Part 1 – Review – The Kingdom of God must be free!
The children had nothing. They had no social status, they had no wealth, they had no religiosity. Therefore, we see that the way that we receive the Kingdom like children is to receive it as a purely gracious gift. The Kingdom of God must be free! We dare not try to buy our way in through works of the law or works of the wallet. In other words. It must be received as a free gift or not at all.
Part 2 – Costly Discipleship – Exposition
Need 1: Know Jesus
The Rich Young Man has done so much that is right. He has come to Jesus. He has bowed before Jesus. He has called Jesus good. In response to this, Jesus goes, with laser precision, exactly where the man’s need is.
The very first thing that he calls attention to is his own identity. Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus calls into question the man’s perception of exactly who he is talking to.
This is what you really need. You need to see me for who I am. You need to perceive the mystery of the majesty of the one who is speaking to you.
Need 2: Know yourself
Jesus goes on, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” Jesus now draws out the man’s perception of himself. Do you know who you are? Do you know, young man, the depths of your own sinful heart apart from me, or are you still operating on the same surface level as your forefathers who thought that they could have a relationship with God through ritual and sacrifice without having a heart of faith that lives out heart, soul, and strength submission to the God they claimed to worship? Do you know, young man, who you really are?
Need 3: The call to costly discipleship
But our young friend doesn’t see it that way. He said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Now we get to the sharp edge of Jesus’ response. In this passage, where Jesus is continuing to define discipleship, he makes plain a truth that we must all come to grips with. Discipleship is costly. Discipleship is very costly. Discipleship is so costly, that Jesus warns those who would follow him to count the cost.
Part 3 – How can the Kingdom of God be free and following Jesus be costly at the same time? – Some Observations
The requirement of receiving the Kingdom like a child (aka. as a free gift) requires that we have empty hands.
There is nothing more important than this. The cost of discipleship is not an entry fee into the Kingdom. Jesus is calling us to lay down that which lays claim to the affections of our hearts in opposition to his claim on us. He is call us to open our hands from the loving embrace that we have around whatever it is in our life that competes with him. Open your hands! Let it go! You will be like a child, with nothing in your hands, ready to receive Jesus.
The great exchange of the gospel is that Jesus offers us that which he says is valuable in exchange for what we say is valuable.
The great exchange of the gospel is not a payment in kind for the commodity of the Kingdom. The great exchange of the gospel is a forsaking that which is worthless so that we can grasp that which is infinitely worthy.
The call of gospel obedience is a call to the freedom and joy of obedience.
Sometimes, Jesus calls us to obedience that cannot be rationalized by our fleshly minds as good for us. We don’t agree with it. Certainly, when we perceive Christ calling us to lay down some bad habit, or destructive practice we might not want to but in the end we agree with it. We, even in our flesh, can say, “That was bad for me. It is a pleasure that it is gone.” But then there is something, perhaps for each and every one of us, that Christ calls us to lay at his feet, and that thing is not at all sinful. In fact, we can see many truly good things about it. And Jesus calls us to lay it down because he wants us to experience the joy and freedom of obeying him against our own will. There is a kind of submission that is only found in obedience that is truly against our own will, and there is a species of joy in that kind of obedience that is more glorious all together.
Conclusion
The main point of Jesus’ response to the Rich Young Man is that Jesus calls all who would follow him to joyful submission to him. Wether that means walking away from a sinful relationship or laying down a lifelong dream. When the call of Christ is evident to your conscience, don’t resist. Don’t turn away sorrowful like the Rich Young Man did. Open your arms, let whatever it is you were holding on to fall away and embrace your savior as Lord and King. It is as the words of that great hymn say, “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill. God’s truth abideth still. His Kingdom is forever.”
