Jesus and the Rich man.

Luke 18: 15 – 30.

15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honour your father and your mother.' "

21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"

27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

28 Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."

29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

Jesus loved the little children.
In the gospels, we see God’s tender heart for children, His willingness to devote time to them. His recognition of their societal status and His zeal for protecting their innocence, demonstrates His high regard for them.
 

Matthew 18: 5,Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Barclay quote:
“It was the custom for mothers to bring their children to some distinguished Rabbi on the first birthday that he might bless them”.

Jesus was looked on as a Rabbi and here we see children being brought to Him as per tradition.

15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

However, we see the disciples of Jesus rebuking them.
Maybe they thought that it would be a bother to Jesus. A case of, children should be seen and not heard.
However from what Jesus said, it was obvious they were no bother to Him.

The parallel passage in Matthews gospel says:

Matthew 19:13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.

These were infants and whilst they were conceived in iniquity, they were innocent of personal sin.
They had not come to an age of understanding, or held responsible for their actions.
It is a childlike faith that is needed to trust in Jesus as ones Saviour. Children are very trusting and believe whatever they are told.

16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

This is a childlike faith, a complete trust and dependence. Notice, a childlike faith not a childish faith.
This is why most scholars teach that infants on death go to be with the Lord. It is nothing to do with whether or not they have been Christened, as some believe.
While Christ's endorsement of childlike character is not a denial of sin nature, the Bible does seem to teach that compared to the sins of adults, infants and children possess a “relative innocence.”

(Deut. 1:39, Rom. 9:11)

Deu 1:39  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 
 

To reconcile the truths that all humans are sinful but that children do possess a kind of “relative innocence”, some theologians have suggested that the distinct variations in sin could carry different kinds of “death penalties.”

Could the penalty of imputed sin (judicially passed from Adam directly to each individual - Rom. 5:12) be physical death?

Rom 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 

Then when that sin is realised in the heart and is committed as an act of will, and if that deliberate sin is left unchanged and not repented of, it brings spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

James 1:14,15 But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
15Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
 

Quote from Christian Answers Network:
If so, it could help us to understand how a child (born in sin, yet having not committed sin as an act of the will) could be subject to physical death without being subject to the penalty of eternal spiritual death. Infants, born “guilty” of both imputed sin (ultimately resulting in physical death) and inherited sin, would not be subject to the eternal penalties of sin until confirmed by personal acts of unrighteousness committed with an understanding of right and wrong. It must be confessed that the Scriptures do not explicitly teach the existence of these distinctions. The Bible does, however, allow for this possibility.
 

The Rich Young Ruler.

Luke 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The text does not tell us whether this ruler was a religious ruler or a ruler of the city.

Good Teacher.
This was not a normal way to address a Rabbi. Generally, Jews thought that only God could be called good and Jesus reminds him of that very fact.
 

19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Of course, Jesus was giving all the glory to His Father. Jesus was good because He Himself was God and manifested all the attributes of God.

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
 

Even so, His statement was true, only God is good.
Of course we know from scripture that this is true.

Romans 3: 10-12 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
 

This young man would have been taught from childhood to keep the commandments of God, yet he asks the question, what he should do to inherit eternal life.

Of course by asking this question, he thought that it was good deeds that could merit eternal life.
 

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honour your father and your mother.' "

21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

What this answer reveals is mans view of himself. Mans imperfect view hides his deepest flaws and it is possible that he could consider himself righteous.
However, God sees all and knows all, even the deepest secrets of a man’s heart and of course, according to scripture, God tells us the there is none good, no not one. As quoted earlier in Romans 3: 10-13.

In Isaiah 64:6 we are told: 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
 

Even though this man said that he kept the commandments, he obviously had no assurance of inheriting eternal life. He still thought that he had to do something.

There are many today, who think like this. They may believe in God and heaven but they still think that it is something that they must do to get there.
The truth is, that man can do nothing that will give him a place in heaven.
People think that if they give to charities, follow church rules, and keep holy days, that this qualifies for eternal life. They may think that by keeping church traditions, being christened and confirmed. They may believe that it runs in the family, my parents were Christians, so I must be. Some refrain from what they consider visible sins like drinking alcohol and smoking or swearing and think that this will put them in God’s good books.

However, if they were asked, “are you going to heaven?” They would very likely answer, “I don’t know, I hope so”.

The Apostle Paul was like this young ruler and could say as he did in Philippians 3:6 “Concerning the righteousness which is the law, blameless”.

Yet he came to recognise that this was not so.

In Ephesians 2:8,9 he wrote: “For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
 

If one could do enough to gain salvation, then Jesus need never have come at all.
The truth is that we all have fallen short of God’s standard.

Isaiah 64: 6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

Jesus looked into the heart of this young man and saw his weakness.
Where your heart is, there is your treasure also.

Luke 18:22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
 

Notice what Jesus did not say.
He did not say that selling all you have and giving it to the poor is the way of salvation.
If this was all that one did, it still would not merit salvation.
The important bit was, “Come and follow Me”

Of course, Jesus words went right to his heart and the challenge was to much for him.
This is how the Holy Spirit pricks the heart but sadly most kick against the pricks. They resist the Holy Spirit, which is the most dangerous sin, that of unbelief. This is the unpardonable sin.

Even though these words of Jesus were spoken with love, as we see in Marks parallel verse.

Mark 10: 21 Then Jesus looking at him, loved him, However, he walked away sad.

Luke 18:23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

 

No matter what one has in possessions or property, privilege or popularity. Without Christ, this young man had nothing of any value spiritually, for it is all susceptible to moth and rust.

 

Luke 18: 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

This does not mean, that a rich man can’t get to heaven. What it does mean is that his riches can’t get him to heaven. A man’s heart must be turned to Christ to be saved.

Jesus challenged the man to love God more than his money and material things. Of course the man loved his money first.

Essentially, this man was an idolater, he loved money and material things before God.
 

Luke 18: 26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"

 

When one reads this text, they may ask the same question.
However, Jesus words do not apply to all alike. It is a mistake to think this.
Rich men can be greatly used of God, with their wealth. However, if your riches keep you from Christ, then they do.
The truth is, whosoever can be saved.

John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

God is drawing His people to Himself. Those that He has foreloved,  those that He has set His affections on. In the fullness of time, He sends a preacher and the preaching of the word is what produces faith and it is by that faith, through God’s grace that he is saved.

 

Jesus said:
John 6:37 All that the Father has given Me, will come to Me and him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.

 

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

 

Nothing is impossible with God.

Luke 18: 27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

28 Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."

What follows this statement by Peter, is the wonderful assurance of blessing upon blessing, not only in this life but in the life to come.

 

29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

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