Verse 13 to 30.
All right, today's Bible reading is Matthew chapter 19, starting from verse 13.
As Matt said earlier, this is contrasting of two groups of people.
One, the children, and the other one, the rich young man.
Verse 13.
Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said,
Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,
for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.
And he laid his hands on them and went away.
And behold, a man came up to him, saying,
Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?
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.
And 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.
Honor your father and mother.
And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The young man said to him, All this I have kept.
What do I still lack?
Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go.
Sell all you possess and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
And come, follow me.
And when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions.
And Jesus said to his disciples,
Truly I say to you,
Only with difficulty will the rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you,
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for the rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
When the disciples heard this,
they were greatly astonished,
saying, Who then can be saved?
But Jesus looked at them and said,
With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.
Then Peter said in reply,
See, we have left everything and follow you.
What then will we have?
Jesus said to them,
Truly I say to you,
In the new world,
when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne,
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 children,
or lands,
for my name's sake,
will receive a hundredfold
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first
will be last,
and the last first.
Who has braved the weather to be here?
Although now it's holding off,
so that's good.
Okay, we're looking at that passage
from Matthew chapter 19,
verse 13 to 30.
Who will enter the kingdom of heaven?
Christianity must be able to say more than that,
but it must never,
come what may,
say less than that.
Are we may rightly expect the Bible and Christianity
to address all sorts of issues,
important issues,
to answer our fundamental philosophical questions about life?
Why do we exist?
What's the nature of reality?
What does it mean to be human?
How should we live?
We should expect the Bible to answer our theological questions.
Who is God?
What's God like?
How can we know him?
We should expect the Bible to answer our ethical and moral questions.
What is good?
What is evil?
Why are some things good?
Why are some things evil?
How should we live?
We should expect the Bible to address
pressing social issues of our day.
The Bible has much to say on many topics,
but it must also prepare us for the future.
It must also prepare us for death
and for life after death.
Because if there truly is an eternity,
as Jesus taught,
as the apostles taught,
if there truly is an eternity,
where we spend eternity
is the most important question in life.
I mean, even the obvious comparison
of the relative scale of each
proves that to be the case.
What have we here?
70, 80, 90, swiftly passing years.
What have we then?
Days without end.
The world,
the population of our world is ageing.
The number of people over the age of 65
has tripled since 1950.
It will triple again.
Now 6% of the world's population
are in that age bracket
by, apparently,
by 2100,
if the Lord hasn't returned by then.
How will we say that?
2100?
I don't know.
But by 2100,
20% of the world's population
will be 65 and over.
We have an ageing population
in Australia,
in the world.
Most of us expect to live longer
than generations past did.
And so,
policies around retirement age
and superannuation
and aged care and housing,
all these policies matter.
But all of us,
100% of us,
face a far more important future,
don't we?
This present life,
whether
God grants each of us
50 years or 100 years,
this present life
is not the stage,
it's the dressing room.
How do we prepare
for what comes next?
Who will enter
the kingdom of heaven?
That's the question
Jesus answers
in this Bible passage.
In fact,
throughout this passage,
the reading we had,
there are different phrases,
but they're all describing
the same reality.
This comes up again and again,
verse 14,
to such belongs
the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 16,
have eternal life.
Verse 17,
enter life.
Verse 21,
have treasure in heaven.
Verse 23,
enter the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 24,
enter the kingdom of God.
Verse 25,
be saved.
Verse 29,
inherit eternal life.
They're all talking
about the same thing.
The future,
the world,
the age to come,
the future kingdom.
Life beyond death,
or,
as N.T. Wright put it,
life after life after death.
The assumption of this passage
is that some,
but not all,
will enter the kingdom of heaven.
How can each of us ensure
that we don't miss out?
Well,
in context,
in this section of Matthew,
Jesus is teaching on a range
of different topics,
and everything Jesus says
is surprising.
So,
last week,
Jesus,
we saw it,
Jesus taught about marriage
and the disciples said,
well,
if that's the case,
it's better not to marry.
