Introduction
I read a great story
recently about Dr. Russell Dohner that reminded me about a conversation Jesus
had with a rich young man. Dr. Dohner is a general practitioner in the
small town of Rushville, IL. Population under 4,000 with the median household
income of slightly more than $38,000. At 87, the doctor still wakes early every
day in order to make his rounds at the local hospital. By late morning he
arrives at his office where there are no modern amenities. No computers or fax
machines (ok that’s not a modern amenity but you know what I mean). He keeps
all his patients’ information handwritten on index cards. Dr. Dohner started
his practice in 1955 when the going rate at that time was $2 for an office
visit. Can you imagine that? $2 for an office visit to your local doctor! Well
times change and Dr. Dohner has had to change his rate to keep up with the
times I suppose. Dr. Dohner now charges $5 for an office visit! Yup! Five whole
dollars! Dr. Dohner doesn’t accept insurance saying it’s just not worth the
bother. His commitment to his calling as a doctor hasn’t been without
sacrifice. His wife left him when he was still young and he never remarried. He
never really vacations or travels far except for the occasional medical
conference. When asked what the point was of becoming a doctor if he wasn’t
going to take advantage of the financial benefits that physicians often enjoy,
Dr. Dohner said, “I always just wanted to be a doctor to help people with their
medical problems and that’s all it’s for.” He goes on to say, “It was never
intended to make a lot of money.” Dr. Dohner receives money from a family farm that
provides for what he needs and he has no plans to retire.[1]
For those of you
who have been reading my lessons, I have often written that if you want to know
a person or organization’s motivation for doing something, usually (though not
always) all you have to do is follow the money. There’s really nothing wrong
with earning money, even lots of money, but would you still do what you are
doing today if you earned nothing for it. What would you be doing If The Money Didn’t Matter? What if what you were doing was the thing that
was important and the money had nothing to do with it? Would it change the
value of what you do? Would it change people’s perception of what you do? Would
it change people’s perception of you? This, I believe, is the point Jesus is
making in our lesson for this week.
Subject Text
Matthew 19:16-30
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked,
“Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what
is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter
life, obey the commandments.” 18 “Which
ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit
adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,
19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love
your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All
these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 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. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because
he had great wealth. 23 Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man 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
a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow
you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal
of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, 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
children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will
inherit eternal life. 30 But
many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. (cf. Mark
10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30)
Context
Jesus
has left Galilee and has made his way to the region of Judea which is where
Jerusalem and the temple are located. Once there, Jesus begins teaching and as
usual, he is followed by large crowds. The crowds are diverse: sick, healthy,
young, old, men, women, rich, poor and always the religious leaders lying in
wait for an opportunity to condemn Jesus with something he says. Jesus heals
the sick as always and makes a specific point that children should not be kept
from him so that he can bless them. The specific context of our subject text,
however, has to do with a young man who is wealthy. Wealth in ancient Israel,
for the Jews, was considered a sign of God’s blessing. In some respect, this
was true. However, to build an entire theological system around this premise
led to some of the problems of poverty and oppression that Jesus was condemning
during his time. It went something like this: Those who were wealthy were
respected as people blessed by God and therefore were in a position to become
more wealthy. Those who were poor were not blessed by God and perhaps even
cursed by God and were therefore oppressed or shunned all the more which
exacerbated their impoverished state even more. One of Jesus’ objectives was to
change this system of thought to the point of turning it on its head where the
first would be last and the least would become the greatest. “While Jesus never
looks on possessions per se as evil,
for him wealth was not something safe, but a dangerous substance. In many of
his sayings it is personified as Mammon (which in the Aramaic of Jesus’ day
meant simply ‘possessions’ and could be viewed as evil or neutral, depending on
its modifiers) and functions exactly as the idols did in the eyes of ancient
Hebrew prophets in that it seductively draws people away from total allegiance
to God.”[2] Jesus
wanted to demonstrate that it wasn’t wealth that was God’s blessing in their
lives, God is the blessing in their lives.
Once that seed took root in people’s lives, then they could live as “If The Money Didn’t Matter.”
Text
Analysis
We’re
often cynical when we read about someone like this wealthy young man asking
Jesus a question in v. 16. The religious leaders are often seen questioning
Jesus to see if they can trick him into saying something they can use against him.
However, nothing in the text suggests that this young man is anything but
sincere in his question. The young man appears to have everything as we will
see later in the text. But think about it, maybe there is one thing missing,
something he knows intuitively that his money can’t buy, it would appear that
he has begun to wonder what happens after this life. Is it really that strange
of a question? Perhaps the question is familiar to you. Perhaps it is a
question you have asked before or are asking now.
