Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing
Luke 18.18-30; 19.1-10
Luke 18.18-30; 19.1-10
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life,
and those who find it are few - Matthew 7.13-14.
and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life,
and those who find it are few - Matthew 7.13-14.
Jesus told a parable about two men who went to the Temple to pray. One, a Pharisee, prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” The other man, a tax collector, because of the great burden of his sin was unable even to lift his eyes to heaven, prayed: “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Clearly Jesus intends his hearers to understand that salvation cannot be earned through religious disciplines. Only those who repent and humble themselves before the Lord will be justified: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18.14). The succeeding pericope about the children stresses the importance of coming to God with childlike faith and humility. Though the disciples attempted to hinder the parents of infants and children from bringing them to Jesus to be blessed, he intervened and said: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Jesus is reminding them that the covenant made with Abraham included both the Patriarch and his seed (Genesis 15.2-6). Moreover, the kingdom of God is a gift from God, not a debt he owes. Moses wrote of Abraham: And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15.6). Abraham’s faith is a model for the faith Paul promotes in Romans, where he reminds his readers that Abraham’s faith, not his works, was credited to him as righteousness: Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4.4-5). It is the simplicity of childlike faith that is set forth as a model of saving faith: “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (18.17).
TO WILL ONE THING
The contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee and the childlike faith of children is dramatic: it is not rigid spiritual asceticism and legalistic adherence to tithing that finds favor with God but simple childlike faith. These two pericopes are followed by yet another that demonstrates what is required of the true believer. There is a natural progression between these pericopes. The self-righteousness of the Pharisee is contrasted with the simplicity of childlike faith so that it is clear what is necessary to inherit eternal life. This is the question posed by the rich ruler: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The question provides a platform whereby Jesus may describe what saving faith looks like. Jesus’ preliminary response to the question refers him back to what he already knows, namely, the Mosaic Law. Of course, no one presumed to think that anyone could strictly adhere to the Mosaic Law. And even if a person lived in compliance with the precepts of the Torah, unless he also acknowledged the One anticipated by Moses (Deuteronomy 18.29) as the true Messiah he could not gain access to heaven. When the man claims to have obeyed the second table of the law from his youth onward, Jesus directs him to the one thing still lacking: namely, the centrality of his role as Messiah. Only those who give up everything for Christ will be saved. Whatever hinders obedience to Christ must be forsaken. So Jesus tells the man: “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.”
The man’s wealth stood between him and Jesus. I think it is safe to say he was a good man, at least measured by any reasonable standard of human goodness. But the question being asked is “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Of course, the answer is that there is nothing you can do to inherit eternal life, but there are things that may stand in the way. While his devotion to the Mosaic Law was commendable, he lacked one thing: unqualified devotion to Christ. Jesus perceived that his wealth was a hindrance to his faith and he demanded that he forsake his comfortable lifestyle and become his disciple. In truth, what Jesus required of the rich man is no different than what he requires of anyone who wants to inherit eternal life. The apparent severity of Jesus’ commentary on the event (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.) provokes his hearers to ask whether it is possible for anyone to be saved. Even the disciples question him with respect to the impossibility of this requirement. The disciples who gave up everything to follow Jesus may not have enjoyed great wealth, but they undoubtedly exchanged a comfortable and predictable lifestyle for an uncertain life with a wandering rabbi.
Luke’s contrast between the rich man and Jesus’ disciples is striking: And Peter said, “look, we have left everything we own to follow you!” Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom who will not receive many times more in this age and in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18.28-30). Unqualified commitment to follow Christ is thematic in the Gospels. For example, from Luke 9.51 onward one sees numerous references to the call to follow Christ: As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” … “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9.57-58, 62). This is followed by invitations to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus: Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 24.27). The idea of being crucified with Christ is not an isolated concept. Paul tells the church that he has been crucified with Christ in his Galatian letter: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2.20). The only way to secure one’s future in heaven is to forsake one’s “security” on earth. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these (Matthew 6.28).
Self-renunciation is a prerequisite to being a disciple of Jesus (cp. Luke 14.33). Christian service involves the paradox that loss leads to gain: And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9.23-25). Jesus does not call people to sample the Christian life as to whether or not it works for them. The call of God is irresistible (Romans 8.30; Ephesians 1.7-12; 2 Thessalonians 2.13-14). There are no secondary paths to God; there is no path of enlightenment that leads to heaven (Matthew 7.13-14); Jesus is the gatekeeper and the gate (John 10.7). You will never keep pace with Jesus if you are making plans to do anything else.