Here,
Jesus teaches about children,
he teaches about wealth,
he teaches about children
and the disciples
and Jesus are on
completely different wavelengths.
He teaches about wealth
and the disciples
are greatly astonished
by Jesus' words.
He teaches about his own suffering
and the disciples
start arguing amongst themselves
about who's the greatest.
Everything Jesus teaches on,
the disciples are just
not getting it.
He keeps confounding
their expectations.
So it is with Jesus' teaching
about who will enter
the kingdom of heaven.
I think it's important for us
that familiarity
with the gospel,
for those who are familiar
with Matthew,
with the New Testament,
with this passage,
that familiarity doesn't lead us
to complacency.
If we don't find
this section of God's word
challenging,
maybe we're not listening properly.
So let's have a listen.
Who will enter
the kingdom of heaven?
The passage breaks down
into three sections.
Verse 13 to 15,
a positive example.
Verse 16 to 22,
a negative example.
And then verse 23 to 30,
the lesson for the disciples.
So first,
the positive example,
children in verse 13,
chapter 19,
verse 13 to 15.
Verse 13.
Then children were brought
to him that he might lay
his hands on them
and pray.
The disciples rebuked
the people.
Now,
who brought the little children?
Perhaps it was parents
or grandparents,
the text doesn't say,
only that they were brought
to Jesus.
They don't even come to Jesus
on their own strength,
but they're brought.
And they come
so that Jesus might
pray for them,
that Jesus might
make intercession,
petition on their behalf,
that Jesus might
plead their case
before the throne of heaven.
It's good that we intercede
for one another,
pray for each other.
How much more
that Jesus himself
intercedes for us.
So the children are brought
for this purpose,
but the disciples
are put out by this.
They rebuke those
who are bringing
the children to them,
to Jesus.
You know,
Jesus,
he's an important guy.
He's busy.
He's got a lot,
there's a lot going on
for Jesus.
You know,
he's under constant pressure.
Crowds of people
are seeking Jesus
all the time.
There are sick people
in need of healing.
There are those afflicted
with evil spirits
in need of deliverance.
There are crowds
to teach and instruct.
There are opponents
and enemies
to evade
or to answer.
There's a lot going on
for Jesus.
He's got more important
things to do
than tend
to infants.
In the disciples'
minds,
there's a scale
of importance,
a scale of significance.
And Jesus is,
you know,
he's right up there
and little children,
well,
they're somewhere
towards the bottom.
Take them away.
Don't waste Jesus' time.
But Jesus doesn't
share that opinion.
Verse 14,
but Jesus said,
let the little children
come to me
and do not hinder them,
but as such
belongs the kingdom
of heaven.
And he laid
his hands on them
and went away.
Now,
two things to observe here.
First,
notice that
Jesus took
the time
to care for
those
particular
children,
the ones who
were brought to him.
He wasn't
irritated.
He wasn't
irritated.
He wasn't
too busy.
Those
particular
children
mattered to him.
He placed
his hands
on them.
He prayed
a blessing
over them.
He cared
for those
ones,
those little
ones.
Preparing
this talk,
it was hard
for me
not to feel
a bit
rebuked
for how
I
often
treat
my
children,
how many
times
my
children
come
to me
and I
will
say,
go away,
I'm
too
busy.
But
Jesus
didn't
say that.
Second
thing to
notice is
Jesus
used
those
children
as
an
object
lesson
for
his
disciples.
He
said
to
his
disciples,
to such
belongs
the
kingdom
of
heaven.
Now,
what
is it
about
children
that
makes
them
an
example
of
those
who
receive
the
kingdom
of
heaven?
God's
kingdom.
Is it
their
innocence
when we
think about
children?
That's one of the
categories we
often think
in.
Children
are
innocent.
Are
they?
The
Bible doesn't
think so.
The Bible
teaches that
we're sinful
from birth.
Admittedly,
children sin
with less
guile and
less
deviousness
than
adults,
most of
them anyway,
but
they're
not
innocent.
And
more than
that,
if the
quality
of
children
that's
needed
to enter
the
kingdom
of
heaven
is
innocence,
well,
that's
all well
and
good,
but what
comfort is
that to
me?
