Many of us have a competitive nature, a drive to do everything we can to come out on top. We have been taught that you compete to win. Our culture teaches us to climb the ladder of success, to outpace our competitors and that the one with the most toys in the end wins. So we work hard to make sure that our lives are as comfortable as possible. We constantly search to find away to position ourselves ahead of the pack. The problem is that there will always be someone who will outpace us and we will be in a never ending struggle to catch up and take back what we believe is rightfully ours. What we read in our text says the complete opposite. Jesus throws another teaching at us that goes against everything that we have grown to believe about life. Come on, no one has ever gotten anywhere in this world by being last. Those who are last are the losers, the door mats and the failures. No one ever honors those who come in last place. In fact we may be thinking that there is no way that this teaching could work in real life. Or maybe this saying is not to be taken the way we are thinking. Right now we need to check all our preconceived notions about this saying at the door so that we can approach this text with an open mind. Why?? We need to be able to put this text into its proper context and discover exactly what Jesus is driving at. So let’s begin today’s journey of discovery.
I. Did Jesus really say what I think He did?
A. The typical Jewish person in the crowd believed that the day of God’s Judgment would turn things topsy-turvy.
1. The belief was that when the Messiah came justice would finally be served on behalf of God’s people.
2. All those who had oppressed and mistreated God’s people would finally get what was coming to them.
3. Jesus throws a curveball at the crowd when He applies this belief to the ordinary every day person instead of on a national level.
4. In the Jewish mind poverty was equated with God’s judgment and prosperity was equated with God’s blessing.
5. So like us, this statement catches Jesus’ first century listeners completely off guard. Why? Because Jesus is turning the normal social order upside down.
B. We need to remember that the disciples are still stunned by Jesus’ answer to the rich young man that asked to follow Him.
1. This encounter took place a few verses earlier in this chapter.
2. By Human standards this man had it all. He was apparently respected and viewed as righteous by the people.
3. In their mind, God’s favor obviously rested upon him because he was very prosperous.
4. No wonder the disciples were shocked. Wow!! If a man like this can’t get into Heaven, who can?
5. Consider this? “Was the problem the man’s wealth or his priorities?”
6. The way we answer this question will determine the context in which we view Jesus’ statement.
II. Bringing a tough statement into proper focus.
A. The result of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man causes Peter to arrive at a wrong conclusion.
1. Consider Peter’s logic. “If the rich guy can’t get in because he refused to sacrifice, then we must have our place secured because of our sacrifice.”
2. The problem is with his logic Peter displays the same attitude that led the rich young man to walk away sadly. “Me first!”
3. Didn’t Jesus just say that all those who have made great sacrifices for Him would be rewarded greatly in the Kingdom?
4. The problem is that Peter is trying to turn the sacrifices that they had made for Jesus into a badge of honor.
5. So Jesus with this difficult statement is rebuking Peter for believing that making these sacrifices will guarantee that they are first in line.
B. The truth is that the disciples did make some pretty big sacrifices to follow Jesus.
1. None of the disciples were living in poverty when they chose to follow Jesus.
2. Some of them left lucrative businesses and families in order to become Jesus’ disciple.
3. Jesus is not simply teaching that to follow Him you must give up all your stuff. What He is saying is that if we are going to follow Him we need to make Him the top priority and be willing to give up anything that would keep that from happening.
4. Jesus always gave it to His disciples straight. He showed that there was no shortcut to the Kingdom of God.
C. Jesus is showing that He is not impressed with those things that the world considers to be indicators of success.
1. Peter was thinking that sacrifice would earn him a spot in the Kingdom but Jesus shows that the Kingdom cannot be earned by what you do; it is a gift through the grace of God.
2. Don’t get me wrong…Jesus did say that the sacrifices made by the disciples had been noted and they would be repaid over and over in the Kingdom.
3. They had the same problem that many have today. The mistaken belief that your place in the Kingdom of God is earned through work and sacrifice.
4. Here is the root problem of that belief. Discipleship is not about what we can get…It must be entered into with love and complete commitment to Jesus.
5. The most important ingredient for discipleship is a devoted heart.
D. Jesus shows that life in the Kingdom by far outweighs the enjoyment of all the things that this world has to offer.
1. The bottom line is this, “The things that the world values are the direct opposite of the things that God values.”
2. Once again Jesus is ultimately dealing with the subject of priorities. The question He is asking is, “What drives you to do what you do?”
3. Rewards in Heaven are not given based on “time served” or merit or other earthly standards.
4. When it is all said and done the only thing that matters is this, “How much of your heart and life did you commit to Jesus?”
III. What does this look like in our lives today?
A. We need to come to terms with the give and gain principle.
1. Remember it is not about what we can get or achieve in this life.
2. The rewards that Jesus promises will not always be realized in this life.
3. Are you willing to make huge sacrifices knowing that you may not see the reward until eternity?
4. Jesus promises this, “When we start paying the price for following Him it will not go unnoticed.” In fact He will reward us beyond our wildest imagination.
5. We cannot dwell on the sacrifices that we make for the Kingdom. We must keep our eye on that ultimate prize.
6. Remember that we will never be able to out give God.
B. We must understand that Jesus values what the world doesn’t.
1. Yes, what Jesus is teaching in our text does go against all human logic.
2. What drives people toward success and prestige is the opposite of what needs to drive people toward the Kingdom.
3. Those who come to faith in Christ and those who serve others before themselves will be the true leaders in the Kingdom.
4. The awards and praise of men are not what we should be what we are striving for. We should desire to achieve the crown of glory.
C. We must understand what Jesus wants from us.
1. He wants total commitment not some half-hearted dedication.
2. We cannot pick and choose how we want to follow Jesus. We have to accept the cross if we want the crown.
3. We must be willing to abandon everything that gives us security in this world and be willing to find our security only in Him.
4. Always keep your eyes on the ultimate goal.
“A young soldier and his commanding officer got on a train together. The only available seats were across from an attractive young woman who was traveling with her grandmother. As they engaged in pleasant conversation, the soldier and the young woman kept eyeing one another; the attraction was obviously mutual. Suddenly the train went into a tunnel and the car became pitch black. Immediately two sounds were heard: the ‘smack’ of a kiss, and the ‘whack’ of a slap across the face. The grandmother thought ‘I can’t believe he kissed my granddaughter, but I’m glad she gave him the slap he deserved.’ The commanding officer thought, ‘I don’t blame the boy for kissing the girl, but it’s a shame that she missed his face and hit me instead.’ The young girl thought, ‘I’m glad he kissed me, but I wish my grandmother hadn’t slapped him for doing it.’ And as the train broke into the sunlight, the soldier could not wipe the smile off his face. He had just seized the opportunity to kiss a pretty girl and slap his commanding officer and had gotten away with both!”
It’s brilliant, isn’t it? You break all the rules and you come out of it smelling like a rose. It would be something if it really worked like that, wouldn’t it? I think the way things usually work, the soldier would have stumbled and kissed the grandmother in the dark, and hit the officer just as the light came back into the train. The girl would have said, “Why did he kiss my grandmother and not me? He must be some kind of perv!”, and slapped the soldier. But, like the soldier, we still keep hoping that can really get by with something. We want to have our sins forgiven, but we don’t want to stop our sinning. We want Jesus to be our loving Savior, but we don’t want him as our Sovereign Lord. We want to be thought of as a good soldier, while doing things in the dark that are not what we should be doing.
