Luke 18:18-34 "The Possibility of the Impossible" Introduction: Fields and Houses in the Kingdom of God In Jeremiah 32, God tells Jeremiah to buy a field, because the kingdom of God is coming. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the rich ruler to sell everything, because the kingdom of God is coming. Jeremiah lives at the time of the destruction of the temple in 586 BC. Jesus lives just before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Jeremiah says, hey don't worry guys, this judgment is only temporary! It may look like Jerusalem has had it. And indeed, Nebuchanezzar will destroy the city and the temple. But that is not the end of the story! After all, is anything too difficult for God? With man it is impossible, but what is impossible for man is possible with God. Jesus echoes this story in Luke 18. He even paraphrases Jeremiah's "is anything too difficult for God?" But now Jesus says, sell everything! Why? In Jeremiah's day, seeking the kingdom of God meant trusting in God's promises for Jerusalem. Therefore, buy fields! It may be 70 years before the restoration, but think of it as a long-term investment! On the other hand, Jesus is going up to Jerusalem, where he will fulfill all that the prophets had said about the Son of Man. In doing so, he will establish the heavenly Jerusalem, and therefore he wants his people to invest in that Jerusalem! Where are your investments? What are you invested in? Are you building up a portfolio in heavenly real estate? Or are you preoccupied with wealth on earth? 1. What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life? (18:18-23) A ruler approached Jesus and asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? I think we sometimes have difficulty dealing with this passage because we misunderstand the context. We often think that the question is "what must an unbeliever do to inherit eternal life?" In which case, Jesus' answer is understood as an attempt to drive this man to despair. Because Jesus' answer points him to the ten commandments: Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. Why would Jesus say that keeping the commandments is the way to inherit eternal life? Perhaps that is because this is what Moses had said: You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. (Dt 5:33) Or If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. (Dt 30:16) Israel was the son of God (Exodus 4:22-23). As the son of God, Israel was called to imitate his father. And this rich ruler is an Israelite. He is one of the covenant people of God. And Jesus addresses him as such. Notice that Jesus makes it clear that the demand of the law upon Israel was not perfection: No one is good except God alone. Moses and Jesus agree that Israel cannot perfectly keep the law (that is why God gave Israel all those sacrifices, in order to deal with sin!) But the law is given as the rule of life and conduct for the people of God. And so if you, as God's child, would inherit eternal life, then keep his commandments! Notice the ruler's response: All these I have kept from my youth. (verse 21) We might be inclined to dispute this. After all, Moses had made it clear that murder includes hatred, and Job demonstrates that adultery includes lust. How can this man claim to have kept all the commandments from his youth? But Jesus does not contest this. No doubt this man was indeed a conscientious Jew. He had been careful to observe the law. He had done his best. And Jesus implicitly acknowledges this. He does not challenge this man's faithfulness in law-keeping. Jesus demonstrates real wisdom in taking this approach. Frequently we encounter people who think that they are "good enough." They tend to compare themselves to others and say, "I'm doing okay" Sometimes it is useful to challenge them with a "there is no one righteous" approach from Romans 3. But other times you need Jesus' strategy here in Luke 18. It depends on the person. When someone says, "I've done my best," sometimes you need to say, "that's true." But one thing you still lack. Do you see the power of this response? Jesus doesn't get caught up in a dispute over whether this man has kept the law. He zeros in on the heart: One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (verse 22) Jesus has made it clear all through Luke's gospel that commitment to the kingdom of God requires us to forsake all else for him. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength. That means that we must love the Lord our God with all our wealth. And Jesus says that this rich ruler needs to sell everything and give to the poor, if he would follow Jesus. If you would inherit the kingdom of God, then you must get rid of every encumbrance. When one man said, Lord, I will follow you, but let me first say farewell to those at my home, Jesus replied, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:61-62) Jesus had already told his disciples to sell their possessions and give to the needy. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (12:34) In chapter 14, he said to the crowds, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (14:26-27) Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (14:33) Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem, the road to the cross. And he is telling his disciples he is telling us that the only way to inherit the kingdom of God is to seek first the Kingdom of God. And seeking first the kingdom of God means renouncing everything else. What is competing with the kingdom of God for your attention and devotion? Too often we think that "balance" is the key. "Everything in moderation" That is not the answer that Jesus gives. There is one thing and only one thing that does not allow for moderation! And that is your pursuit of the kingdom of God. Or to use Jesus' words, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." And there is also to be no moderation in our hatred for sin. We may not say, "Just once I'll go out and murder people. I won't do it again..." I know, that sounds ridiculous. But that's exactly the way we excuse our "minor sins." This ruler loves his money. He was a very pious man. He had faithfully kept the commandments. But his heart was divided. He loved the Lord his God with part of his heart. And he loved his money with the rest. And so when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Notice that he did not contend with Jesus. He did not say, "Come on, Jesus, Abraham was wealthy!" Rather, he became sad, because he was very rich. Jesus has revealed his heart, and he does not deny it. But neither can he bring himself to do the one thing that will set him free. He cannot let go of his love of money. He will not sell everything, give to the poor, and follow Jesus. It was passages like this that prompted wealthy people in the patristic and medieval church to sell their possessions, give to the poor, and follow Jesus. It's easy to point to the abuses and failures of monasticism; but have we done better? We often say, "well, Jesus is not saying that every rich person must sell everything," and that is true, but when the practical result is that no rich person ever sells everything, perhaps we have gone too far in the opposite direction. 