Matt 19:16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher,
what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want
to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18
He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not
murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not
bear false witness,' 19 'Honor your father and
your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
" 20 The young man said to Him,
"All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still
lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you
want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had
great possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to His
disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to
you, 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." 25 When His
disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be
saved?" 26 But Jesus looked at them and said
to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible." 27 Then Peter answered and said to
Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we
have?" 28 So Jesus said to them,
"Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man
sits on the throne of His glory, 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 or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a
hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many
who are first will be last, and the last first.
What do you have on your list of things to do before you die?
They call it a ‘bucket list.’ It’s a list of those things
you would like to have accomplished before you ‘kick the bucket.’ (Why dying is
called ‘kicking the bucket’ is anyone’s guess.)
A better question might be: What do you need to have on
your list to do before you die?
Who better to ask than Jesus? And so this rich, young
ruler comes to Jesus, (which is the best thing any of us can ever do,) and asks
him THE question each of us need to have an answer for before we die.
"Good Teacher, what good
thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
The question is, does he even know
Who he is asking? (And this is why Jesus deals with the identity question
first.) When it comes to the question of entry into heaven for eternal life,
who we ask is more important than what we ask.
Jesus says, “Why do you call me
good?” (A sign of polity and respect, perhaps?) Have you ever referred to
someone as, ‘Reverend?’
Just as the person you called, ‘Reverend,’
is not actually reverend - or to be revered, Jesus is, in fact, good. What does
that mean? What should it mean?
It should mean that His answer to
this rich young ruler also applies to me because the answer about how to gain
entry into the kingdom of heaven is from God Himself, God in the flesh, Jesus
the Son of God.
His answer tells me I must rid
myself of whatever stands between me and God.
-Pastor Bill
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