Jesus
starts off v.17a with an odd question when he asks why the young man is asking
him about what is “good.” The response seems like a non-sequitur to the young
man’s question. The young man was asking about a “good thing” he must do and
Jesus’ response is that there is only “One who is good.” The young man’s
question was about an act while Jesus’ answer was about a person. Jesus’ is
trying to direct the conversation toward God as the One Divine Good and that
everything that comes from him is thereby good. Consequently, the Law, given by
the Divine Good is therefore good which is precisely why Jesus is leading the
young man in v. 17b to obey the commandments.
In
vv. 18-20 is the interaction between the young man and Jesus specifically
dealing with the commandments. The young man wants to know which commandments
specifically he should obey as though some were more efficacious than others to
reach his desired goal of eternal life. Jesus’ answer seems a bit odd as he
lists commandment 6, 7, 8, 9, 5 and then the command to love neighbor as self
which Jesus uses elsewhere to encapsulate commandments 5-10 (cf. Matt. 22:39;
Lev. 19:18). Note that Jesus specifically highlights only the commandments
dealing with earthly relationships. It is not that the first four commandments
are not also important, on the contrary, they are of paramount importance. However,
it would seem that Jesus knew precisely the basis of this man’s issue—he was
all words and no actions—actions toward people that reflect what he says he
believes about God. There is no material cost in loving God but there is a
tremendous material cost in loving and caring for people and this was the barrier
upon which the young man would smash himself.
The
young man certainly doesn’t lack confidence when he tells Jesus that he has
done all the things Jesus’ has said he should do in v. 20 and wants to know
what is still left to do. There’s no reason to think he is lying or
disingenuous, and Jesus does not condemn his answer. Instead in v. 21 Jesus
drives home the lesson he is trying to teach the young man when he tells him to
sell everything he has and give the money to the poor and come follow him. This
will give him what he is looking for—the prize of eternal riches. Jesus’
instruction is consistent throughout the Gospels that “If one has more than
enough, the best thing to do with it is to give it to those who have less than
enough and so invest in heaven…the call of Jesus to radical generosity is at
one level an individual decision, but its context is that of a call to
community in line with the function of voluntary communities within his
society.”[3] I
know this particular interaction relates specifically to possessions but can
you see how this principle is really bigger than just possessions? “If money
stands in the way of a person’s committing his or her life to Christ, Jesus
will make the identical demands on that individual as he did on this young man.
If the obstacle is something else, the demands will vary. But many who have
claimed to trust in Christ are still unprepared to serve him will all their
possessions. True Christian stewardship will examine mortgages, credit, giving,
insurance, investments, and a whole host of areas of life not often brought
under Christ’s lordship.”[4] It
is important to remember that the young man is asking Jesus for the way to eternal
life and Jesus’ instruction to divest himself of his possessions is not the
ultimate objective. No, Jesus’ final instruction is for the young man, once
free of his possessions, was to come follow Him. Selling everything and giving
his money to the poor would not have accomplished his goal of gaining eternal
life as even the most committed unbeliever can do the same thing. Therefore, it
is only the commitment to follow Jesus that reaches the objective of eternal
life. For the young man to divest himself of his possessions eliminates the
primary obstacle in his life to reaching that objective. V. 22 confirms the
obstacle to eternal life for this young man—his possessions and wealth. The
young man leaves with his head down unwilling to do what Jesus asks even though
he says he has kept all the commandments of the Law. Jesus demonstrates the
radical nature of being a true believer. “The kingdom demands more than merely
keeping many commandments; if we recognize Christ as our King, we must
surrender to him everything we have and are. Whether he then allows us to use
some of what he has given us is his choice. Disciples do not always lose all
possessions upon conversion—but they lose all ownership of them, for they
themselves belong to a new ruler.”[5]
In v. 23-24 Jesus makes a proclamation
that should give us all pause to think about our own claims of commitment to
the lordship of Christ over our lives. When Jesus says that it is easier for a
camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the
kingdom of God, do we consider that he might be talking about us or do we
deceive ourselves into thinking that we aren’t like the rich young man at all?
You must judge this for yourself but do so with complete honesty and sobriety
because you probably don’t want to leave that judgment up to Christ lest you be
found unfaithful and dishonest with
respect to your claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Vv. 25-27 reflect the shift
from the prevailing, devolved thought and theology at the time of Jesus that
wealth and possessions were directly proportionate to God’s blessing and favor and
by extension reflected, to a certain degree, who was included in God’s kingdom.
