That's good to see you this morning. Our sermon text is Luke chapter 18 verses 15 through 34.
That's page 824 in the Pew Bible. Go ahead and turn there with me.
Luke chapter 18 verses 15 through 34.
Let me read this text for us.
And a ruler asked him,
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said to him,
Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not murder.
Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.
And he said,
All these I have kept for my youth.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him,
One thing you still lack.
Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
And come, follow me.
And when he heard these things, he became very sad,
for he was extremely rich.
Jesus, seeing that he becomes sad, said,
How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
For 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.
Those who heard it said,
Then who can be saved?
But he said,
What is impossible with man is possible with God.
And Peter said,
See, we have left our homes and followed you.
And he said to them,
Truly, I say to you,
There is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children
for the sake of the kingdom of God
who will not receive many times more in this time
and in the age to come,
eternal life.
And taking the twelve, he said to them,
See, we're going up to Jerusalem,
and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles
and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
And after flogging him, they will kill him.
And on the third day, he will rise.
But they understood none of these things.
The saying was hidden from them,
and they did not grasp what was said.
Let's pray.
Oh, Father, how often the things in your word seem hidden to us.
We pray now in these moments this morning
that you would send your Spirit
that we might have the illumination we need,
not just in mind but in heart,
to really understand and grasp and receive
what you are speaking to us, your church, this morning.
Oh, Father, help us to understand more and more of who you are
through Christ, your Son,
by your Holy Spirit.
We pray.
Amen.
So this passage from Luke 18
is about entering the kingdom of God.
In verses 17 and 24 and 25,
in verse 29,
we see that phrase mentioned again and again.
And in fact, the idea of inheriting eternal life
in verses 18 and 30
and of being saved in verse 26
are more or less synonyms for the same thing,
entering the kingdom of God.
But what did that mean for Jesus
and His audience of first century Jews?
Well, unlike a lot of spirituality today,
the biblical picture of redemption
is not about escaping this material world.
Rather, it's about healing and restoring the material world.
For the Bible, when God's kingdom,
that is when His sovereign, saving reign
arrives in fullness,
it would mean the joining of heaven and earth,
the end of evil, corruption, decay, and death,
and the unleashing of life and joy indescribable.
God would at last dwell with His people
and creation would be healed.
That's what the kingdom of God,
eternal life, meant to Jesus and His listeners.
And on top of that,
what Jesus has been teaching throughout Luke's gospel
is that this life of the age to come,
though it would come fully and finally one day,
Jesus was teaching that it had already begun.
It had already been launched in the present
in His own person and ministry.
God's kingdom, God's saving power
had arrived and was on the move.
So for us, the question of entering the kingdom of God
that Luke 18 puts before us
isn't some sort of pie-in-the-sky idea.
No, it actually touches down
to what we're all really longing for,
which is a world made right one day.
And we humans made right within it,
right with one another,
and most of all,
most of all,
made right with God,
our Creator.
So this passage has a lot to say
about entering the kingdom of God.
And I think we can sum it up like this.
Jesus tells us
that entering the kingdom of God
is easier than you think.
And it's harder than you think.
It's more costly than you think.
And it's more worth it than you think.
So first,
entering the kingdom of God
is easier than you think.
We see this in verses 15 through 17.
People are bringing their children.
Luke says they're even bringing
their infants to Jesus
so that He can lay His hands on them
and bless them.
That's what it means by touch them.
It was a sort of ancient Jewish practice
to sort of gently lay your hands
on a younger generation
and speak a blessing over them,
to speak a word of favor
and blessing.
Now, children in the ancient world
were not viewed
with all the sentimentality
that we have
for children today,
right?
Children are innocent and pure,
and if only we could just
get them away from the corrupting
influences of civilization,
life would be perfectly fine.
No one believed that
in the ancient world.
In fact,
the disciples think
that children are a bit
of a waste of time
for Jesus
and for His kingdom movement.
After all,
aren't they on their way,
Jesus and His disciples,
to Jerusalem?
In the minds of the disciples,
the kingdom of God is near.
Tensions are rising
on top of that
with the religious
and civil authorities.
This conflict is brewing
as Jesus and His kingdom movement
approach the capital.
These are momentous days.
God's business is at hand.
This is no time
to be wasting
on children.
They're a distraction at best,
a burden at worst.
But Jesus interrupts
the disciples,
and He calls the parents
and their children back.
