Matthew 19:16-20:16 NKJV
“Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what
good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’ So He said to him, ‘Why do
you call Me good? No one is good but
One, that is GOD. But if you want to enter into life, keep
the commandments.’ He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ Jesus said, ‘“You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit
adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor
your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ The young man said to Him, ‘All
these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to
him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young
man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you
that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say
to 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.’ When His disciples heard it,
they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked
at them and said to them, ‘With men
this is impossible, but with GOD
all things are possible.’ Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we have
left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?’ So Jesus said to
them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits
on the throne of His Glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses
or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My
Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many
who are first will be last, and the last
first.’
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out
early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed
with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into hi vineyard. And as
he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will
give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour,
and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others
standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the
vineyard and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the
owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give then their wages, beginning with the last to
the first.’ And when those came who were
hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the
first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise
received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the
heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you
no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as you. Is it not lawful for me
to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are
chosen.”
First of all the person asking Jesus the question is asking
from a religious perspective, “what good thing shall I do?” and his reply to
Jesus after He tells him to keep the commandments is “Which ones?” (Really?);
then after Jesus lists the 6 commandments that deal with human relationships he
replies, “All these I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” The fact
that he understood that he did not have eternal life based on his keeping of
the commandments was probably because he had been listening to Jesus’
teachings; why else would he call Jesus a “Good Teacher.”? And ask such a deep
question, even if it was from a religious (works) perspective. The young man
left sorrowful or even despondent because if he truly wanted eternal life he
would have to give up his earthly wealth to minister to the poor and needy
thereby building up treasures in Heaven. (Proverbs 18:11, Matthew 6:19-21, Luke
17:5-10)
Jesus’ perspective is that as the Son of Man He is not good,
He is only doing the will of His Father. This is key, that “obedience is better
than sacrifice.” Jesus was only about obedience, everything that He said and
everything that He did was in obedience to His Father. He spent much time in
prayer and fasting so that He would hear and see and understand what the Father’s
will was. When He told the man, “But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments.” The word for life is the same in verse 16, 17 and 29, zoe = life, motion, activity. Jesus did
not say eternal life, just life. In verse 29 when He is talking to the
disciples He says eternal life. Why? Because man was created as an eternal
being and after the fall from Adam’s sin our natural life was no longer
eternal, the curse of disobedience (Genesis 2:17, 3:19, Romans 5:12-14); in
verse 29 He is talking to the disciples about obedience (doing the works of the
Kingdom). His response to the man’s question, “Which ones?” is interesting; He
only mentions the 6 commandments that deal with human relationships, He did not
mention the 4 commandments that deal with our relationship with GOD. Why? Because being omniscient
He knew the young man’s heart and his desire to not have to make changes to his
lifestyle even though he realized he was not eternally saved. His possessions
had become his god rather than Jehovah and he did not want to give up his
comfort to serve GOD’s
Kingdom, he wanted some easy to do task that would give him eternal life.
As in the parable of
the sower some who receive the Word and believe will get caught up in the cares
of the world and they will be unfruitful (Matthew 13:8 & 22). Why were the
disciples astonished at the statement that it was hard for a rich man to enter
the Kingdom, because they also still believed in their works to save them.
Peter’s statement and question showed they were still works and rewards minded.
Jesus’ answer “and inherit eternal life.” showed that while obedience has its
rewards eternal life is the result of Salvation, which is a work that only
Jesus could do. Salvation is the inheritance of the Children of GOD (John 1:1-5, 9-14, 29-34;
3:13-21; Hebrews 5:1-11)
“But many who are
first will be last, and the last first.” This is one of Jesus’ two most often
spoken statements that we ignore the other being, “He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.” When we read these two statements by Jesus we better pay attention
to what He is talking about and what His point is because these two statements
only apply to believers. To those who reject Him they will make no difference
in their eternal judgment. Jesus also says several times, “For many are called,
but few chosen.” This is important to us also because Jesus is saying that many
will miss their call and purpose. Is this a statement about Heavenly treasures
or eternal salvation? The word called is kietos
= called, invited. The word chosen is eklektos
= laid out, choice, chosen. So we are invited to be laid out for the purpose of
the Kingdom of GOD in
the earth as it is in Heaven!
The parable of the landowner and the laborers is easy to
understand. The landowner is GOD,
the steward is Jesus, the laborers are born again believers called to serve His
will, the vineyard is the earth and the denarius is salvation. All the workers,
as children are inheritors of eternal salvation no matter how long they work in
the vineyard. This parable is not about rewards but about eternal salvation the
inheritance of the Children of GOD.
We are all called to lay down our life and take up our cross and follow Jesus!
How do we follow Jesus? By serving our Father by doing the work of His Kingdom
in the earth as it is in Heaven!
