Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

Worth the Cost

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

What is keeping you from fully devoting yourself to Jesus?

In today’s reading, we are going to witness a conversation between Jesus and a young man who was unwilling to totally commit himself to Jesus because he cared more about the things of this world than he did about pleasing God.

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 19:16–19 NIV

The man begins with a simple question. What does he need to do to gain eternal life? Jesus responds with what seems like a strange question, “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Wouldn’t Jesus be the perfect person to ask about what is good? He’s a Jewish rabbi who, at this point in His ministry, would be known throughout the Jewish world as one who has performed miracles, bested the Pharisees, cast out demons, and taught the word of God with an authority no one had ever seen before.

This is why it’s important to remember that Jesus cares more about speaking to the heart of the questioner than he does about answering their questions. By asking this man why he came to Jesus, Jesus is really asking him who he believes Jesus is. Does he simply see Jesus as another religious teacher? Or does he believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God? Because what we believe about someone’s identity determines how we view their authority.

If a random hater on the internet told you to change your life, you’d likely just ignore them without giving it another thought.. But, if a parent, significant other, boss, or spiritual mentor told you to change your life, you’d take it much more seriously. Why? Because who they are to you increases how much you respect what they have to say.

And, as we’ll discover, this man didn’t trust the authority of Jesus because he doubted Jesus’ identity.

After Jesus tells this man what he must do, he responds by saying:

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Matthew 19:20 NIV

Here, this young man makes a statement that seems pretty bold. He tells Jesus that he has kept all the commandments that Jesus listed. The implication is that he hasn’t ever murdered (which doesn’t seem too difficult), he’s never committed adultery (which is much harder when you consider that, according to Jesus, even looking at another person lustfully is committing adultery in your heart), he’s never stolen anything, told a lie, dishonored his parents, or failed to love his neighbor as himself. If this is true, that’s amazing. Realistically speaking though, he probably hasn’t been quite as “good” as he claims to be.

Which brings us back to Jesus’ first question to this man: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good.”

This question isn’t just meant to uncover what this man believes about Jesus. It’s also meant to test what he believes about himself.

As the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that this man sees himself as pretty good. He plainly tells Jesus that he has kept all the commandments that he needs to.

Now, at this point, it would be really easy for us to look down on this man for having such an inflated view of himself. But, if we fall into that temptation, then we will likely miss the message that Jesus has for us today. While these words of Jesus weren’t originally spoken to us, they contain wisdom that is absolutely meant for us—wisdom that will enable us to devote ourselves more fully to Him and the life He’s called us to.

In the next verse, Jesus tells this man the thing he still lacks.

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21 NIV

This statement from Jesus can be really troubling. Because it seems like Jesus is telling this man that salvation isn’t a gift of grace, but instead something he has to earn by selling everything he owns and giving to the poor.

That’s not the point. Salvation is and always will be a gift of grace we receive when we put our faith in Jesus. The point is that real faith in Jesus is not possible when we’ve placed our trust in an idol.

For this man, he had made an idol out of material possessions and earthly wealth. Money had become his god. Once again, it would be really easy to point a finger at this man’s sinfulness and thank God that we aren’t like him. But that would be missing the power of what God might want to do in us. Because all of us will be tempted to put something or someone before God in our life. Recognizing the idols in other peoples’ lives is pretty easy. If we take the time to listen to what they talk about the most, to observe where their money most often goes, how they spend their free time, what brings them joy and what rocks their world. Wherever those things overlap is usually the place you will find the object of someone’s worship.

But recognizing the idols in our own lives is much more difficult. Because sin blinds us to what’s real, it gives us an inflated view of ourselves. Like the man Jesus was talking to, we tend to view ourselves as more “good” than we really are. And we tend to overlook the things we’ve done wrong because we don’t want to admit that we are just as sinful as the rest of the world.

So, what do we do? We invite the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Spirit of Truth, to expose the unchristlike parts of ourselves and uncover the idols we’ve put before God. Then, we deal with those idols as ruthlessly as Jesus tells this man to. We don’t try to manage them. We remove them from our lives.

The good news is that if Jesus is who He said He was, then no cost will be too great when it comes to following Him. Because no matter how much we give up, He will give us so much more in return.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:26–27 NIV

Sadly though, this man didn’t trust in Jesus’ authority because he doubted His identity. So, in his eyes, the cost of following Jesus was too great.

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:22 NIV

The chapter concludes with Jesus promising His followers that the sacrifices they’ve made to devote themselves to Him will never be in vain.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits 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 wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:28–30 NIV

Application: Ask the Holy Spirit to expose the parts of your life that don’t look like Jesus. Invite Him to begin the process of making you more Christlike. Ask Him to help you identify the idols that are competing for your devotion to Jesus. Reflect on what you get the most excited talking about, how you spend your money and your free time, and the things that bring you the most joy or create the most frustration. At the intersection of all this is very likely the thing that is most threatening to your devotion to Jesus. Once you’ve identified it, deal with it as ruthlessly as Jesus instructed the man to deal with his wealth. Eliminate it from your life—at least for a season. It is much wiser to eliminate a temptation today than it is to keep it around, hoping you can resist it in the future. Don’t do this alone. Ask other followers of Jesus to pray for you and keep you accountable.