Thursday
Evening Bible Study
February 22,
2007
Introduction
:13-15 Blessing Children
:13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on
them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.
rebuked – epitimao – to
tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely
The disciples are pretty hard on these people who are bringing their
children to Jesus.
little children – paidion –
a young child, a little boy, a little girl
This is the same word used to describe the children in the last chapter. This
was the incident that happened when the disciples had actually first been
arguing over which of them was the greatest:
(Mat 18:1-7 NKJV) At
that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?" {2} Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set
him in the midst of them, {3} and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless
you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven. {4} "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. {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. {7} "Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come,
but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Part of me is encouraged to see that the disciples are about as thick
headed as I am. Jesus has just made it pretty clear about how important
children are to Him.
It’s possible that the disciples might have thought that Jesus didn’t
really mean “children”, he probably was just talking spiritually. But Jesus was
really talking about real children.
What’s not to like about kids?
Illustration
An ex-farmer writes, “We had spent the day moving from our farmhouse into
our new house in town. Early the next morning, our 3 ˝-year old ran into our
bedroom to wake us up. I dressed him and told him to play in the yard and to
quit bothering us. About 20 minutes later, he came running back. Mommy, Mommy,”
he exclaimed, “everybody has doorbells and they all work.”
:14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not
forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Let – aphiemi – to permit,
allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person
forbid – koluo – to
hinder, prevent forbid; to withhold a thing from anyone; to deny or refuse one
a thing
As a side note, it’s interesting that this particular Greek word is never
used as a positive thing in relation to the believer.
For example:
(Luke 9:49-50 NKJV) Now John answered and said, "Master, we
saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us." {50} But
Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid
him, for he who is not against us is on our side."
(Luke 11:52 NKJV) "Woe to you lawyers! For you
have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and
those who were entering in you hindered."
We probably ought to be careful not to be guilty of “hindering” the things
of the kingdom.
:15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Jesus prayed for the kids. He blessed the kids.
The Bible doesn’t say a thing about having children baptized. It does say
plenty about bringing children to Jesus and letting Him bless them.
As a church, we don’t practice infant baptism. The examples and teaching in
the Bible of baptism always has to do with believing adults, not infants.
As a church, we DO practice baby dedications – an opportunity to begin the
lifelong process of bringing our children to the Lord.
:16-22 Rich Young Ruler
:16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good
thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
:17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but
One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments."
Jesus is either saying that He is not good, or He is saying that He is God.
The latter is correct.
Is Jesus saying that you are saved by keeping the Law?
Salvation is always through faith.
(Eph 2:8-9 NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest
anyone should boast.
But if you are truly saved, your life will start to match the kind of life
painted by the Law.
(James 2:14-26 NKJV) What
does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him? {15} If a brother or sister is naked and destitute
of daily food, {16} and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be
warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed
for the body, what does it profit? {17} Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead. {18} But someone will say, "You have faith, and I
have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my
faith by my works. {19} You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even
the demons believe; and tremble! {20} But do you want to know, O foolish man,
that faith without works is dead? {21} Was not Abraham our father justified by
works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? {22} Do you see that faith
was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? {23}
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it
was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of
God. {24} You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
{25} Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another way? {26} For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
It works like this – we are made right with God by simply trusting in Him. But
the test of whether or not we are really trusting in God is whether or not our
life produces works.
Abraham was made righteous simply by his faith. But his faith was proven by
the fact that he was willing to obey God to the point of offering up his son as
a sacrifice.
What Jesus says doesn’t contradict salvation by faith. He’s merely testing
this man’s faith by challenging his life, by challenging his works.
:18 He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall
not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall
not bear false witness,'
:19 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.'"
The “Ten Commandments” (Ex. 20:1-17) are divided into two groups or two
“tables”. The first “table” (or “tablet”) contained the commandments regarding
man’s relationship with God. These are the commands that Jesus often summarized
with the command “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God …” (Deu.t 6:5).
It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t quote these first couple commandments
to the man. These commandments are rather hard to prove. It’s hard to see if a
man really loves God like he says.
The “second” table of the law had to do with our relationships with others.
