Jesus has just been through a fairly intense experience, in conflict with the Pharisees and Saduccees who were trying to blunt his popularity and healing a child who was afflicted with a demon. His disciples were no doubt agitated and on edge – angsty, anxious and bad tempered. When parents come with their children to be blessed, they react badly and rebuke them harshly.
But Jesus keeps his composure, as he always does, and calls out that we all should come as children to him.
Then the rich young ruler comes, asking what good deed he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life. And this time, it’s Jesus who reacts harshly. “Why ask me about what is good?” But he gives him an answer, and Jesus pays lays out the basic commandments. The young man feels secure in his behavior there, so Jesus pushes further – give up everything material and give it to the poor. That’s too much for him and he walks away. We can imagine prayer lamenting the loss of all those resources, but Jesus knew what he was doing.
Jesus had points to make, throughout this story. The first of these is that Jesus receives the humble. When Jesus says we must become like little children, he does not mean innocent or good – we know that kids aren’t really either of those. Children, though, are clearly aware of their dependence on others, and we need to be reminded of our own. We need to remember that we are not omniscient or entirely capable. We are limited in our ability to show goodness and grace. We are ultimately dependent on God for food, sustenance, emotional health and well-being, our relationships and more. The sooner that we acknowledge that, rather than trying to act as if we’re were independent, the sooner we step into the life of faith.
Then, in contrast, we see Jesus interact with the rich young ruler, seeking the magic bullet to guarantee his ticket to heaven. Jesus points him back to the 10 commandments, but he wants the “secret menu.” When Jesus won’t give it to him, he starts to feel good about himself. But Jesus knows his heart, he knows that there is something there that stands in the way of truly following God. “Go become poor for the poor.” And the man walks away, his true value system unmasked.
This is not blanket instruction for all the wealthy – contrast this with Jesus’ interaction with Zaccheus (though note that this, too, resulted in generous giving) – and is ultimately not about wealth. Instead it’s about whatever in our lives and hearts we put before Christ. Just as with the children, we are called to humility.
Jesus follows up with a final point that he shares with his shell-shocked disciples. For those who follow him, he brings extraordinary blessing. The greatest reward, the privilege to walk with Him and see God, he doesn’t even touch on – instead, he meets them in their struggles. Anyone who sacrifices for him will see 100x returns. But it’s a long term investment, and we’re not always good at those.
The key to our journey is humility, rightly ordering our hearts, rightly remembering the promises of the God who will give us “more than we all our imagine.” We are so focused on making our best lives now that we neglect the focus on the life to come. But the key to following Jesus well is to put Him in the place of preeminence.
We in the church know how to talk about loving Jesus but aren’t always good at determining if it’s really true. Jesus call for us today is, as ever, confession and repentance, and a daily commitment to making Him preeminent.
-Sermon Notes, Jeff Sickles, Snohomish Evangelical Free Church, Snohomish, WA, January 2, 2022