And He shows a kind
of favor and openness
to children
that's almost unparalleled
in the ancient world.
You won't find it
in any other
religious leaders
or movements of the day.
And Jesus says,
the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these.
And then in verse 17,
Jesus utters this
authoritative pronouncement,
truly I say to you,
if you don't receive
the kingdom of God
like a child,
you won't enter it
at all.
You see,
entering the kingdom
isn't something
only for the qualified
and for the experienced,
for the grown-up,
for the important.
Even a child
can enter the kingdom.
It belongs
to such as these,
Jesus says.
It's easier
than you think
at first.
But if even a child
can enter the kingdom
of God,
Jesus goes one step
further in verse 17
to say,
only the childlike
can enter.
And here's where
things get interesting.
Now again,
we tend to
sentimentalize
children,
don't we?
So when we hear
Jesus say,
you have to receive
the kingdom of God
like a child,
we tend to think
of some virtue
that's inherent
in children
that Jesus is commending.
Children are so humble.
Children are so innocent.
Children are so trusting.
But I think
Jesus' point
is much more
penetrating than that.
Jesus is not commending
childlikeness
because of some
supposed virtue
that a child has,
but because of what
children don't have.
In other words,
children are weak
and vulnerable
and completely
dependent.
they can't survive
on their own.
They are utterly
helpless.
Even
infants,
Luke says.
And that means
those who enter
the kingdom
must likewise
receive the kingdom
as those who are
weak,
vulnerable,
needy,
and dependent
as those who have
nothing to bring.
Imagine a king
gathering an army
to retake
his rightful throne.
Imagine one
strong warrior
after another
coming before the king
touting their strength
and experience
hoping that they
might get the honor
of fighting
with their king.
And then as this
procession comes
through the hall,
imagine
a child,
even an infant
being brought in.
Now what might
this child have
to offer to the king
on his way to war?
Nothing.
Nothing but need.
The child will have
to be fed,
protected,
and probably carried
for most of the journey.
Children don't bring
anything to the table.
They're weak
and vulnerable
and needy
and dependent.
And Jesus says
that's how you have
to receive the kingdom
of God
if you're going
to enter it
at all
as one who is
weak
and needy
and dependent.
And that means
at a deeper level
entering the kingdom
of God
is harder
than you think.
This is our second point
and we find it
in verses 18
through 25.
enter into the story
a certain ruler.
Now Luke doesn't say
whether he's a religious ruler
like the ruler
of a synagogue
or whether he's a local
political official
but we see
as the story unfolds
that this ruler
kind of has everything.
Wealth,
position,
and according to Matthew's gospel
youth,
a rich
young
ruler
isn't that
what we dream of
to be young
and wealthy
and important.
And on top
of all that
he's seemingly
good.
I've kept the commandments
from my youth.
So he's not just young
and wealthy
and powerful
but he's morally upright.
He has integrity.
This is definitely
the guy
that you want
dating your daughter,
right?
He's the one.
But then again,
what does it mean
to be good?
That's Jesus'
first
gentle challenge
to this rich
young ruler.
Why do you call me good?
Is anyone good
but God alone?
So easily
the ruler
has used this word
good,
hasn't he?
What,
Jesus asks,
is your standard
of good?
Yes,
goodness may be
attainable
on a horizontal
axis,
comparing yourself
to others,
measuring yourself
against the external
requirements of the
commands,
but what happens
when you put
goodness on its
proper vertical
axis,
when you realize
that goodness
must be considered
ultimately in
relation to God?
good.
Then,
as Jesus says
in verse 22,
we see that
something
is lacking.
Jesus tells
this rich
young ruler
that he must
part
with the
primary source
of his
privilege
and status
and security.
That is,
in other words,
he must part
with his money.
Sell everything,
give it to the
poor,
then you'll
have treasure
in heaven
and you can
come follow
me.
You see,
Jesus perceived
the heart
of this rich
young ruler
and what Jesus
could see
is that his
functional Savior,
his functional
Lord,
the one thing
he couldn't do
without,
the one thing
he couldn't
part with
was his wealth.
So,
Jesus puts
his finger
right there.
Now,
of course,
Jesus doesn't
tell every
disciple
to sell off
all of their
belongings,
but for this
rich young
ruler,
entering the
kingdom
wasn't possible
any other
way.
