The Question Of Eternal Life

The Question of Eternal Life

Matthew 19:16-30

America has been called the land of opportunity. Many people have come here over the years in the hope of building a better life than what they had in the country of their origin. My ancestors came from England on my mom's side and Sweden or Denmark on my dad's side. I don't know much more about my ancestry beyond that, but I do know that they came to this country for the opportunity of a better life that a free country can afford to those who will take it.

It's been said that if you have a dream and a desire to see that dream realized, then you will have the opportunity to see that dream happen. This morning in our SS class, we saw a man who had a great opportunity to follow Jesus Christ. He had a dream of obtaining his life goal of eternal life. He had the desire to attain it. He had every opportunity to receive it placed right in his lap, but he discovered that the great desire he thought he had, wasn't great enough. By this world's standards, he had it all, but he ended up with nothing.

Our text today focuses on the story of the Rich Young Ruler, but before we get into that, we need to look at the context of this meeting between Jesus and our rich young ruler. The tone of this meeting was set just prior when parents were bringing little children and babies to Jesus for blessing. It was a common practice for parents to bring their babies and children to a rabbi for him to lay his hands upon them and bless them, and it was seen as a way of invoking God's favor and protection upon them. It was a meaningful and significant tradition that highlighted the importance of family, faith, and the passing down of blessings from one generation to the next.

But what we find is that when people started bringing their children to Jesus for blessing and prayer, the disciples tried to turn them away. Apparently, they didn't think that this was a very important activity for Jesus to be involved in, so they tried to keep it from happening. They even demonstrated their strong disapproval by rebuking those who were coming with their children. However, they didn't get the reaction from Jesus they thought they would get.

In Mark we're told that Mark 10:14 ...when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” He openly rebuked them, and the strength of that word "indignant" lets us know that this was a strong rebuke. It's like He was commanding them, "You let those children come to Me! Do not hinder them!"

And then He went on to say Matthew 18:3 "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." If you do not come humble and trusting like a child; if your faith isn't simple like a child but arrogant and trusting in yourselves, then you will not enter the kingdom.

What the Lord told the disciples in the blessing of the children incident is the same thing that He taught in the Sermon on the Mount. The kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit, gentle, pure in heart, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, etc. In other words, those who are humble and trusting like a child. They know they have nothing in themselves that would draw favor from God, so they come broken, weak, and seeking God's mercy and forgiveness.

So, when this rich young ruler came to Jesus, according to Mark, he didn't simply come to Jesus, he ran to Jesus and fell to his knees before Him. Mark 10:17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

He started out so well. He was eager and respectful, showing humility before the Lord. He even asked the right question. I mean, wouldn't you love it if people just ran up to you and asked what they needed to do to be saved? I mean, come on now, you'd love it wouldn't you? I would. I would wish that all evangelism would be so easy!

This guy appeared to have all the necessary qualities to hear the gospel, believe, and be saved. But as the story progresses, we find out that this isn't the case at all. He appeared to be eager and humble like a child, wanting to know the truth. But appearances can be deceiving.