The man asked the most crucial question: “What must I do to get eternal life,” but he was not prepared for the answer. And though he believed Jesus to be a great rabbi, he did not believe him to be the Messiah and his demand to forsake everything and wander about the countryside with a peripatetic teacher must have seemed utterly unrealistic. He did not understand that the temporal security of this life is no match for the eternal security being offered to him by the Son of Man.
ZACCHAEUS (Luke 19.1-10)
Following the narrative of the rich ruler, Luke relates that Jesus foretells his coming death for the third time. Jesus follows this prophecy by healing a blind man in the small town of Jericho. The town of Jericho was also the location of another significant encounter: Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, had a strong desire to see Jesus. There were two things working against him getting to see Jesus: first, he was short, second he was a tax collector and it was unlikely that anyone would let him slip to the front of the crowd. However, he was not to be deterred and he ran ahead of the oncoming entourage and climbed up into a sycamore fig tree to catch a glimpse of the famous rabbi as he passed by. As it turned out, not only was Zacchaeus looking to see Jesus, Jesus wanted to speak with Zacchaeus. Jesus, not Zacchaeus initiated their meeting together; Jesus is the one who comes to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19.10). One can hardly doubt that there was anyone in town more despised than this vile publican who had aligned himself with the Roman occupational forces. The same implacably callous people who murmured at Jesus for his merciful treatment of the sinner Zacchaeus would soon vent their hatred toward the loving Savior.
There can be no question that Zacchaeus’ brief encounter with Jesus radically changed his life. Of course, it is always so. A true encounter with Jesus is always a watershed experience. When confronted by Christ one must choose either to follow him or to reject him; being undecided is not possible for long. What he says about himself and what he demands from his hearers is too radical. He must be accepted for who he claims to be or he must be rejected as a lunatic or something worse. Zacchaeus’ transformation was extraordinary. The Mosaic Law requires that a man who cheated his neighbor return the original amount plus an additional fifth (Leviticus 6.1-5). Exodus 22.4, 7, 9 stipulates that a man who has stolen his neighbor’s livestock must return it twofold. However, Zacchaeus starts by giving half of all his possessions to the poor and then promises to return fourfold any whom he might have defrauded.
Both Zacchaeus and the unnamed rich man in Luke 18 had great wealth. Each had sought an interview with Jesus. Jesus responded to both men and they were given the opportunity to forsake their wealth and become disciples, but only Zacchaeus responded favorably. Jesus says: For many are invited, but few are chosen (Matthew 22.14); and Paul, quoting Isaiah writes: Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11.33-36)
TO WILL ONE THING
The contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee and the childlike faith of children is dramatic: it is not rigid spiritual asceticism and legalistic adherence to tithing that finds favor with God but simple childlike faith. These two pericopes are followed by yet another that demonstrates what is required of the true believer. There is a natural progression between these pericopes. The self-righteousness of the Pharisee is contrasted with the simplicity of childlike faith so that it is clear what is necessary to inherit eternal life. This is the question posed by the rich ruler: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The question provides a platform whereby Jesus may describe what saving faith looks like. Jesus’ preliminary response to the question refers him back to what he already knows, namely, the Mosaic Law. Of course, no one presumed to think that anyone could strictly adhere to the Mosaic Law. And even if a person lived in compliance with the precepts of the Torah, unless he also acknowledged the One anticipated by Moses (Deuteronomy 18.29) as the true Messiah he could not gain access to heaven. When the man claims to have obeyed the second table of the law from his youth onward, Jesus directs him to the one thing still lacking: namely, the centrality of his role as Messiah. Only those who give up everything for Christ will be saved. Whatever hinders obedience to Christ must be forsaken. So Jesus tells the man: “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.”
