Matthew 19:13-22: “Parents Bring Their Children To Jesus To
Bless / The Rich Young Ruler Asks Jesus What Good Thing He Might Do To Inherit
Eternal Life”
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In this next
section of the book of Matthew we will see a couple of things happen:
1.1.1.
Some parents
bring their children to Jesus in order that He might bless the children
1.1.1.1.
The disciples
try to hinder these parents from bringing their children to Jesus, however
Jesus rebukes His disciples for this
1.1.2.
A man known as
‘The Rich Young Ruler’ comes to Jesus wanting to know what good thing he might
be able to do to receive eternal life
1.1.2.1.
This man is typical
of a legalist, and he is also self-deceived
1.1.2.2.
The man loved
his riched pre-eminently and because of them he wasn’t willing to surrender
himself to Christ and follow Him
2.
VS
19:13-15 - “13 Then some children
were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the
disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not
hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as
these.” 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there.”
- Some children were brought to Jesus so
that He might lay hands on them and pray for them
2.1.
Here in these
verses we see the actions of some parents who deeply loved their children, plus
though they did not realize that Jesus was the Messiah or the eternal Son of
God from all eternity, they recognized that he was a holy man of God and a
prophet, and thus they sought Him out that He might give a blessing to their
children.
2.2.
In the book of Genesis we see that the
patriarchs pronounced blessings upon others, especially their own offspring,
and thus the pronouncing of blessing had come to be part of the Jewish culture.
2.3.
These parents
were wise to bring their children to Jesus, for parents of all eras ought to
bring their children to Jesus in order that He might bless them, and it should
be the continual practice of all parents to pray to the Lord on behalf of their
children that the Lord will keep them in His hands as they follow Him closely
all of their lives.
2.4.
The disciples
thought that it would be a waste of time for Jesus to be bothered by a request
to lay hands on and pray for some children, however Jesus ‘rebuked’ them. Jesus told His disciples that His kingdom
consisted of ‘such as these’ and thus He was glad to do this for the children.
2.4.1.
Contrary to the
practice of many churches today, there is no record in the New Testament that
the early church ever baptized young children who had not as yet come to have a
personal faith in Christ, and here Jesus did not baptize these children but
rather just layed hands on them and prayed for them.
2.5.
There has always
been the debate about what happens to young children who die before they reach
the age where they know right from wrong and they could make a decision to
accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and follow Him. There are many verses that seem to support
this view:
2.5.1.
These verses in
our chapter are often quoted to support that view, and Jesus indicates in His
teachings that everyone who comes into the kingdom must become as a little
child to enter in, therefore historically it has been the view of many church
leaders that children are covered by the atonement of Christ until they reach
an ‘age of accountability’.
2.5.2.
In the book of 1
Samuel 12:23 there is found the words of David concerning his baby
conceived by Bathsheba where he said, “23 “But now he has died; why
should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not
return to me.””
2.5.3.
According to Jeremiah 1:5, God knows children before they
enter the wombs, and since He elects unto salvation He must also choose which
babies will be saved, “5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,And
before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
2.5.3.1.
In the Old Testament we see an age of accountability being
acknowledged. For instance:
2.5.3.1.1.
In Numbers 32:11 we're told that the people twenty years
and older were considered a part of that unbelieving generation and not allowed
to enter the promised land. Therefore, those under twenty were not held
accountable for the sin of their parents. The children younger than twenty
years old were allowed to enter the
2.5.3.1.2.
In Exodus 30:13-14 the offering of the
2.5.3.1.3.
Numbers 1:3 instructs the census takers to number the people twenty years old
and older.
2.5.4.
In Jonah 4:11 there is a verse that speaks of God not
holding accountable those who cannot discern right from wrong, "And
should not I SPARE Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than 120 thousand
persons that cannot discern between their right hand and left hand; and also
much cattle."
2.5.5.
If young children who die will automatically go to heaven, then
there will be many children in heaven, and coincidentally children are often
described as being alive during the Millenial Reign of Christ prophesied in the
Old Testament scriptures such as Isaiah 11:6, “6 And the wolf will dwell
with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together; And
a little boy will lead them.”
2.6.
So, though the scriptures do not clearly teach that there is an
age of accountability and that the atonement of Christ covers those who die
before they reach that age, it seems that there is a pretty good indication
this is in fact the case.
