THE KING’S BUSINESS
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Saturday, March 20. Matt. 19:23-30.
(John 8:46; 14:20; 8:29). But He saw that the young man had no deep sense of the full force of His own words. To say He was “good” was to say He was God, for no man is good (Mark 10:18) ; and that Jesus was God, the young man did not see. He was superficial and Jesus sought to bring him to the recognition of his super ficiality. Jesus sent the young man to the law because he sought life by doing, and the law is the thing to “do,” if a man is to get life by doing. No frian ever yet has done it so the law serves not to save men but to shut men’s mouths (Rom. 3:19, 20). What this young man needed first of all was to have his mouth stopped and his pride laid in the dust, therefore Jesus sent him to the law. Jesus always sends the self-confident to the law; those who know that they are sinners, He sends to the Gospel (1 Tim. 1 : 15 ). Jesus added to His citations of the Ten Commandments Moses’ wonderful sum mary of a man’s duty toward man found in Leviticus 19:18 (cf. Matt. 22:39). The young ruler replied, “All these things have I observed.” In this, though entirely honest, he was thoroughly mistaken. It did not take Jesus long to show him that he had not loved his neighbor as himself. One com mand brought that out (vs. 21, 22). rhat the young man was not satisfied appears very clearly from his question, “What lack I yet?” And though the young man was deceived, there was a winsomeness in his sincerity, eagerness, earnestness and in his honest though futile attempt to keep the law, that drew out the love of our Lord to ward him (Mark 10:21 R. V.). But Jesus’ love for him did not keep Him back from dealing very plainly with him, thought that dealing caused the young man to turn his back upon Him. The young man went away sorrowful. It was not so much that “he had great possessions” as that the great possessions had him. By turning away from Jesus rather than give up his earthly treas ures, he lost eternal treasures and lost his soul.
Our Lord took occasion from this in cident to point out the peril of riches (cf. Prov. 30:8, 9; Matt. 13: 22; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10). “It is hard,” He said, “for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 23 R. V.). The world is full of illustrations of the truth of Jesus’ statement. Great wealth and real piety seldom go hand in hand. Many a man has lost his spirituality as he has increased his wealth. There are but few rich men saved (1 Cor. 1:26; Jas. 2:5, 6). Jesus’ disciples “were astonished exceedingly” at His words (v. 25 R. V. cf. Mark 10:26). It was the opinion of the day that wealth was an indication of God’s peculiar favor. That opinion is not altogether unknown in our own day. Jesus used a strong figure to illustrate the impossibility of a rich man being saved (v. 24). Men have sought to tone the figure down, but for that there is no warrant. Our Lord meant exactly what He said. His aim was to emphasize the fact that it was utterly impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, but He went on to tell them that while it was impossible for men, it was possible for God to save even a rich man (v. 26). But nothing but the special grace of God can save a rich man. Our Lord in meeting the perplexity of His disciples uttered a truth that has unbounded comfort in it that “With God all things are possible” (cf. Gen. 18:14). The disciples, in their amaze ment, asked an important question, “Who then can be saved?” God has answered this question in Romans 10:13 and again in John 1 :12. The disciples’ thought was if a rich man cannot be saved, then there cannot be much hope for anybody. Sunday, March 21. Matt. 20:1-16. It was Peter’s question in Matthew 19:27 that led Jesus to utter the parable of this passage. There is the most intimate con nection between the question and the para ble, for the central truth of the parable is that those get most who are not trying to
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