53 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 18:18–30"
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date = "2023-01-14"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk18.18-30)
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This time we get an example of someone who trusted in his own righteousness.
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Jesus had just said, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child
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shall not enter it," (_v. 17_) and then this rich, upper-crust guy comes up and
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says, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (_v. 18_) Weren't
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you listening, guy? Jesus also calls him out for saying, "Good Teacher", which
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the ruler was just using to try to flatter Jesus, perhaps in order to get a
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good answer.
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Despite this, Jesus answers his question. He lists five of the Ten
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Commandments, and the ruler says he has kept them since he was a boy. So, Jesus
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tells him there's just one more thing: give away all of your stuff, and then
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follow Jesus. As the man liked being rich and having a lot of things, this made
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him very sad. So Jesus points out how difficult it is for the rich to enter the
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kingdom of God, more difficult than getting a camel through the eye of a
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needle.
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I have heard that some people try to say that Jesus is referring to a
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well-known pass or gate that was very narrow, so rich merchants trying to bring
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heavily-laden camels through it would scrape the sides and generally needed to
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go around a longer way. And supposedly such a place was called the Eye of a
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Needle. Such people are entirely missing the point of the saying, and if it
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were true, it makes the following verses make no sense.
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The people who were there had the common, mistaken notion that material
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blessing equates to spiritual blessing. If you were rich, the theory goes, then
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God had blessed you with wealth and would continue to bless you after you died
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and bring you into His kingdom. The people also knew you can't fit a camel into
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a needle's eye, so they wondered if the rich aren't getting in, what hope do
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the rest of us have? Jesus replies, "What is impossible with men is possible
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with God." (_v. 27_) So if "eye of a needle" refers to a narrow place, why
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would Jesus assert that it is impossible for men to get into God's kingdom?
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Remember the lesson of the children, and of the Pharisee and tax collector. We
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can't bring ourselves to God's kingdom. He has to invite us in, of His own
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initiative and power. Nothing we have or don't have can help.
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Peter pipes up and points out that a bunch of them did leave a lot behind in
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order to follow Jesus, as He asked the ruler to do. It sounds like he's
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implying the question, "So, does that mean we're in the kingdom, like You
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said?" Jesus's answer tells us that God rewards those who sacrifice in order to
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advance His kingdom. Which is not the same as sacrificing in order to get
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blessings, including eternal life. Check your motivations and priorities.
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* * *
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Let us love You above all our possessions.
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