You see,
though externally
he had kept
the commands,
no sex
outside of marriage,
no killing,
no stealing,
no lying against
your neighbor,
honoring your
parents,
though externally
he had kept
the commands
internally,
he was guilty
of breaking
the first
and the
greatest
commandment.
You shall
have no
other gods
before me.
His money
was his
God.
That is,
it was his
source,
his ground
of security
and identity
and hope
and purpose.
It was the
thing that
made himself
sufficient.
and hearing
that he must
part with
his money
in order to
enter the
kingdom,
he becomes
very sad.
Very sad,
Luke says,
because he is
very wealthy.
But note,
friends,
sadness
does not
equal
real repentance.
repentance.
So you see,
it's harder
than you
think to
become like
a child,
to become
weak and
vulnerable and
dependent and
enter the
kingdom of
God.
It means
having no
other gods,
no other
idols above
the one
true God,
to have
no self-
grounded
source of
your own
sufficiency.
It means
opening your
hands from
everything else
that might be
your identity
and your
trust.
In fact,
Jesus doesn't
just say
it's difficult.
He says
for humans,
it's
impossible.
It's
easier for
a camel
to go
through the
eye of a
needle than
for a rich
person to
enter the
kingdom of
God.
I was
thinking about
actually bringing
a needle from
home and
holding it
up.
If I had
done that,
you probably
wouldn't even
be able to
see the
eye of the
needle from
where you're
sitting,
would you?
You might
not even
see the
needle.
But you
wouldn't miss
the camel,
no matter
where it was
in the room,
right?
Maybe you'd
smell it before
you saw it,
but you
wouldn't miss
it.
Now imagine
that camel
squeezing
through the
needle's eye.
It would
be
impossible.
Now of
course Jesus'
words apply
to more
than just
the idol
of material
wealth.
Anything
can take
that place
in our
hearts,
can it?
That source
of self-sufficiency
and trust
and security,
that thing
we use
to battle
back
our need.
But wealth
can be
particularly
deceptive,
can't it?
Wealth
fools us
into thinking
that we are
self-sufficient
apart from
God.
It promises
security,
we'll be
okay.
We've got
enough in
the bank
account.
It promises
status,
people start
to actually
listen to
you.
It promises
influence,
people might
actually do
what you
say.
Okay.
how many
of us
honestly
would have
actually
obeyed
Jesus
and sold
everything
if we
were in
this rich
young man's
shoes?
Imagine if
that were
the requirement
Jesus laid
upon you.
And so
the crowd
say,
who can
be saved?
in the
first century
wealth was
popularly
viewed as
a sign of
God's
favor.
So they're
essentially
asking if
the successful
can't be
saved,
who can?
If the
people who
have it
together
can't be
saved,
who can?
And notice
what Jesus
says in
verse 27.
He doesn't
say,
well,
the really
spiritual
and committed
after much
practice
and years
of teaching
are able
to become
childlike,
forego their
idols,
and turn to
God.
You can do
it.
It just
takes some
practice
and some
time.
That's not
what Jesus
says.
Nor does
Jesus say,
well,
once you
really hit
bottom,
then you'll
be able to
become
childlike.
that's not
what Jesus
says.
He says,
with man,
it's
impossible.
In your
own strength,
in your
own spirituality,
you can't
get rid of
your idols.
It's
impossible.
It's not
just harder
than you
think.
It's
infinitely
harder than
you think.
But what is
impossible with
man is
possible with
God.
God and
God alone
can do
what we
cannot do.
If left to
ourselves,
we would never
be able to
enter the
kingdom of
God.
But that's
not where
God leaves
us.
And yet,
this work
of God,
this work
of God's
possibility in
the face of
our human
impossibility,
is not
something that
God just can
do with a
mere snap of
his fingers.
It doesn't
work that
way.
Entering the
kingdom of
God is
more costly
than you
think.
And that
brings us to
our third
point, which
we see in
verses 31
through 34
at the end
of our
passage.
In verse
31, Jesus
takes the
twelve
apostles aside
and tells
them what's
going to
happen when
they go and
get up to
Jerusalem.
Remember,
this whole
section of
Luke's
gospel from
chapter 9
through chapter
19 recounts
Jesus' final
journey to
the capital,
to Jerusalem,
that throbbing
center of
Jewish life and
religion, the
place where
King David
sat a thousand
years before,
ruling as
God's anointed
king, the
place where
the temple
stood and
where God's
presence
dwelled,
the place
where it was
popularly
thought the
Messiah would
show up in
glory and
overthrow idolatry
and evil,
renew the people
of God and
heal creation,
but Jesus
is teaching
us here that
it's more
costly than
you think.