Because
I'm
certainly
not
innocent.
I'm
going to
return to
that
thought
after we
consider
the
negative
example,
the
rich
young
man.
We've
had the
positive
example
here,
children,
we'll
come back
to them.
Let's
consider
the
rich
young
man,
although
we're only
told he's
rich and
we're only
told he's
young in
verse 22.
First he's
just a
man.
Verse 16,
And behold,
a man came
up to
Jesus,
saying,
Teacher,
what good
deed must
I do
to have
eternal
life?
This man
coming to
Jesus is
earnest,
little
children
were brought
to
Jesus,
this man
comes on
his own
initiative,
he seeks
Jesus
out.
He
asks what
seems to
be a
good
question,
he cares
about
eternity,
he's asking
about
eternal
life,
he
recognises
Jesus as
a teacher
with the
wisdom and
authority to
answer his
question,
what good
deed must
I do
to have
eternal
life?
Verse 17,
And Jesus
said to
him,
Why do
you ask
me about
what is
good?
There's
only one
who's
good.
If you
would enter
life,
keep the
commandments.
Now there
are two
parts of
Jesus'
reply,
the two
halves of
this verse,
first Jesus
questions the
man's
assumptions.
Why do
you ask
me about
what is
good?
There's
only one
who's
good,
Jesus
says.
That
second
sentence
there,
there is
only one
who is
good,
may
deliberately
echo
one of
the most
famous
verses from
the law,
the Shema,
Deuteronomy
6 verse 4,
Hear O
Israel,
the Lord
our God,
the Lord
is one.
There is
one God,
the Lord
is one,
there is
one who
is good,
Jesus
says.
So Jesus
challenges
this man,
what kind
of scale
of goodness
are you
operating
with?
When you
ask me,
what good
thing must
I do
that I
may have
eternal
life?
What's
your scale
of goodness?
What's your
standard of
goodness?
I had a
conversation
with a
university
student
this week,
someone who's
kind of
searching out
Christianity
and not
yet a
believer but
he's
investigating
and considering
Jesus and
this student
pointed out
that he's
done a bit
of travelling,
he pointed
out that in
his experience
of travel and
meeting lots
of different
people around
the world,
he found
that 90
or even
99% of
people are
good,
he said.
No,
decent people,
they're not
going to
mug you,
they're not
going to
rob you,
if you
ask for
help,
they'll
give it.
When
Jacinta
was one,
as a
little escape
artist she
slipped out
of her
house and
ran down
the street
towards a
major road
and some
uni students
stopped her
at the end
of the
street and
picked her
up and
looked after
her till
we came.
They didn't
leave her to
walk into
traffic,
they didn't
abduct her.
Decent
people.
I think of
my son
Connor's
soccer coach,
Nick,
he's a
PE teacher
and yet
after he's
been teaching
probably ratty
high school
kids all
day,
he'll
then come
and run
soccer
training
for
you.
He ran
it this
week on
Wednesday
even though
it was
raining a
bit.
He knew
the boys
would want
to get
out for
a run
so he
said,
let's
do it.
He's
patient
with them,
he's fair,
he's kind,
he values
every child
in the team
irrespective of
their ability
at playing,
he sees
that everyone
has a go,
he gives
up his
time,
he expects
!
nothing in
return,
decent
person.
I mean,
not everyone
who crashes
into your
car when
it's parked
on the side
of the
road is
going to
drive off
without
leaving a
note.
Some people
are honest,
lots of
people are
honest.
Not everyone
who finds
your lost
wallet is
going to
steal the
cash and
then try
to use
your credit
card.
What is
our standard
of, I
mean,
aren't
lots of
people good?
But when
Jesus says
there's only
one who
is good,
he's
challenging
our
perception.
He's
challenging
our scale.
What's
our yardstick?
What's
our standard
of goodness?
Is it
being a
decent
person?
Or is
it actually
God
himself?
The
character
of God,
the holiness
of God,
the purity
and perfection
of God?
God,
what is
our
measure
of
goodness?
