I encourage you to read Matthew 19:13-20:16 from a literal Bible translation before you go on with this. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or New International Version (NIV) would be my top recommendations.
Yesterday's post was from Matthew 19:1-12 where Jesus talked about human relationships; especially marriage and divorce. I said that we really can't reach a conclusion of what Jesus meant until we read further. Indeed I believe this is one of those cases where if you immediately apply what Jesus said without taking into account the broader context you end up with the exact opposite of what he meant! Matthew's gospel is complex and not everything is straightforward. But one thing is consistent. Jesus teaches in a way that leaves everyone condemned and falling short. Thus he is driving all his followers to realize they need to depend upon God's grace. That is, having favor before God that they cannot earn by their own goodness. If you try it on your own you are sure to fail somewhere. And if you think you have managed to get it all right on your own you've still failed! You're fooling yourself!
There are three scenes in this passage: children, the rich man, and a parable of the laborers in the vineyard. They link around the common theme of God's kingdom not following human logic.
Children in those days were not treated the way they are today. While parents certainly loved their children their lives did not revolve around them. Sports, music, drama, and the like were not in the picture! It was a subsistence economy based almost entirely on hard labor and physical skill. Almost everyone worked physically hard all the time. Children were simply too weak and unskilled to be of value - at least not until they reached "adulthood" which was around the age of thirteen.
Paying attention to children - other than to discipline them or teach them to be productive - was a waste of time. Certainly a great teacher would not make time for them. Jesus, however, uses them as an example. It was precisely a child's inability to do anything of value that made them examples of God's grace. Adults could fool themselves into thinking they were strong or that they were important. Adults could fool themselves into thinking their righteousness or skills were essential for God to work through to bring about his kingdom. Not so.
To prove the point the very next scene is the rich young man. If anyone could claim he was living as God wanted it was this guy. He appears to have a genuine passion for doing things the right way. He embraces righteousness with all his heart. Sometimes artists depict him as being pompous or conceited. I disagree. I think he was a hard working, sincere, kind hearted guy. You would probably like him.
He asks Jesus, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" Right there we should see the flaws. This man seems to think getting eternal life is a transaction with God. He is assuming that getting eternal life is something he can earn on his own. He is not seeing himself as a child dependent upon an adult (God being the adult). He is seeing himself as an adult with something of value to offer God.
What "good deed" must he do?
He must rid himself of the ability to depend upon himself! He must rid himself of the mindset that by his own goodness he can make it. Jesus tells him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, give your money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The man leaves grieving for he had many possessions. He appears unwilling to give up his self-security; and his pride.
The disciples are flabbergasted. Rich people were believed to be especially blessed by God. Their wealth was seen as proof of it. But Jesus teaches that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
A legend emerged in medieval times that there was a tiny gate in Jerusalem called the Needle's Eye. It was too small for loaded camels to pass through, unless they were unloaded of their burdens, got down on their knees, and tried really hard. While it makes for good imagination, no such gate ever existed. It misses the point besides. Jesus then makes the situation clear. The disciples ask, "Then who can be saved?" To which Jesus basically replies, "No one."
Okay, he doesn't actually say that! But that is indeed his point when he does say, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
It is important for us to take a moment and dwell in the reality that eternal life is impossible for us to achieve. We simply can't do it. No amount of good deeds, pure motives, and upright living will get us there. Most people in our nation today appear to live with the idea that if they are basically good people then they will go to heaven. They couldn't be more wrong! I won't make any claims about receiving eternal life. That's God's business, not mine. But I do know you can't earn it, deserve it, expect it, or merit it in any way shape or form. It is God's gift. It is a true gift, a pure gift. The sooner you realize it the sooner you can breathe deeply the relief of living in God's grace. Martin Luther's famous last written words were, "We are beggars."
To reinforce the idea that eternal life is not about merit Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The idea that some people work all day while others work only an hour, yet all receive the same pay is an offense to our sense of justice. The summer I spent working long hours in the hot sun doing road construction was miserable. I felt I definitely earned the pay I received. I would have been not only jealous but enraged if someone who only worked one hour received the same pay I received for a typical 13 hour work day!
This sense of injustice is exactly Jesus' point. He does not mean that God has no sense of fairness. But he is erasing all doubt that eternal life is about our strength and our abilities.
It is grace, pure and simple. Grace is always amazing grace. Grace that can be calculated, expected, or earned in any way shape or form is no longer grace.
Remember I said that if we take Jesus' teachings on marriage and divorce by themselves we'd get the completely wrong idea? Now we can return with a better understanding and get the right idea. Jesus knows human relationships can be deeply nurturing. They can strengthen, heal, and bless. He also knows they get messed up. Whether it's between spouses, or parents and children, or even friendships among co-workers, real harm can be done. The foundation of society is trusting relationships. When they work all can be blessed. When they don't many are hurt, and very deeply. So when a relationship in any shape or form becomes too destructive, how should it end? Does Jesus say you can end it with a legal contract? Does he say you just walk away? No. He immediately follows his teachings about relationships with teachings about grace. We need to understand our lives and our relationships in light of grace and God's promises of eternal life. And so for example, Jesus never condemns divorce. But he does frame it in light of God's creative purposes and in light of our need for grace.
Tomorrow we continue with more teachings about God's ways. They will appear completely irrational to us. But, as we just saw, rationality (human reason) can't save anybody!
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