Enter the Kingdom | Matthew 19:16-25
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?
This is one of those passages that is often interpreted in many ways. What if we just let Jesus speak for himself instead of interjecting our opinions immediately? Jesus shares in this passage that it is really hard to be wealthy. He doesn’t say it’s bad. He just simply says it is really hard. Yet, in our society, we covet wealth, comfort and material possessions. We covet exactly what Jesus warns us about.
Questions:
- What is Jesus suggesting we do, considering we live in the one of the wealthiest areas in the wealthiest nation in history?
- Why do we covet what Jesus warns us about?