This is the group of laws that Jesus quotes from. Compare the list with what
Jesus told the young man:
(Exo 20:12-17 NKJV) "Honor your father and your mother, that
your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. {13}
"You shall not murder. {14} "You shall not commit adultery. {15}
"You shall not steal. {16} "You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor. {17} "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall
not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant,
nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Jesus adds to this list “love your neighbor” (Lev. 19:18), which is the commandment that summarizes all of
these commandments.
Jesus repeats all of the commandments from the second table except for one,
“You shall not covet”, the command that deals with the issue of greed, one of
the main commands that deal with “stuff”, with material things. This young
fellow’s problem is definitely with his “stuff”.
:20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my
youth. What do I still lack?"
:21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow Me."
It seems to me that Jesus is dealing directly with what is keeping this
fellow from following after Jesus.
Note: Jesus is not saying that
the key to getting to heaven is selling everything you have and giving it to
the poor.
Jesus is simply pinpointing this particular fellow’s problem.
To another Jesus would say:
(Mat 10:37
NKJV) "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And
he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for
he had great possessions.
Even though the young man says he’s kept these things, I think we can
question whether or not he really did.
Could he really have loved his neighbor as himself if he was unwilling to
sell his possessions and give to the poor?
Lesson
Don’t let anything keep you from
Jesus
Nothing is worth sacrificing your relationship with God.
Abraham was a great example for us to follow.
(Gen 22:1-18 NKJV) Now
it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him,
"Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." {2} Then He said,
"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him
there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell
you."
For Abraham, there was no treasure greater than his son. He
had waited so long for God to give him a son. And now God was asking Abraham to
give up his son. God was “testing” Abraham.
The test is: Who do you love more – God or Isaac?
{3} So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey,
and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the
wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had
told him. {4} Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place
afar off. {5} And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the
donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to
you."
I don’t think Abraham was lying to the men when he said
that he expected to come back with his son. The writer to the Hebrews said that
Abraham believed that if it was necessary, God would raise his son from the
dead (Heb. 11:19).
{6} So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on
Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of
them went together. {7} But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said,
"My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he
said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
I imagine this might have been one of those “awkward”
moments for Abraham. What does he tell the young man?
{8} And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself
the lamb for a burnt offering."
I see this as prophetic. God provided Himself as the lamb.
Jesus is the Lamb of God.
So the two of them went together. {9} Then they came to the place
of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood
in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
It’s interesting that Isaac seems to go along with this. He
could easily overpower his father.
{10} And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay
his son. {11} But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said,
"Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." {12} And He
said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son,
from Me."
Note who stops Abraham. “The Angel of the Lord”, Jesus
Himself.
Abraham had passed the test. There was no need to kill the
young man.
{13} Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him
was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram,
and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. {14} And Abraham
called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day,
"In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."
This took place on the same mount that would one day be
the home of the Temple.
{15} Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out
of heaven, {16} and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because
you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son; {17}
"blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the
seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. {18}
"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you
have obeyed My voice."
Abraham brought blessing to the world because of his
obedience.
Abraham’s example is one we ought to follow. We don’t
withhold anything from the Lord.
There may be times when God will allow us to complete the
sacrifice, to give up the thing that gets in the way with our relationship with
Him.
There will be times when God simply wants to know if we’re
willing, like Abraham.
:23-26 All is possible with God
:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it
is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
:24 "And again I say to you, 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."
There are several ideas as to what Jesus is talking about.
Some suggest this might be talking about a small door found in some of the
large gates to a city. Supposedly Jerusalem
had this kind of a door in one of its gates. The idea was to allow people to
come in and out of the city on the Sabbath, but not big wagons and animals
carrying large loads. Supposedly these small doors in a gate were called
“needles-eyes”. A camel could actually get through one of these doors, but in
order to do it, the load had to be taken off the camel, the camel would have to
get on its knees, and then it would have to shuffle through on its knees. If
this is what Jesus was talking about, then a rich man could be saved as long as
he dumps his load and humbles himself on his knees.
Others suggest this is all nonsense.
Jesus is talking about the eye of a sewing needle and trying to get a camel
to fit through it.
Jesus isn’t trying to show that a rich man getting to heaven is hard but
possible. He’s trying to show that it’s impossible, at least humanly speaking.