If the
proper
standard
of
goodness
is the
holiness
of God,
well then
I fall
very far
short
indeed.
Don't
you?
I mean
to recognise
that,
just conduct
that thought
experiment
that John
Dixon
suggested
years ago
in his
book A
Sneaking
Suspicion,
maybe he
got it
from somewhere
else.
Imagine
a movie
screening
of your
life
showing
everything
you ever
said,
everything
you ever
thought,
everything
you ever
did.
It's all
there and
big screen.
Would you
be comfortable
with people
watching it?
Or would
you want
editing rights?
When the
man asked
Jesus,
what good
thing
must I
do?
He was
lowering
the bar.
what just one good thing
and when the man addressed Jesus as teacher who did he think Jesus was
why did he ask Jesus this question why do you ask me about what's good Jesus
says to him who is Jesus is Jesus just a teacher a
guru who can point you in the right direction who is Jesus
so first Jesus challenges the man's assumptions
secondly Jesus gives a direct answer in the second half of that verse
verse 17 if you would enter life keep the commandments
Jesus says you want to do what's good to have a life keep the commandments
it's a straight answer it's not particularly surprising an answer
in fact it's what the law itself taught in the old testament the Torah the law of Moses as as Paul
would later point out in Galatians
Leviticus 18 verse 5 keep my statutes and my rules
if a person does them I don't know if I've got the right reference there maybe keep my statutes and my rules if a person does them
he shall live by them
I'm the Lord
keep the keep the commandments if you do them
you'll live
God says in the law
if you want to enter life by doing
good
Jesus says well keep God's commandments
that's what the law says
it's a straight answer
it's also a potentially frustrating one
I mean it feels pretty broad doesn't it
I mean this this man's come to Jesus saying what good thing must I do
and the answer is I'll just keep the commandments right
okay but what
he goes on which ones
which ones Lord
which commandments
he ignores you notice the man when he asked that question which ones he ignores the first part of Jesus answer about why do you you know what
there's only one that's good and why do you ask me and so on
he ignores the first part of Jesus answer he focuses on the second part
can you be a bit more specific Jesus I mean according to the rabbis there are 613 commandments in the Torah
which ones precisely and which are the most important ones which can you narrow it down a bit
what do I need to do
well Jesus obliges him
verse 18
and Jesus said you shall not murder
you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal
you shall not bear false witness
honour your father and mother
and you shall love your neighbour
as yourself
again what Jesus says here is not particularly surprising
he starts with five commandments from the decalogue from the ten commandments
and rounds it out with
with Leviticus 19 verse 18 you shall love your neighbour as yourself I don't think Jesus is
necessarily trying to be exhaustive here he's being representative he emphasizes
commands instructions in the law that
that are concerned our horizontal responsibilities as humans to one another there's more to say about our
responsibilities to God but Jesus has left that out for the time being
and he said well you want to know which commandments let's start here let's start with these ones
here are some of them
now of course if this man had been around to hear Jesus sermon on the mount
he may have realised just how searching
even these commandments were
do not murder
well Jesus had taught that do not murder
that command means
don't even be angry
with someone else
do not commit adultery
well Jesus had taught that that command means
don't even look
covetously at someone else
love your neighbour
well Jesus had taught that command is so
all-encompassing that it extends even to enemies
rightly understood even this truncated list of commands
ought to have given the man pause
but he pressed on
verse 20 the young man said to him
all these I have kept
what do I still lack
all these I have kept
really
I guess he
hadn't heard the sermon on the mount
or if he had heard he wasn't really paying attention
all these I have kept
Jesus is trying to press through this man's assumption
that he can do enough to have eternal life