Jesus refers
to himself as
the son of
man, which
is a messianic
title from the
Old Testament
book of Daniel,
and he says
that he will
be delivered
over to the
Gentiles, the
Romans, and
they'll mock
him and
they'll make
fun of him
and they'll
shame him and
they'll spit
on him and
they'll flog
him and
they'll kill
him.
And on
the third
day, he
will rise.
And the
apostles, they
don't get it.
You see, the
work of the
Messiah, the
inauguration, the
start, the
founding, the
beginning of the
kingdom of God, the
throwing opening, the
throwing open of the
doors, and what it
will take for us to
enter the kingdom of
God, it's more
costly than they
could imagine
too.
They wanted a
simple triumph.
But Jesus says
the only way to
get there is
through his own
humiliation and
defeat through the
cross.
You see, friends, it
takes nothing less
than the death and
resurrection of the
incarnate Son of God
to enable us to
enter the kingdom.
him.
Just as ancient
Israel, do you
remember the
stories in the
Old Testament?
Just as ancient
Israel was delivered
over to the Gentile
nations because of
their sin and sent
into exile, so Jesus
says right here that
he, as Israel's
Messiah, would have to
be delivered over the
Gentiles.
But not for his own
sin, rather for the
sin of his people.
people.
As the king, he
represents his people
and he stands in our
place taking the
punishment our sins
deserve and exhausting
the wrath our sins
deserve and going into
the exile that we
deserve.
And that means to
cleanse us, to give us
new hearts so that we
might become like
children and enter the
kingdom.
It takes more than just
good teaching and more
than just good examples.
It takes the complete
self-emptying of God
the Son.
You know, the other
place in Luke's
gospel where this idea
of human impossibility
and God's possibility
comes up, do you
remember?
I think it's in the
very beginning with
Mary.
How will these things
be?
What's impossible
with humans is
possible with God.
How does our
redemption begin,
friends?
The Lord of the
universe becoming a
child in the
incarnation, living a
life of complete
trust in his heavenly
father and at the
end of his ministry
becoming more weak
and vulnerable and
helpless than we
can ever imagine,
all for our sins.
And then he had to
break the bonds of
death and rise again.
Not just go through
death to sort of some
other sphere but go
down into death and
back into life again,
taking our sin with
him into the grave but
rising again to give
us new life.
And friends, now
because the king has
accomplished the work
of redemption, he's
ascended to the
father.
He's poured out the
spirit and right now
he calls us through the
proclamation of the
gospel to trust in
him.
Now we can become like
children.
No longer do we need
the false security or
the status or the
supposed influence of
money or any other
idol we might erect.
The price has been
paid and our sins are
forgiven.
And genuine repentance
and faith are being
poured out as a gift.
by the spirit through
the preaching of the
word.
What was hidden is now
revealed.
What was impossible with
man is now possible with
God.
And now we can open up
our hands to the things
we thought we couldn't
live without.
We can be spiritually
helpless, weak, and
vulnerable because our
Lord Jesus has gone
before us.
He's gone down into
weakness and been raised
in glory.
And he promises us that
entering the kingdom, no
matter what we may lose
now because of him, is
more worth it than we
could ever think.
And that's the fourth and
last point of our passage.
Let's circle back around to
verses 28 through 30.
In verse 28, hearing Jesus
say that God can do what
man cannot do, Peter says,
see, we've left our homes
and followed you.
It's hard to know what Peter
actually means in saying
this.
The commentators go all
over the place.
Who knows?
Peter's probably just saying
the first thing that came
out of his mouth.
Oh, I said that.
And this prompts Jesus to
say a second time, truly I
say to you, another
authoritative pronouncement
from the words of our Lord,
just like back in verse 17.
But this time, it's not a
requirement, it's a
promise.
Truly I say to you, there's
no one who has left house
or wife or brothers or
parents or children for the
sake of the kingdom of God
who will not receive many
times more in this time
and in the age to come
eternal life.
Is entering the kingdom of
God worth it?
Is it worth potentially
losing everything to come
follow Jesus, to be weak,
to be vulnerable, to be
dependent?
Jesus says it's more worth
it than you think.
But this isn't to say there
won't be real losses.
Jesus lists a whole range
of relational losses
related to the home here.
