(Matthew 19: 16-30)

Parable of the camel and the rich

(Matthew 19: 16-30)And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

 

Man was made in God's image. What makes humans different from beasts is eternal. The rich young man asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. It is said that not only the rich young, but not everyone is good. The rich young man said to Jesus, "Good teacher." However, Jesus answered that there is no one but God who is good. Not all beings who do not obey God's Word are good. All beings of disobedience become evil. It means that the disobedient angels in the kingdom of God are evil, and that Adam and Eve who failed to keep God's command in the Garden of Eden are also evil.

Jesus told the rich young man five of the Ten Commandments that are human: "You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not testify falsely, honor your parents." The other five are about God. God told the people not to make idols for themselves. Those who do not obey God's Word are those who make idols for themselves.

The reason for making idols is not for idols, but for them. God also spoke of the Sabbath. Today, people think of Sunday as a day off of the week. But for humans, the Sabbath is not a concept of rest, but a concept of giving to God in Christ. It is not a day, it is always a Sabbath in Christ. So, to say that we should observe the Sabbath day is not knowing the concept of the Sabbath itself. People are thinking from God-centered to human-centered. So, the word Lord's Day is not correct. The day of the Lord will be the day of the Lord every day in Christ.

The rich young man replied that he had kept all five commandments of Jesus. In Luke 18:22, 『Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. The rich young man was young, but he must have been an official at the time. This man also had faith. However, what Jesus said to the rich young man is about covetousness. It means that eternal life and things of this world cannot be pursued at the same time. If he pursues eternal life and the things of this world at the same time, he becomes a person who does not give up covetousness. Jesus tells the rich young man, "Priority should be God."

My master's life is not saved from God. Jesus' twelve disciples fled before the cross. This means they are the owner. The life in which you are the master cannot escape from sin. Even if you say that you have been forgiven, you will continue the vicious cycle of sinning again. Salvation is the transition from one's master life to Christ's master life. Salvation comes from darkness to light. Salvation is moving from the world to the kingdom of God. Today, even if you believe in Jesus and believe you are saved, if you still live in the dark, you will be an unrepentant person. Those who love the world still in the world are not saved. It is because there is covetousness in the love of the world. In Luke 18:23『And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 』 In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is expressed in love with a rich young man. Even if Jesus loves the rich young man, the rich young man has been extremely worried and left. There are more words in Jesus' love that require patience than words of joy. However, most churches today prefer to speak words of joy rather than words of patience. Today, it means that many churches are following money, not following the Word.

The distorted Christian truth is also the main cause of covetousness for money. There are two typical idols of the Old Testament. Baal and Asdaroth. Baal is the god of success and wealth, and Asdaroth is the god of pleasure, happiness, and love. Even in the New Testament, wealth and pleasure are idols. In Revelation, it was expressed as a beast and a harlot. Jesus warned his disciples to beware of riches. In the world, wealth is a necessary condition, but if there is covetousness in it, the Bible says to abandon it.

Today, the desire for wealth in some large churches is extreme. Even if you think you are saved, those who are greedy cannot be saved because covetousness is an idol, because covetousness is an old man and evil. So, it is to remove the covetousness. Those who are greedy for riches will be unrepentant. To those who think the Kingdom of God is good and the world is good, God will say, "I don't know you." In many cases, discord at home is caused by wealth. If God's Word does not take precedence and wealth causes family ruin, then unless you repent, you will not be saved. If Jesus cannot be the master, everyone will be the one who loves the world.

In the book of Revelation, the beast precedes the idol, which is the word "icon" in Greek. If people do not bow to the idol, the beast (the antichrist) kills them all. We must realize that such an age is slowly approaching. Wealth became an idol for the rich young man. When a rich young man becomes rich, it means that he is rich by taking others. It is not that they are justly rich. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus did not tell the rich young man the commandment, "Do not covet others." However, the Gospel of Mark says, "Don't cheat and don't take it." The Gospel of Matthew says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus is pointing out covetousness. Rather than live for riches, we are saved only by living according to God's Word.

In 2 Chronicles 16: 9 『For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. Are we going to live for the success and fortune of the world, or will we go wholeheartedly toward God? The solution to the problem would be to get rid of covetousness. Covetousness does not obey God's Word, for it is Satan's heart. If you do not forsake your covetousness, you will forsake God. So, God will forsake him. In Colossians 3: 5, 『Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 』