Luke 18:18-30 - The Rich young ruler

The key verse is v24
What is being said here is that becoming a Christina humanly speaking is impossible.
Now I wonder have you got that?
If you think you can make yourself a Christian forget it
On this one particular occasion he tells this man he’s got to sell up.
Now you’ve got to fit him into the theme of the chapter.
Believe it or not this had particular relevance.
Luke has gathered information (orderly account- Ch1)
5 stories – 4 of which are about people who are exceedingly ordinary and weak who are quite unexpectedly welcomed into the kingdom of God.
None of them gave anything which would win them entrance into some elite club.
All of them might have expected a rebuff from Jesus but didn’t.
The widow,
The publican
The children
The blind beggar
There’s a theme isn’t there.
Jesus is turning upside down the way we normally think about things.
The people who have got nothing going for them.
They are welcome in his sight.
Now the rich young ruler sticks out like a sore thumb.
He’s young, he’s got a top job.
He’s got money, he’s doing alright.
And he comes to Jesus pretty cocky and pretty confident but just note how he leaves – Dejected and downcast.
Jesus tells these stories as teasers and they are meant to make us think.
So let me clear up something
What it doesn’t mean?
It doesn’t mean today if you give everything away and be generous with your money you’ll be saved
Vows to poverty and being poor is not going to get you into the kingdom.
Many people have thought this way but it’s wrong.
So people do thing because they think it will open heaven to them but that is not what Jesus is saying.
As a general rule Jesus is not saying sell up but he is saying to this man. The big issue that is keeping you from entering the kingdom is your money so get rid of it.
Now what is it saying to you and I?
1. It is impossible to enter the kingdom of God.
This young man that we find in our passage is exactly what every mother would want her young boy to grow up to be. Every Jewish mother would have wanted her son to grow up like this young man. As far as we know he went to exactly the right school well educated. He told Jesus he was very good at keeping the commandments at honouring his mother and father. On Mothering Sunday this young man would have given his mother a beautiful bunch of flowers. This young man was very rich, extremely rich, he carried around a huge bag of money.
The Jews believed if you were rich it was because you were blessed by God and I expect this man was very religious. We’re told he was a ruler, probably a ruler in the Jewish synagogue, so I expect he was extremely religious. I suspect he would have been wondering around with the biggest bible you’ve ever seen. A fine young man. Just what every mother would want her son to be. When this young man met Jesus he asked him a question which on the face of it seemed to be a great question.

Now he comes to Jesus with a great question – v18
I wish people asked me that question
Jesus reminds him of God’s standards v20
Then in v21 The ruler is confident he’s kept them, there’s no reason to doubt his sincerity.
He probably was a thoroughly decent man but in v22 Jesus exposes his heart.
You can nearly hear the young man wince.
It’s the heart of the issue in v23 and it makes him sad.
He prefers his money to the prospect of following Jesus.
First of all Jesus is talking about money here.
Is money bad? No?
Does money keep people from God?
Yes riches keep people from becoming a Christian.
Money is a peculiar thing – we can love money and serve it and money can easily be the thing we worship.
Jesus spends a lot of time speaking about the danger of money he warns about it in Luke 12 and Luke.
Now Jesus gives us an illustration.
There’s a needle and a camel.
I couldn’t get the camel but I did get a snooker ball.
I think you’re going to agree with me it would be pretty difficult to get the snooker ball through it. In fact it would be impossible and the same is true of a camel.
Jesus’ point is that it is impossible for rich people to enter the kingdom of god and here is the shock of what I want to say this lunchtime.
What is true for rich people is true for everyone.
The big issue is that money keeps the rich young ruler from being dependant on God.
Remember the context – The widow, the tax collector, the babies, the beggar they are completely dependant on God for mercy.
So what is your problem if you’re not a Christian it is that you are independent.
That you can do without god or at least think you can.
You think I don’t need the cross.
I’m ok.
I don’t need to become a Christian.
I’m happy, I’m successful.
Maybe you’re religious like this man, I do this I do that, I pray.
Well it is going to be hard for you to become a Christian, in fact it’ll be impossible.
Remember the needle.
Secondly
It is possible to enter the kingdom of God with God.
V26 when the crowd hear it – they are shocked and asked who then can be saved?
What hope is there?
Read v26,27 Jesus says with God it is possible.
Look again at v27 When people are ill Christians’ quote this. Or I used to remember this verse on the morning of exams when I hadn’t done a scrap of work
It is not a verse about that.
God does do miracles but that is not the point.
Read v27 – The point is salvation is impossible but God can do it.
God can save you but it will be a miracle.
V31-34 tells us what that miracle is but he will only save the humble.
They will b e the only people in the kingdom.
1 Cor 1:26-29 look at the people in the kingdom – all God’s choice.
In heaven there will not be one boaster.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
No human being can boast in the presence of God.
What is boasting?
To find something in myself so that you can be on terms with God.
So we can boast in money, in religion, in what we do, our career, our job, our family.
And we’re trying to climb different ladders to get to God.
Riches can make a person think that they can call the shots with God.
Religion can do the same, a successful career can do the same – Are you boasting in those things.
To enter the kingdom of god you need to do what the rich young ruler refused to do.
To cut off to amputate the thing which has made you independent of God.
For the rich young ruler it was his money.
For you it might be your reputation, what your friends or family will think.
Your pride.
We all need to get on our knees and hand over the keys to our life and cast yourself into Gods arms.
To be dependant on him
Are you independent
Get on your knees and to do that is frightening
Yes but thirdly – It’s worth it
V28-30 let me read them
It’s upside down isn’t.
To give up everything is to gain everything in the upside down kingdom of God.
Jesus guarantees a massive return.
It’s encouraging isn’t it.
In work if you live as a Christian will you lose out.
What about your partner, that relationship if you became a follower of Jesus.
You know that there are certain things that you’d have to give up but Jesus says you won’t lose out.
Some of you are not sure about completely following Jesus?
Will it be worth it? He says it will be.
Who are you going to trust yourself or Jesus Christ.
So the message is this who can come to God?
You can – you’re welcome but be humble