verse 17
he's challenged his standard of good
the man simply ignored Jesus' words
verse 18 and 19
he gave a list of commands that should have been daunting
the man brushes it off
all these I have kept
yet
still the man's not confident
still he has no assurance of salvation
so he asks
what do I still lack
well once more
Jesus
sought to overturn
completely
this man's approach to the question
verse 21
Jesus said to him
if you would be
perfect
if you would be perfect
go sell what you possess
and give to the poor
and you'll have treasure in heaven
and come
follow
me
this verse is probably
in these words of Jesus
are probably one of Jesus
least
heeded commands in the Bible
sell what you possess
and give to the poor
I mean the young man ignored it
and he set a good pattern
because you know
we've been ignoring it ever since
sell what you possess
everything
give to the poor
I think we're perhaps
a bit too quick
to find justifications
for not taking it literally
I think we can find
justifications
for not taking it
hyper literally
there are examples
in the Gospels
and Acts
and the rest of the New Testament
of Christians
having possessions
in the end of John's Gospel
the disciples
go out fishing
on a boat
where did they get the boat from
in 2 Timothy 4 verse 13
Paul asked Timothy
to bring his cloak
and his scroll
his scrolls
oh so Paul had a library
it's a comfort for me
but we can be
you know
rather than avoid it though
let's try and listen to it
what is Jesus saying
what's going on here
again
Jesus points out
that the man is aiming
too low
he lifts the bar
if you would be perfect
he says
it's not enough
to be a decent person
it's not enough
to be moral
by human standards
that is not good enough
for the kingdom of heaven
the kingdom of heaven
is not
the home
for decent people
it is the home
for perfect people
people
how can we be perfect
how can we be fit
for God's kingdom
how can we belong there
clearly that's beyond us
this man needed
a completely
different approach
to life
Jesus says
leave your old life
sell what you possess
give to the poor
and you'll have treasure
in heaven
treasure in heaven
there
I don't think
he's suggesting
I think it's just synonymous
with the other expressions
about
eternal life
and inheriting
the kingdom of God
the kingdom of heaven
and entering God's kingdom
Jesus isn't
describing here
a two tier system
where
you know
some people in heaven
have treasure
and other people don't
and some people
in the kingdom of heaven
have
like live in waterfront mansions
and other people
in the kingdom of heaven
are living in shacks
no he's saying
you'll have true
you'll have true riches
get rid of your wealthy
you'll have true wealth
come follow me
the selling of possessions
and giving to the poor
on the one hand
it's another opportunity
for the man to evaluate
his self-professed
obedience
to God's commands
Jesus had said
you shall love your
neighbour as yourself
the man had said
oh well I've done that
I do that
well do you do that
whom are you loving
with your wealth
let me just test that
a little bit
whom are you loving
with your wealth
you're loving your neighbour
as yourself
with your wealth
let me test that
Jesus says
but I think there's
another purpose
to Jesus' instruction here
this man divesting
of his possessions
wasn't for its own sake
but for a purpose
it was in order
to follow Jesus
come
follow me
Jesus says
follow me
see in a different way
Jesus is again
confronting this man
with what is
his heart problem
and that is
his own self-reliance
and self-sufficiency
this man's money problem
mirrored his moral problem
he's a man who is used
to being able to provide
for himself
he sees himself
as sufficient
to meet his own needs
he owns enough
for this life
his money problem
he could do enough
for the next life
his moral problem
he saw himself
as needing
to be sufficient
to meet all his own needs
and yet he asked
what do I still lack
well Jesus answers
you with your moral
rectitude
and your great wealth
what do you still lack
Jesus says
what you lack
is
me
give up the self-reliance
give up the self-sufficiency
give up having enough
and doing enough
and being enough
follow
me
follow me
how does it benefit you
if you gain the whole world
and yet forfeit your life
if you're shipwrecked out at sea
you don't grab hold
of a chest full of gold
you grab a life raft
!