2.6.1.
We do not know what that age of accountability is however, and it
could very well be the case that the age varies with each child.
2.6.2.
It has seemed to most of the church leaders who have come to
salvation through Christ since the Protestant Reformation that it must be in
the nature of God to not hold accountable the young for not making a choice for
salvation for Christ.
2.7.
As a warning, there are some very wrong conclusions however that
people could come to as a result of believing in an age of accountability and
that young children are guaranteed heaven:
2.7.1.
Some could consider that abortion would be an acceptable solution
for an unwanted child.
2.7.2.
Some could believe that since children are going to heaven if they
die under a certain age that it would be acceptable under certain circumstances
to just exterminate them.
2.7.2.1.
There was a movie once made about the true story that occurred
when a Christian man who was having a hard time providing for his family
actually took a shotgun one night and killed his wife and all of the kids since
he felt like they would be better off for them to be in heaven anyway. The man disappeared after the murder and then
he was caught many years later after he had re-married and begun another
family.
2.7.3.
Some have said
that the belief in a sense could actually undermine the need for the atonement
of Christ since children are guaranteed heaven anyway.
2.8.
I have come to
the conclusion that there is a good reason that the Lord has not given any more
information than what we have concerning this issue of an ‘age of
accountability’ because knowing how people might react if they knew more there
could be some horrible actions that people might take.
2.9.
Thankfully, there
are some good and comforting verses to keep in mind concerning this issue when
it comes up:
2.9.1.
Duet. 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God,
but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this law".
2.9.2.
Psalm 145:17 says, "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind
in all His deeds".
2.9.3.
Rev. 21:4 says, "and He shall wipe away every tear from their
eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any
mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
2.9.4.
Isaiah 65:17 says, "17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a
new earth; And the former things shall
not be remembered or come to mind"”
2.10.
Anyway, as a result
of these verses, in the Calvary Chapels we will sometimes have baby dedications
where a family will bring up their children so that the church can lay hands on
them and pray for them that they will grow up to follow the Lord.
3.
VS
19:16-19 - “16 And behold, one came
to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal
life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There
is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder;
You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false
witness; 19 Honor your father and
mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””” The rich young ruler came to Christ
3.1.
Here in these
verses we have a man who came to Christ, and he didn’t recognize Jesus as being
the Messiah or being divine, however he recognized that Jesus was a ‘teacher’
and he wanted to have assurance that he would have ‘eternal life’, and so he
came to ask Jesus what ‘good thing’ he might be able to do in order to receive
eternal life.
3.2.
As we will see in
this chapter, this man was a typical legalist and also self-deceived, for he
did not even come close to properly assessing himself in the eyes of God.
3.3.
We see that the
man wanted to know what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life, and so
Jesus first of all tries to get the man to realize that he was a sinner, in
fact a transgressor of God’s law, as are all men.
3.3.1.
Jesus tells the
man that, ‘there is only One who is good’, for God alone is righteous and good,
but as for all of the rest of mankind we are basically evil people, fallen in
sin having inherited the sin nature of our federal head Adam, the first sinner.
3.3.2.
Jesus Himself is
the only One who truly is good, being God the Son, third person of the Trinity.
3.4.
Having not gotten
the man to admit his own sinfulness (lack of goodness) and thus his need for a
savior, Jesus gives the man the answer that a Pharisee would have for how to
have eternal life: Keep God’s
commandments!
3.4.1.
There are really
two ways that a person could be saved, they can either keep all of God’s
commandments from their birth on and never break one, or they can trust in the
One who justifies the ungodly through the One sacrifice for all time for sin
upon the cross of
3.4.1.1.
One sin in word,
deed, or even in the heart (or thought life) however would disqualify someone
from being saved through keeping all of God’s commandments, and thus no one
could ever be saved by this method.
3.4.2.
Again in saying,
‘keep the commandments’, Jesus is trying to get this man to confess that the
Mosaic Law of commandments is really our tutor to lead us to Christ, for no one
can keep the Law in and of his own strength, and no one has ever been able to
keep God’s Law close to perfectly.
3.5.
The man’s
response to Jesus’ reply about keeping the commandments was, ‘Which ones?’, and
we can only speculate as to what he was thinking in saying this:
3.5.1.
