7 Things I Wish Jesus Never Said
Matthew 19:16-30
“It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” vs. 23
Lifestyles Of The Rich
(Show video clip)
The American dream. What is the American dream, really? To put it into words, the American dream has become the idea that if you work hard enough, if you try hard enough, if you want it bad enough, you can be rich, own houses, cars, boats, etc. and live an opulent lifestyle of no work and all play. You can get to a point where, as they said in the video, money is not an issue anymore because you have so much of it.
Money, wealth, riches, somehow weave their way into our lives in a way that at times can overwhelm every detail or our lives. Sometimes we might think if we had more money we would be happy. Sometimes we might admit that we know money won’t solve our problems but we think that if sure might make things easier.
Believe it or not, the Bible has over 800 verses, references or stories about money. In fact, money and riches are mentioned more frequently in the Bible than any other subject, including salvation. Why? God is aware of our struggles with money and riches and gives us His Word as a guide. So let’s look at one of those 800 references today from Matthew 19.
Read Passage – Matthew 19:16-30
The “Do-Do” Syndrome
This passage is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke and each one gives a a little different picture of this young man who is dialoguing with Jesus. Jesus is questioned by this man about a riches and the idea of getting to heaven. We get the idea that this man has everything he wants in this life. Why? I think he has what I will call the “do-do” syndrome; I do obey the 10 commandments, I do go to synagogue every Sabbath, I do obey my parents, I do everything that a good upstanding man should be doing.
He has been doing a lot of things and His money has bought him every earthly thing he could possibly need and he has begun to worry about his eternal future. So his mentality is (verse 16);
“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” vs. 16
Tell me what I need to do to get to heaven and I’ll do that too. I mean it’s a pretty simple outlook on life, I’ve done it all so give me the next thing to do and with enough hard work and effort, I’ll do that too and earn my way to heaven
The Real Issue
So, this man confronts Jesus about heaven and how he might buy or earn his way in.
The real issue is the rich young man has is that his focus is on his riches and what he can use them for (i.e. getting to heaven because he is used to buying whatever he wants) and not on God. Jesus wants him to focus on God. Most likely this young man has depended on himself, his money, his “good deeds” and now he wants assurance of salvation.
His question is one that everyone at one time or another asks themselves. Am I going to heaven and if not, what do I need to do to get there? Jesus, in his perceptive listening and observing of this man, realizes that this man needs to understand the real issue. He answers his question with a question. Verse 17:
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good.” vs. 17
By Jesus questioning his sense of “goodness” Jesus is basically telling the man, “You are using the word good and using it about yourself because of your deeds and wealth but there is only one who is good, that is God.”
Riches Offer…God Offers…
We are looking at 7 things I wish Jesus never said. Jesus said, “It is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” I wish Jesus never said that because he is indicating that wealth can be a deterrent to us following God and spending eternity with Him.
I made an observation from this passage that I want to go over with you. It’s the realization that wealth and riches offer us the same things God does but in much different ways. Let me explain.
- Security and Comfort
First, I believe riches offer us security and comfort. When we have riches we surround ourselves with luxuries and the necessities of life. When we have what we need we feel more secure and comfortable. Solomon said in Ecc. 2:10:
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” Ecc. 2:10
Solomon is said to have had more wealth comparitiviely to anyone that has ever lived. He denied himself nothing. But here is the problem with the security of riches and wealth, it is fleeting, here today and gone tomorrow. One change in the stock market, a recession, etc. and boom, everything we had is gone.
Ex. Listen to some stars who had it all and are now in debt. Celebrities with the worse money problems:
Tiger Woods – Owes his ex-wife $100 million (He makes approx. $85 million a year and has a net worth of $900 million
Jay-Z – Lost $50 million in 2 hotel projects he bought in 2007
OJ Simpson – Owes the families of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman $33 million . He tiresd to write a book to cover some of it and it was shelved.
Robert Blake – Acquitted of murdering his wife but was found libel and owes his ex-wife’s families $30 million. He has filed for bankruptcy.
Wesley Snipes – Convicted of tax evasion and owes the government $17 million
Nicloas Cage – Talk about living beyond your means. The actor is reported to have 15 palatial homes around the world, four yachts, a Gulfstream jet and millions of dollars in jewelry and art. Cage claims that his former financial manager was incompetent and that is the reason why Cage owes more than $13 million in taxes for the tax years of 2002 through 2004 and 2007.
Tim Durham – The guy in the video – Is going bankrupt; his car collection was sold, he fell behind on his house, rented a place in California he can’t pay for now, and his company was raided by the FBI and investors lost approx. $200 million.
Solomon’s words in Prov. 11 ring true:
“Those who trust in their riches will fall…” Prov. 11:28
The security and comfort God offers is much different. Listen to how David puts it in Psalm 28:
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” Ps. 28:7
God’s comfort and security is one that is eternal. I love the picture that David paints for us here. God is our shield. Think of a warrior going to battle who carries his shield in front of him. God is that for you and me. As an shield protects a fighter from oncoming arrows and potential dangers, God is that protector for us. And the key comes in the middle of the verse; trust. When we trust God, he helps us. Putting your trust in riches is putting your trust in what you can see. Putting our trust in God is putting our trust in what we can’t see.
- Power and Status
The second thing riches offer us is power and status. Verse 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.” vs. 21
Jesus hits a nerve with this man. The thing he trusts is his possessions. Why? They give him power. Isn’t it amazing how we flock around the rich, we hold them up, idolize them and give them special attention.
Ex. Going to special events like the Oscar’s they are given all kinds of free things like watches, jewelry, etc. Oprah once said something like “why are they giving me this now when I don’t need it, where were they when I was struggling.”
Notice in this verse how Jesus connects this man’s goodness with others and how he views others. He thinks he is good, Jesus uses the word perfect, because that’s the way he thinks of himself. So he calls him to give his possessions to the poor, those he is Lording it over.
Ex. BART – we have been paying into BART since 1968 but who gets BART? The peninsula and those that have the money. What do we get? EBART!
Now God offers us power and security too. His power and his security. In fact, it’s the idea that all we have is from God, he has blessed us with what we have. Back to Solomon in Ecc. 5:
“Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.” Ecc. 5:22
What we have is a gift from God. One of the reasons it is so hard for the rich to get to heaven, many of them view their wealth as something they have earned and failed to realize that God has blessed them with the right intelligence, ingenuity, or skill to earn that money.
- Joy
The third thing riches give us is joy but the joy is as temporary as the riches are. Verse 22:
“When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” vs. 22
Riches can bring us joy, the idea of feeling good about what we have. But let me challenge you on this for a second.
Ill. Think of a gift you received that you always wanted. How long did it make you happy? Is it still making you happy?
Unfortunately, this young man couldn’t be happy without his riches so he goes away sad. His temporary riches are actually more important to him than his eternal joy.
God wants to bring us a deeper, richer, long lasting joy. David gives us a great verse on this, Psalm 51:12
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12
Real joy comes not in possessions but in eternal salvation. We live in choice. We choose how to view the circumstances of our lives and how to react to them. You can choose to be happy in what you have or to always think about what you don’t. we are so busy looking ahead and hoping for what is to come or looking back on what we had that we miss living in the now. What you have now can be a real blessing, and bring true joy. You can choose to, or not to, live in the joy. What are you going through right now that might be seen as difficult that you can choose to look at as a blessing?
List 10 Things…AND WHY!!!
Here is a challenge my wife told me about that I want to challenge you with. List 10 things you are grateful for. But you need to add a second step to that. Then list why you are grateful for them. It adds another dimension that you might not realize is even there.