give up that which cannot save you
that you might take hold
of the only one
who can
come
follow me
but verse 22
when the young man
heard this
he went away sorrowful
he had great possessions
and after he had left
Jesus drew
his disciples together
and
taught them the negative lesson
from the rich man
as he had taught
the positive lesson
from the children
verse 23
Jesus said to his disciples
truly I say to you
only
with difficulty
will a rich person
enter the kingdom of heaven
again I tell you
it's easier for a camel
to go through
the eye of a needle
than for a rich person
to enter the kingdom of heaven
Jesus says
verse 23
wealth is an impediment
to entering God's kingdom
but then he takes that
even a step further
and says it's like
it's easier for a camel
to go through
the eye of a needle
now I'm
you know I don't know
much about sewing
but I don't think
a camel's fitting
through the eye of a needle
I know there's a
some people have suggested
that the eye of a needle
might have been a gate
in Jerusalem
that was for pedestrian traffic
and so you couldn't
really get a camel through
except for like a really
tight squeeze or something
but I don't think
there's any kind of
as far as I'm aware
there's no actual evidence
that there was a gate
called the eye of a needle
Jesus is just talking
literally here right
a camel
the biggest animal
that people would
typically see
that he's addressing
the largest animal
that they would be
regularly familiar with
was a camel
and the smallest
of openings
the eye of a needle
I mean the disciples
get what Jesus is saying
when they say
in verse 25
when the disciples
heard this
they're greatly astonished
saying who then
can be saved
the disciples
don't conclude
notice that people
you know
there's a few things
they don't conclude
that people
generally are okay
it's just the rich
who are in trouble
you know those
won't we're okay
but if you're rich
I'll watch out
they don't conclude that
they conclude
if the rich
can't be saved
then no one
can be saved
if it's impossible
for them
it's impossible
for all
impossible for those
who have every
opportunity in life
afforded by their wealth
what hope
do the rest of us have
perhaps they even
viewed riches
and wealth
as a sign of God's blessing
those who enjoyed
that blessing from God
if they can't be saved
who can be
well Jesus
accepts their conclusion
verse 26
but Jesus looked at them
and said
with man
this is impossible
but with God
all things are possible
Jesus accepts their conclusion
yes it is impossible
for people to be saved
with man
it's impossible
for anyone
to be saved
with man
but it's not
impossible
for God
all things are possible
for God
Jesus explains
to his disciples
what the rich man
could not
and would not
understand
if you want
to enter the kingdom
if you want
to be saved
if you want
eternal life
if you want
an eternal future
that is something
that God
must do
for you
it is not
something that
you can do
for yourself
that's the difference
between the little
children and the rich man
you know
we
the thing about
the children
is not that
they're innocent
but that they're
dependent
they're weak
they're helpless
they contribute
nothing
they're brought
to Jesus
so that
he could pray
for them
the kingdom
of heaven
belongs to
such as
little children
because it
belongs to
those who
bring
nothing
of their
own
we've lost
over the last
words of
verse 15
which is two
words in
Greek
but what have
we got here
verse 15
he laid his
hands on them
and went
away
or as
NRV
translates it
I think a little
bit more
helpful
he laid his
hands on them
and he went
on from there
now what are
those words
doing
they're not
there to
you know
say oh he
made a pretty
quick exit
you know
to get away
from those
pestering
children
you know
okay
yeah
I'll bless a
few but
quick
let's get
out of
here
no
what are
those words
doing
that he
went on
from there
it's to
remind us
that Jesus
is on a
journey
Jesus
was heading
somewhere
he was
heading to
Jerusalem
he'd already
been teaching
his disciples
he was
heading to
Jerusalem
where as
Jesus had
already taught
he must
suffer many
things and
be killed
and rise
again
having
prayed for
the children
that they
might receive
the kingdom
he went
on from
there
so that by
completing
his journey
he himself
might secure
the answer
to his
own prayer
those who
are saved
by Jesus
are those
who come
to him
not for
instruction
but for
intercession
not to
ask what
good
we must
do
but to
ask what
good
he
has done
for us
verse 27
Peter said
in reply
see we've
left everything
and followed
you
what then
will we
have
I mean
Peter's
trying to
make sense
of this
does
Peter get
it
partly
gets it
a bit
maybe in
part he's
turning
leaving
everything
into
another
good
work
that
he's
done
I
don't
know
but he
has
the
disciples
have
left
everything
they've
followed
Jesus
answers
him
graciously
Jesus
answers
not judging
but reassuring
not evaluating
or have you
followed me
enough
no not
evaluating
but comforting
verse 28
Jesus
said to
him
truly
I
say
to
you
in
the
new
world
when
the
son
of
man
will
sit
on
his
glorious
throne
you
who
followed
me
will
also
sit
on
12
thrones
judging
the
12
tribes
of
Israel
the
new
world
translates
an
expression
that
means
the
regeneration
God
making
everything
new
when
God
makes
everything
new
Jesus
says
to
his
disciples
you
will
sit
on
thrones
you
!