Legalists tend to
reduce God’s commandments down to a manageable number and interpret those
liberally enough so that they can ease their conscience by thinking that they
are keeping the commandments.
3.5.2.
The man may have
wondered if there were further commandments than the ten that Jesus was
referring to, as in the Ceremonial Laws, and thus he was wondering whether
ceremonial uncleanness would disqualify one for heaven.
3.5.3.
He may just may
have been trying to dodge the issue and thus justify himself by claiming
ignorance of some commandments.
3.6.
Jesus responds to
the man’s question about which commands by reciting the ones which were
man-centered involving our relationships with other people: murder, adultery, false witness, honor father
and mother, love your neighbor as yourself.
3.6.1.
No person has
kept even these man-centered commandments perfectly in deed and heart his
entire life, and thus the man should have been convicted by the mention even of
these man-centered commandments.
3.6.2.
The God-centered
commandments involving loving the Lord with all of your heart, mind, and
strength, etc. were much harder to keep than the man-centered ones.
4.
VS 19:20 - “20 The young man *said to Him, “All
these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”” - The rich young ruler tells Jesus that he has
kept all of these commandments since his youth
4.1.
As I mentioned,
this young man was self-deceived for he did not see himself the way the Lord
sees him at all, for he tells Jesus that he has kept all of these commandments.
4.1.1.
In our society many
people are not much different than this rich young ruler, for they tend to
compare their righteousness to that of other people, and thus they think that
they must be good enough to merit God’s favor based upon their comparison to
others, for they can always find many more people who have done much worse
things than they have done. However,
they are using the wrong standard for they ought to be comparing themselves to
Christ and His perfect righteousness, and then they would realize that they are
totally unworthy of anything but God’s wrath for their sins.
4.1.2.
In our society, I
believe that people tend to think that God grades upon the bell-curve like we
had in school, and that if you are not too bad and fit into the 70% or so that
you deserve to go to heaven based upon your own worth and goodness, however God
expects perfection if we are to make it to heaven based upon our own
righteousness, and thus Paul wrote in Romans 3:19-20 no one will be
justified based upon their works, “19 Now we know that whatever the Law
says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed,
and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the
Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the
knowledge of sin.”
4.2.
It is interesting
and sad also that this young man sensed that he lacked something that he needed
in order to obtain eternal life, and yet he did not realize that the problem
was his own sin, for he had a debt of sin that needed to be forgiven before he
could ever have eternal life. Men are at
enmity (hostility) with God because of their sins, and it is not until their
sins are forgiven through their trusting in that perfect sacrifice of Jesus
upon the cross for their salvation, that the enmity between them and God can be
removed, for as Paul wrote in Rom. 3:23 man is sinful and separated from
God, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
5.
VS
19:21-22 - “21 Jesus said to him, “If
you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and
you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young
man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much
property.” - Jesus told the rich
young ruler to go and sell all that he had and come and follow Him
5.1.
Mark tells us in Mark
10:21, that at this point that Jesus looked at the young man and felt a
love for him, “21 And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said
to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor,
and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.””
5.1.1.
Jesus truly loved
and felt compassion for all people, and even though Jesus knew that this young
man would reject Him and turn away from following Him, Jesus had a genuine love
for him.
5.2.
Jesus could have
spoken to this young man in such a way as to convict him of his sins since the
man seemed oblivious to his own unrighteousness, however instead it is almost
as if Jesus appeared to the man to take him at his word of having always kept
God’s commandments. Jesus challenged the
young man instead as to his willingness to be obedient as He told him that if
he wanted to be complete that he must sell all that he had, give it to the
poor, and then come and follow Him.
5.2.1.
Jesus knew that
the real thing that held this young man from surrendering His life to Jesus and
coming and following Him was the fact that the thing that he really valued most
in life was riches, for he was a man who had many possessions.
5.3.
It is sad here that this young man had a
desire for heaven and eternal life, however he had to choose between serving
God or serving mammon, for no man can serve both, and he chose to serve mammon,
and thus the man went away from Jesus ‘grieved’.
5.4. Hopefully, before this young man died he finally came
to his senses and realized that he couldn’t take his riches with him to heaven
anyway, and thus he was finally will to turn everything in his life over to
Jesus, and he came to salvation.