Sell All You Have
Read the Text: Matthew 19
Memorize the Text: Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)
Consider the Text: Matthew 19:16-22
In college, a common statement around midterms and finals would be, "Cs get degrees." Other students would spend time calculating the bare minimum score needed on a final exam or paper to pass the class. The common thread in both these occurrences is the desire to know the minimum requirement for success. In Matthew 19, we find that Jesus engages with a person known as the rich young ruler. This young man desired to know the requirement for obtaining eternal life. The foundation of the desire rested in the knowledge to know the bare minimum needed to gain the gift of eternal life.
The rich young ruler started with a SERIOUS QUESTION. He wanted to know the way to eternal life. This man had accumulated great material wealth in the eyes of the first century. He did not lack any wants or desires that occupied his heart. Still, he knew that he still did not have eternal life. Thus, the question centered on filling the void in his life that materialism and wealth could not touch. The young man exemplified how we must long for eternal life that cannot be gained through the means of this world.
Jesus started responding by pointing to the need to keep the law. The rich young ruler's response to Jesus indicated that he understood that something more than the law was needed. His question of "What do I still lack?" reveals that he desires to know the MINIMUM REQUIREMENT to gain eternal life. He did not seek to go over and above any requirement but wanted to ensure that the minimum requirement was fulfilled. He wanted the certainty of eternal life without an extreme cost.
Today, we can approach Jesus similarly if we are not cautious. We treat Jesus as a form of insurance that gives us a guarantee but does not adjust our daily life. We want the assurance of eternity without the daily cost. Such an approach asks the serious question concerning eternal life but only wants to fulfill a minimum requirement.
Jesus presented the true cost of following him when he commanded the rich young ruler to go and sell all he had and follow Jesus. The cost Jesus declared aligns with the cost Jesus had taught concerning following him earlier in the Gospel. Thus, Jesus stated that the minimum requirement is a GREAT COST. The cost meant to forfeit the false assurances of the world and possible hindrances of following and trusting Jesus. When all is surrendered, one must follow and journey after the Lord.
Jesus was not stating that poverty is required for following him. Instead, Jesus was teaching that any hindrance that would keep one from following or any item that could become an idol must be rid of and sacrificed. The command centered on a declaration of what was valued in life. Thus, we must understand the great cost of following Jesus today. We must value Christ more than anything else.
Matthew declared that the rich young ruler LEFT DISHEARTENED. He left disheartened because he loved the things of this world more than he loved the Lord. Therefore, the cost of following Jesus was considered and viewed as too great. As a result, the young man could not possess the one thing the world or religion could never provide, eternal life. Similarly, when we walk away from Jesus because we see the cost of following as too high, we live in a state of being disheartened because our heart is centered on the wrong treasure.
We cannot approach following the Lord as a fulfillment of minimum requirements. Jesus demands an all-or-nothing response. Each of us is like the rich young ruler; there is something between us and complete obedience to the Lord. We must lay those items down and pursue him at all costs to follow him.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
