13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not 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.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Some children were brought to Jesus so that he would lay His hands on them and pray for them. The disciples rebuked the people. Jesus stops them and lets the children through. While adults can sometimes see children as an annoyance that get in the way of their “important” work. Jesus reminds us that it is the children who are most likely to inherit the kingdom of heaven because of their childlike faith. Children only know complete dependence on others for what they receive. It’s only as we grow up that we begin to think that we can do things in our own strength. Don’t let your growing up smother your childlike dependance on God.
A rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what “good deed” must he do to have eternal life. This man has approached Jesus with a preconceived idea of how he can receive eternal life. He hasn’t come with an open question, “how can I receive eternal life?” His question presupposes that a good deed will be what is needed and he just needs to find that good deed. If you read carefully, you’ll see that Jesus never actually answers his question by telling him to believe as he did for many others (John 3:16;4:13-14; 5:24; 6:35,47; 11:25-27). Instead, Jesus’ answer shows us a model for “pre-evangelism” which can help someone move from where they are to a place where they recognise that they cannot save themselves through their own efforts.
Jesus first challenges the man to rethink his concept of “good”. There is only one who is good, and that is God. If we want to be good, then we must be like God. With God, good is not simply being better than someone else, or better than some standard we set for ourselves. God sets the standard for good, and that is perfection. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God—His standard of good (Rom 3:23).
Next, Jesus helps the man see that he fails at his own false assumption. Since what is good is defined by the law—Jesus directs the man to the Ten Commandments given by the absolutely good God. Jesus lists out specific things from the second part of the law and sums it up with the second great commandment, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The man in his self-confidence declares that he has kept all these things since he was young. He, by his own definition, is good. “What do I still lack?” he asks. Then Jesus shows him his lack by testing him on the tenth and final commandment, “you shall not covet.” Jesus invites the man to sell all he has and give it to the poor so he might store for himself treasures in heaven, and then come and follow Him. At this point, the man realises that He is unable to meet the standard because his great wealth was too much to give up. The man was brought to a place where he was fully aware that he was not able to save himself. If we follow Jesus’ example, at this point we can introduce someone to the God who saves, not because of what the person has done, but because of who God is—a God of grace! (Rom 6:23)