The man’s wealth stood between him and Jesus. I think it is safe to say he was a good man, at least measured by any reasonable standard of human goodness. But the question being asked is “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Of course, the answer is that there is nothing you can do to inherit eternal life, but there are things that may stand in the way. While his devotion to the Mosaic Law was commendable, he lacked one thing: unqualified devotion to Christ. Jesus perceived that his wealth was a hindrance to his faith and he demanded that he forsake his comfortable lifestyle and become his disciple. In truth, what Jesus required of the rich man is no different than what he requires of anyone who wants to inherit eternal life. The apparent severity of Jesus’ commentary on the event (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.) provokes his hearers to ask whether it is possible for anyone to be saved. Even the disciples question him with respect to the impossibility of this requirement. The disciples who gave up everything to follow Jesus may not have enjoyed great wealth, but they undoubtedly exchanged a comfortable and predictable lifestyle for an uncertain life with a wandering rabbi.
Luke’s contrast between the rich man and Jesus’ disciples is striking: And Peter said, “look, we have left everything we own to follow you!” Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom who will not receive many times more in this age and in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18.28-30). Unqualified commitment to follow Christ is thematic in the Gospels. For example, from Luke 9.51 onward one sees numerous references to the call to follow Christ: As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” … “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9.57-58, 62). This is followed by invitations to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus: Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 24.27). The idea of being crucified with Christ is not an isolated concept. Paul tells the church that he has been crucified with Christ in his Galatian letter: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2.20). The only way to secure one’s future in heaven is to forsake one’s “security” on earth. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these (Matthew 6.28).
Self-renunciation is a prerequisite to being a disciple of Jesus (cp. Luke 14.33). Christian service involves the paradox that loss leads to gain: And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9.23-25). Jesus does not call people to sample the Christian life as to whether or not it works for them. The call of God is irresistible (Romans 8.30; Ephesians 1.7-12; 2 Thessalonians 2.13-14). There are no secondary paths to God; there is no path of enlightenment that leads to heaven (Matthew 7.13-14); Jesus is the gatekeeper and the gate (John 10.7). You will never keep pace with Jesus if you are making plans to do anything else.
The man asked the most crucial question: “What must I do to get eternal life,” but he was not prepared for the answer. And though he believed Jesus to be a great rabbi, he did not believe him to be the Messiah and his demand to forsake everything and wander about the countryside with a peripatetic teacher must have seemed utterly unrealistic. He did not understand that the temporal security of this life is no match for the eternal security being offered to him by the Son of Man.
ZACCHAEUS (Luke 19.1-10)
Following the narrative of the rich ruler, Luke relates that Jesus foretells his coming death for the third time. Jesus follows this prophecy by healing a blind man in the small town of Jericho. The town of Jericho was also the location of another significant encounter: Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, had a strong desire to see Jesus. There were two things working against him getting to see Jesus: first, he was short, second he was a tax collector and it was unlikely that anyone would let him slip to the front of the crowd. However, he was not to be deterred and he ran ahead of the oncoming entourage and climbed up into a sycamore fig tree to catch a glimpse of the famous rabbi as he passed by. As it turned out, not only was Zacchaeus looking to see Jesus, Jesus wanted to speak with Zacchaeus. Jesus, not Zacchaeus initiated their meeting together; Jesus is the one who comes to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19.10). One can hardly doubt that there was anyone in town more despised than this vile publican who had aligned himself with the Roman occupational forces. The same implacably callous people who murmured at Jesus for his merciful treatment of the sinner Zacchaeus would soon vent their hatred toward the loving Savior.
There can be no question that Zacchaeus’ brief encounter with Jesus radically changed his life. Of course, it is always so. A true encounter with Jesus is always a watershed experience. When confronted by Christ one must choose either to follow him or to reject him; being undecided is not possible for long. What he says about himself and what he demands from his hearers is too radical. He must be accepted for who he claims to be or he must be rejected as a lunatic or something worse. Zacchaeus’ transformation was extraordinary. The Mosaic Law requires that a man who cheated his neighbor return the original amount plus an additional fifth (Leviticus 6.1-5). Exodus 22.4, 7, 9 stipulates that a man who has stolen his neighbor’s livestock must return it twofold. However, Zacchaeus starts by giving half of all his possessions to the poor and then promises to return fourfold any whom he might have defrauded.
Both Zacchaeus and the unnamed rich man in Luke 18 had great wealth. Each had sought an interview with Jesus. Jesus responded to both men and they were given the opportunity to forsake their wealth and become disciples, but only Zacchaeus responded favorably. Jesus says: For many are invited, but few are chosen (Matthew 22.14); and Paul, quoting Isaiah writes: Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11.33-36)