Wife, brothers, parents,
children.
Now Jesus is not encouraging
his disciples to abandon
their family responsibilities.
What he means is that there's
going to be real rejection
for those who follow him,
that there will be real loss
for those who follow him.
Some will have family members
disown them for becoming a
follower of Christ.
Others will have friends who
grow distant over time.
Some, in obedience to Jesus'
command to only marry, a
fellow believer will have to
delay getting married or forgo
it altogether.
So the losses are real.
But Jesus goes on to say in
verse 30, that whatever
sacrifices we make for the
kingdom, they won't compare
to what we gain.
And it's a two-fold promise,
isn't it?
First, Jesus says, you'll receive
many times more in this time,
in this age.
Now in what sense will those
who have lost their home and
lost their family gain many
times more in this age?
Jesus isn't saying that we're
all guaranteed spouses and
children.
He's certainly not promising
oodles of material wealth.
No, he's pointing here
to the new family.
He's pointing here to the
hospitality and the
generosity of our new
family in the church.
Though your road may be hard,
you won't be alone, Jesus
says.
And of course, the church won't
do this perfectly.
But imagine, what if we as a
church all opened up our hands,
not just on our money, but also
on our time?
What if we opened up our homes
and our schedules for one
another?
Would there not be more than
enough to meet the needs of one
another materially and relationally?
I mean, imagine a church where
married couples and single people
mutually loved and served and spent
time with one another.
Or where old and young.
Or where, well, you pick the
dichotomy you want.
Where we loved and served and
spent time with one another.
Where loneliness was regularly,
not perfectly, but regularly met
with the warmth and friendship of a
new family of the church.
Would that not be a tremendous
sign of God's kingdom?
Of God bringing down the barriers
that divide us, not just from Him,
but from one another in creating
one new humanity in Christ.
Would it not be a great sign that
His restorative reign was indeed
making all things new?
Just through this simple act,
of inviting someone in and
inviting someone along.
But it's not just for this age.
In the age to come, Jesus says,
eternal life.
You know, the tragedy of the rich
young ruler is that his earthly
wealth was temporary.
None of it was going to last.
None of the status, none of the
insecurity, none of the influence,
all of it would be stolen by death.
Do any of the things that we forgo
or sacrifice for the sake of the
kingdom deliver lasting and eternal joy?
Not a single one.
Spouses will die.
Children will move away.
Houses, no matter how much time I spend
fixing it, will decay.
But what does Christ offer in exchange?
What does He promise us
in exchange for these temporary
and fleeting things?
Now, we have to be careful here
because the words eternal life
might not communicate to us today
what they're meant to communicate
in the Bible.
When the Bible speaks of eternal life,
yes, it means heaven
and living with God forever.
It means that, but it means so much more.
It's talking about the resurrection
of the body.
It's talking about a new creation
where all the good pleasures of this life
are healed and restored.
And this means that there is nothing
that you forgo in this life
for the sake of the kingdom
that will not be restored to you.
There are even greater joys ahead,
greater pleasures,
greater delight.
Eternal life.
But the emphasis on the life
is what's ahead of you.
And that means even if you lose
everything now,
you've not really
lost anything.
Christ has swallowed up death
in victory,
and He promises you
eternal life.
Entering the kingdom,
no matter what it costs,
is much more worth it
than you and I think.
I wonder, friend,
what is God asking you
to give up,
to lose,
or to leave behind
this morning?
There's going to come a day
when you will see
that it was no real sacrifice
at all
compared to what's in store.
Eye has not seen
nor ear heard
what God has prepared
for those He loves.
Just imagine,
if God the Father
was willing to give
His own Son for us
when we were sinners,
what must He have
in store for us
when the Lord Jesus
returns in glory?
He who did not spare
His own Son,
but gave Him up
for us all,
how will He not also
with Him graciously
give us all things?
This is what it means
to enter the kingdom of God.
God,
we come with nothing
and He gives us everything.
It's impossible for us,
but it is more than possible
with God.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord Jesus,
as we come to Your table now,
we pray
that You would continue
to cast every idol
from its throne
in our hearts
as we commune with You
at Your table.
Lord,
help us to see
the great promise
of Your Word
that in the age to come
there is eternal life
and in this age
so much more
than we have lost
through the loving fellowship
of Your church.
Lord,
help us to live that
and be that for one another,
we pray.
Amen.