half of this passage right now, beginning with verse 23. Jesus tells his disciples that it is pretty much impossible for rich people to enter his kingdom. I mean, I can barely get thread in that little bitty eye of the needle. There's no way a camel can get through there. This kind of shocked the disciples because they understood the weight of Jesus' statement. So, they asked him who could actually be saved. Then Jesus responded with a very commonly used statement that, in my opinion, is often used way out of context, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." I just recently realized that this story about the rich man is the context for this verse. The context gives a totally different perspective. Most people use this verse as encouragement for an athlete or someone going through a hard time, and though the verse is certainly true in all circumstances including these, Jesus was specifically referring to the fact that it is impossible for a man to save himself, but because all things are possible with God, man can be saved. This view of the verse is so powerful. We are caught up in selfishness, caught up in sin, unable to overcome the desires of our flesh on our own. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation by works is impossible. However, God can fit a camel through the eye of a needle. He can save us. Now, understanding the context of verse 26 has been instrumental for me as I attempt to comprehend the fact that I have not, cannot, and will not ever do anything to deserve my salvation; nevertheless, God, out of his grace saves me. To Him be the glory!
Though verse 26 and its context are really what I wanted to focus on, I do want to give a little sidenote on the last part of the passage. I'll start with the last verse and go backwards. Many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first. This is such a challenging verse. It means that being "well-known" or "successful" on earth is not important; however, being famous or successful in earthly terms is certainly not always sinful. Sometimes, a follower of Christ even uses fame or success to bring God glory. However, not every believer, in fact, not many believers, are called to bring God glory through a nation-wide or world-wide platform. Many believers are called to bring God glory through lives that are not considered successful from a worldly perspective. In fact, in verse 29, Jesus tells his disciples that some followers of Christ will even leave their own families or homes, putting God's kingdom first, putting their own earthly (not necessarily sinful) interests last. Clearly, people that choose to be last on earth see that the eternal reward is extravagantly and infinitely better than anything the world has to offer.
So, what's my point? Well, obviously, Jesus' teachings are pretty crazy from a worldly standpoint. I mean, who doesn't want to go to school, go to college, go to graduate school, and get a job so that they can have money to retire and live on the beach someday? That's what the world considers a "successful" life. Jesus offers so much more, but what He has to offer is not necessarily attractive to the world. He turns everything upside down. No money we make, no fame we gain, nothing we do can reconcile our relationship with God. Only God can save us. Only God can make our relationship right because He makes the impossible possible. He makes the last first...and the first last.
Basically, are you living your life as a "first" or as a "last?"
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