2. Then Who Can Be Saved? (18:24-30) Because Jesus says that it is difficult...for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. We seem to disagree with Jesus. If you look around Reformed churches, we seem to think that it is easy for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, but difficult for the poor! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. There have been all sorts of explanations of this phrase, "a camel going through the eye of a needle," but the point is rather clear: Jesus is describing something that is impossible. Those who heard it said, 'Then who can be saved?' Remember the question that launched the middle section of the road to Jerusalem? Lord, will those who are saved be few? (13:23) If judgment is coming against Israel, then should we expect only a few to be saved? The remnant? Like in the days of Elijah, when only 7,000 did not bow the knee to Baal? As we will see in a minute, Jesus is saying that it is far worse than that! In Elijah's day there were 7,000. But in Jesus' day there will be only 1. Jesus' hearers understand what he is saying! He is saying that you must renounce everything you have everything you love in order to follow him. You may not love God and money. You may not love God and friends. You may not love God and family. You must renounce every competitor for your affection, and follow Jesus. And those who heard him reply, Then who can be saved? And Jesus answers: What is impossible with men is possible with God. Given what follows in verses 31-34, I am inclined to say that this refers first to Jesus himself. Jesus is the one who renounces everything for the sake of the kingdom of God, and thus receives the inheritance from the Father. And then those who trust in him share in that inheritance. Because when Peter says See, we have left our homes and followed you, Jesus replies: Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Renounce your own ambitions, your own agenda, your own loves, and follow Jesus. Notice that Jesus says that you will indeed receive family and houses by seeking the kingdom (v30). Indeed, you will have family and houses "many times more" in this time. But in order to get that family, in order to get those houses, you must first renounce everything! What is Jesus saying? He is offering to you a new family a new identity. Because the church of Jesus Christ is to be a new sort of community a community that is not tied together by social class, by kinship, or by race; rather, it is a community that is tied together by the blood of Jesus Christ. How are you using the material things that God has given you? If you think of them as your own "private property" then you are not thinking of them biblically. Your house, your car, your computer, your toys all these things are the property of the kingdom of God, and they are to be used in the service of Jesus Christ. If you cannot use it in the service of the kingdom of God, then get rid of it. That was Augustine's argument for why he should be celibate. He did not know how to use sex in the service of the kingdom. And so he concluded that he should deny himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus. This was part of Francis of Assisi's argument for selling all his possessions. His money was getting in the way of his service to Christ, so he gave away all his money. But single-minded devotion to the kingdom of God is not limited to a special class of Christians. So I ask you again: what is getting in the way of your devotion to the kingdom of God? What is competing with the kingdom of God for your love and affection? Remember that the kingdom of God includes everything! There is not a single square inch of creation of which Jesus does not say, "this is mine!" Jesus is Lord of your home, he is Lord of your work, he is Lord of your recreation. So the simple fact that you have things to do at home and in your work is not supposed to be in competition with the kingdom of God! The question is whether you are pursuing those things for the sake of the kingdom, or just for the sake of yourself. If you don't know if you look at your life and wonder, how does this relate to the kingdom of God? Then let's talk! We'll be doing a study this fall on "Economics and the Household of God," where we'll discuss these sorts of topics. On the other hand, you may know very well that some of your pursuits are irreconcilable with the kingdom of God. Brothers and sisters, if you know that, then get rid of it! And if you cannot get rid of it, then that should make you very sad indeed, it saddens our Lord Jesus Christ because it means that you will not follow Jesus, and it means that you will not inherit eternal life! Because the call of discipleship is not just for "special" Christians. It is for all. 3. The Prophets and the Death and Resurrection of the Son of Man (18:31-34) And it was first of all for Jesus. And taking the twelve, he said to them: See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. I can sympathize with the 12. Because if I was one of them, I would hear this and think, "But I can't think of anything in the prophets about the Son of Man being delivered to the Gentiles! Or suffering, or dying, or rising from the dead." The Son of Man is a glorious figure in the OT. In order to understand what Jesus is saying, you must reinterpret the whole Old Testament around him. Once you see it, it is obvious. But it requires a complete paradigm shift. Do you grasp what Jesus is saying? Jesus is saying that he is Israel. In Psalm 80 Asaph speaks of Israel as God's son who has endured judgment at the hands of the Gentiles. Then he asks God to raise up the son of man, the man of your right hand also a reference to Israel. Jesus is saying that he is Israel. He is the man of God's right hand, the son of man, whom God will raise up on the third day. Jesus will take the fire of God's wrath he will take upon himself the curse that we deserved. All he asks you to do is deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him. Renounce all that you have all that you love and follow Jesus.