(Mat 19:26
NKJV) …But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible."
:25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying,
"Who then can be saved?"
astonished – ekplesso – to
strike out, expel by a blow, drive out or away; to be struck with amazement,
astonished, amazed – we might say “they were blown away”
The rabbis taught that the closer you were to God, the wealthier you
became. The disciples had trouble thinking that a wealthy man would have
trouble getting into heaven.
:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Jesus isn’t saying that a rich man can’t be saved. He’s simply saying that
if it were up to us humans, it would be impossible.
But salvation isn’t up to humans. It’s up to God. And nothing is impossible
with God.
Illustration
A man dies. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter
says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You
tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of
points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points,
you get in.” “Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50
years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.” “That’s wonderful,” says St.
Peter, “that’s worth three points!” “Three points?” he says. “Well, I attended
church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.”
“Terrific!” says St. Peter. “That’s certainly worth a point.” “One point!?!! I
started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless
veterans.” “Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says. “Two
points!?!!” Exasperated, the man cries, “At this rate it’ll just be by the
grace of God that I ever get into heaven.” “Bingo, 100 points! Come on in!”
Know any people where it seems “impossible” that they’d come to the Lord?
(Luke 5:4-7 NKJV) When He
had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let
down your nets for a catch." {5} But Simon answered and said to Him,
"Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your
word I will let down the net." {6} And when they had done this, they
caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. {7} So they signaled
to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and
filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
It’s not up to you, it’s up to Jesus.
He can fill your nets.
:27-30 Rewards for following Jesus
:27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and
followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"
It seems to me that Peter is saying, “Well this fellow couldn’t sell
everything and give to the poor, but we’ve given up everything for You, what
are we going to get for it?”
:28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the
regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have
followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
When Jesus comes back, the disciples will rule over the nation of Israel.
With there being “twelve” tribes of Israel,
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus chose twelve disciples.
:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a
hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
You may have lost your family when you decided to follow Jesus, but you
gained another family in exchange – us!
:30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
People you might think would have first place in heaven just might end up
last.
Society in Jesus’ day would think that the wealthy people would have the
best places in heaven.
In God’s eyes, the wealthy person without God in their life may most likely
have received everything they’re going to get:
(Luke 6:24 NKJV) "But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
People who have given up everything for the work of God will get their
“consolation” when they get to heaven.
Some of us have the notion that pastors will probably be getting huge
rewards.
Illustration
The story goes that a New York Cabbie and a pastor both died on the same
day and arrived at the gates of heaven at the same time. While they were
waiting in line they introduced themselves to each other and got to hear about
each other’s lives. When they arrived at the front of the line, the cabbie went
first. Peter escorted the fellow into heaven and showed him a huge mansion on a
hillside. The pastor was getting quite excited. He could hardly wait until his
turn. He imagined that if the cabbie received such a huge mansion, his must be
enormous. Peter took the pastor and showed him his place, a little shack in a
canyon. The pastor was upset. He couldn’t understand why he got such a small shack
when the cabbie got a huge mansion. “Well” said Peter, “When you preached, you
put people to sleep. When he drove, people learned to pray!”
The problem of being a pastor is that some of what you do is done in front
of people, and that means you already have your reward.
(Mat 6:5-6 NKJV) "And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they
have their reward. {6} "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and
when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place;
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
There will be some people in heaven who will be receiving
absolutely huge, tremendous rewards. And most of us standing on the sidelines
watching will say to ourselves, “Who was that????”
This week I heard that there’s a little old lady from Texas
that has a powerful ministry of prayer. Whenever Franklin Graham holds a crusade,
they pay that gal’s way to fly to wherever they are, put her up in a hotel, and
have her attend the meetings. Before they start the each meeting, someone
usually asks, “Is she here yet?” You and I don’t know her name, most of the
people in the Graham organization don’t know what she looks like or where she
sits, but they know it’s important that she’s there. Why? Because she knows how
to pray.
What would you do for God if you never got noticed, never got paid, even
got persecuted because of it?
Things may not be what we expect in heaven.
People who have given up everything to follow Jesus in this life will find
themselves at the head of the line in the next life.
Is it really worth giving up your worldly dreams to follow Jesus? Yup.