What seemed to be forgotten was the clear Old Testament teaching that
righteousness was the result of belief and faith in God while wealth and
possessions were incidental to that (cf. Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3). Again, Jesus
upends what the disciples believed about those who were favored by God much
like he did in his Sermon on the Mount—the first would be last, the poor would
inherit the kingdom , the poor are blessed, etc. This is reflected in their
question of who would be saved. Jesus’ response is telling when he says that
with man it is impossible but with God all things are possible. In other words,
humanity can do nothing to save itself—regardless of the degree of its wealth. Only
God can save! Peter, not one to mix words, asks what I’m sure most of us would
be thinking but afraid to ask in v. 27 asking in essence; since we’ve given up
everything to follow you, ‘What’s in it for us?’
Jesus responds in vv. 28-30 by
indicating the reward that awaits his disciples will be the honored position of
sitting on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Furthermore, all
those who have sacrificed family, friends, and possessions will receive a
reward of a hundred-fold in their place. Well at least this is the way many
read Jesus’ answer. What they fail to read is that Jesus’ promise is given in the
context of the life to come not this life. In this life, we are called to give
up all the things that distract us from God or claim any allegiances that
belong to God. We are called to a life of sacrifice. “Those who deny themselves
in the present in following the teaching of Jesus may be sure of the dramatic
reversal when the eschatological era comes in all its fullness.”[6]
Application
Dr.
Craig Blomberg writes, “This entire episode should challenge First-World
Christians, virtually all of whom are among the wealthiest people in the history
of the world, to radical changes in their personal and institutional spending.”[7] I
certainly agree with Dr. Blomberg but I think we need to be careful that we don’t
fall into the trap of legalism by saying that if we just spend our money the
right way then we can earn God’s favor. This too is the wrong mentality. The “radical
changes” that Dr. Blomberg refers to can only occur when a person is changed
radically from within which is the work of the Holy Spirit. This radical change
will affect not only the way we perceive the value of our possession but the
way we use them as well. Don’t misunderstand Jesus’ teaching in our subject
text. Many have used this text to justify an ascetic life. However, asceticism
and austerity for its own sake is just as bad as prosperity and wealth for its
own sake. We find that Paul tells Timothy that it is the “love” of money that
is the root of all kinds of evil and not money itself (1 Tim. 6:10). Jesus
condemned people’s allegiance to wealth or the exclusive pursuit of wealth even
as he acknowledges the economic realities of the world. In fact, Jesus applauds
the wise use of resources in his parable of the talents (See previous post—Title:
The Tragedy of a Buried Talent;
Label: Pastoral Care; Date: 10/31/12). As is usually the case, Jesus’ teaching
is deeper than simply renouncing all worldly wealth as a demonstration of
faithfulness or believing that worldly wealth is a result of divine blessing
and a reward for faithfulness. The purpose of Jesus’ teaching is to reach deep
within us and pull out the thing or things that prevent us from being fully
committed to following him and show us those things in order to force us to decide
what we want. So how do we live in the tension of a world bathed in wealth or
the pursuit of wealth and the desire to be faithful to Jesus? We get a glimpse
of the answer in the life of Dr. Dohner who recognizes the need for a certain
degree of wealth in order to be able serve others for a nominal fee with his
gift of being a physician. We can observe in Dr. Dohner’s medical practice and
attitude someone who practices medicine as If
The Money Didn’t Matter. This can be our attitude as well but first we must
make an honest and frank self-examination of our motivation with respect to
wealth and possessions: How would you live your life If The Money Didn’t Matter? What would you give If The Money Didn’t Matter? How would you
serve If The Money Didn’t Matter? Would
you remain silent to the injustices of our world If The Money Didn’t Matter? Where would you go to serve If The Money Didn’t Matter? How much
could you demonstrate your love for your neighbor If The Money Didn’t Matter? Would you share the truth of Jesus
Christ If The Money Didn’t Matter? How
could God use you If The Money Didn’t
Matter? So the point is not how much or how little money a person may have.
The point is the degree to which a person can live life according to their
profession as a follower of Jesus Christ in a world obsessed with wealth and
possessions as If The Money Didn’t Matter.
[1] Associated
Press, 87-year old doctor charges $5 per
visit, http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/14/87-year-old-doctor-charges-5-per-visit/,
(accessed November 16, 2012).
[2] Joel B.
Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1992), p. 705.
[3] Joel B.
Green, et al, eds., DJG, pp. 706;
708.
[4] Craig L.
Blomberg, Matthew, The New American
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), p. 299.
[5] Craig S.
Keener, Matthew, The IVP New Testament
Commentary Series, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 301.
[6] Donald
A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical
Commentary, (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1995), p. 566.
[7] Blomberg,
Matthew, NAC, p. 301.
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