And
he
goes
on
to
say
verse
29
and
everyone
who
has
left
houses
or
brothers
or
sisters
or
father
or
mother
or
children
or
lands
for
my
sake
whatever
it
is
you've
left
whatever
it
is
that
you've
had
to
say
goodbye
to
whatever
it
is
it
has
cost
you
Jesus
says
you'll
receive
a hundred
fold
and
will
inherit
eternal
!
The
hundred
fold
I
think
!
In
the
!
which
is not
saying
you
lose
one
house
God
is
going
to
give
you
you'll
suddenly
own
a
portfolio
of
a hundred
properties
God
will
provide
for
you
he'll
take
care
of
you
he'll
look
after
your
physical
needs
Jesus
has
it
covered
I
think
it's
pointing
to
the
church
actually
if
you
leave
your
family
well
you
have
a
much
bigger
family
spread
throughout
the
whole
world
and
a
hundred
thousand
homes
that
will
welcome
you
in
and
look
after
you
he'll
care
for
you
here
and
you'll
receive
eternal
life
Jesus
has
it
covered
for
this
life
and
for
the
next
it
doesn't
depend
on
your
wealth
it
doesn't
depend
on
your
moral
effort
it
just
depends
on
him
verse
30
but
many
who
are
first
will
be
last
and
the
last
first
the
first
the
rich
man
last
the
last
little
children
first
in
this
passage
Jesus
gives
us
two
ways
to
life
I'm
playing
on
word
there
for
those
who
are
familiar
with
two
ways
to
live
but
I'm
two
ways
to
life
two
pathways
to
life
to
eternal
life
to
the
kingdom
there
is
there
is
two
alternatives
do
everything
Jesus
says
keep
the
commandments
do
everything
and
you'll
live
do
everything
or
leave
everything
and follow
me
do
everything
or leave
everything
follow
yourself
or follow
Jesus
depend
on
yourself
or
depend
on
him
leave
everything
is both
harder
and easier
than do
everything
it's
harder
in some
respects
because
leave
everything
involves
a complete
self
renunciation
salvation
as
Jesus
had
earlier
taught
whoever
saves
his
life
will
lose
it
but
whoever
loses
his
life
for
my
sake
will
find
it
involves
saying
I
have
nothing
I
bring
nothing
I
contribute
nothing
Jesus
I
depend
on
you
complete
self
renunciation
but
it's
also
far
easier
isn't
it
because
who
can
do
everything
no one
can
do
everything
we'll
always
be
asking
the
rich
man's
question
what
do
I
lack
we'll
always
be
lacking
we'll
never
achieve
perfection
it's
harder
complete
self
renunciation
leave
everything
but
it's
easier
come
to me
Jesus
says
come
to me
all
who
labor
and
are
heavy
laden
and
I
will
give
you
rest
he
has
done
enough
he
is
enough
we
don't
need
to
rely
on
ourselves
we
just
need
to
rely
on
him
that's
how
we
enter
the
kingdom
of
heaven
leave
everything
trusting
in
ourselves
leave
that
behind
and
follow
him
will
you
join
with
me
in
prayer
lord
jesus
we
give you
our
thanks
that
you
walked
the road
to
jerusalem
to
secure
the
answer
to
your
own
intercession
for
us
and
your
own
prayers
for
us
we
thank
you
that
you
have
done
everything
so
that
all
we
must
do
is
leave
ourselves
behind
and
follow
you
thank
you
that
you
make
us
perfect
that
you
have
dealt
with
our
sins
that
you
open
the
gates
of
heaven
for
us
that
we
might
enter
and
so
lord
jesus
we
trust
in
you
and
we
follow
you
help
us
to
continue
to
rely
on
you
all
our
days
amen