Sunday, December 05, 2010

[Matt's Messages] "Jesus Does the Impossible"

“Jesus Does the Impossible”
Certain of Jesus:  The Gospel of Luke
December 5, 2010
Luke 18:18-34


Today’s story is about something that is impossible.

Not in the realm of possibility.  Not do-able.  Out of the question. Inconceivable.

Impossible.

And as I read this story to you, listen for the word impossible and for what is impossible in the story.

And listen for some surprises.  If the story is very familiar to you, then try to pretend that this is your first time to hear it. 

Impossible.


The first surprise is probably Jesus’ response to the rich ruler’s question.

V.18 “A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”

Now, we don’t know much about this ruler.  Matthew tells us that he was young.  And Luke tells us that he is rich.  So we often call him the Rich Young Ruler.

And he asks a question that is like the question that the lawyer (The Bible Professor) asked Jesus back in chapter 10.  Remember the story of the Good Samaritan?  It was told in answer to a question just like this, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.”

But in chapter 10, Luke tells us that the lawyer was trying to test or trap Jesus.

This rich ruler seems to genuinely want to know.

Now, he probably thinks that as a Jew, he’s in line to receive eternal life just as long as he doesn’t mess it up. That’s probably why he says, “inherit” eternal life.  He sees eternal life as his inheritance. 

But he also assumes that he has to do something to be worthy of it.

So, what do you think Jesus might say in response?

I know what I would say. I’d say, “It’s not about doing.  It’s about trusting in Jesus and His work on the Cross.”

But, surprisingly, that’s not where Jesus goes....at least not yet.

Jesus starts with a question.  And it questions the ruler’s flattery.  V.19

“‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good–except God alone.”

Now, I don’t think that Jesus is saying that we should never call anything good except God, but I do think that Jesus is confronting the man on his flattery.  “Good Teacher.  O Good Teacher, what do you say.”

He’s just trying to butter Jesus up.  And Jesus doesn’t fall for that.  In fact, He uses it to remind this man that ultimately no one is good except God alone.

And that’s also a hint.  A hint we’ll come back to later on.

“No one is good–except God alone.”  Hint, hint.

“But, let’s go ahead and talk about good.  How about obedience to God’s good commandments?”  V.20 Jesus says....

“You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'”

Now, notice.  Jesus mentions 5 commandments.  Which 5 are they?  Does anyone know?

They are commandments 7, 6, 8, 9, and 5 in that order.

So that leaves out commandments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10.

Which one is 10?  “You shall not covet.”  Which covers greed.

Which one is 1?  “You shall have no other god before me.”  Which covers idolatry.

Remember that.  Jesus has left those out in his offhand list.

“You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'” v.21

“‘All these I have kept since I was a boy,’ he said.”

That’s it?  That’s all?  No problem!  I’ve been doing well at those since I was a kid!

Do you think that’s really the case?

Perhaps this rich young ruler was a Pharisee and had been working hard to try to keep these commandments.  He is certainly like the Pharisee last week in being self-confident that he could do this.

He had done it, as far as he could tell.

But do you think that he had really kept these commandments?

All the way?

One of the purposes of the Law is show us that we cannot keep the Law.

The Law, while being good, was not supposed to help us to feel good about ourselves.

It was to show us God’s holy standard and reveal to us our moral inability to meet God’s holy standard–which would drive us to our need for a Savior.

But this young man feels self-confident he has kept the law up to this point.

And that makes Jesus sad.  V.22

“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”

Let me read that again.

“When Jesus heard this [when he heard that this young fellow thinks that he’s earned eternal life through good behavior], he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”

Now, notice that Jesus said this to him.  He didn’t necessarily say the same thing to us.  Don’t begin to think that Jesus is teaching that eternal life can be bought by selling and giving your things.  That goes against everything else He says.

But I think that Jesus is putting His wise finger on the thing that is holding this man back from eternal life–and that is his false god of money.

Perhaps why he had left out commandment number 10 in his list.  Perhaps why he hadn’t started with commandment number 1.

Here’s where you are going wrong.  You have an idol.  You have another god.  And it isn’t me.  To get eternal life, you need to follow me, Jesus says.

And to do that, you’ll need to offload your stuff.

It’s simple. It’s easy.  But it’s going to be hard for you.

Open your hand.  Turn from your god.  And follow me by faith.

I can just see in my mind, these two men locking eyes for a brief moment.

What will he do?

Does he get it?

What will he choose?

And then the young man’s eyes fall and he walks away.  V.23

“When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.”

Ohh.

He did get it.  He understood what Jesus was saying.

But it was too much for him to accept.

It was too far for him to go.

He was too far gone.  Too committed to his god, Mammon.

And he walked away from Jesus.

This is a very sad moment.

Wealth had too strong a hold on this young man.  He counted the cost of following Jesus and said, “It’s too much.” 

And that led to the next surprise.  V.24

“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!   [There’s that kingdom of God again!]  Indeed, 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.’”

What?

Really?

That would be a surprise.

Most people thought that rich people were blessed people and therefore closer to God.

If you are wealthy, then God loves you!  Be happy.  You’re in.

No.  Surprise!  No.  Jesus says, “‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Indeed, 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.’”

V.26

“Those who heard this asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’”

If the rich can’t?  Then who can?

“Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’”

Okay, let’s camp right here for a little bit.

Let me reveal to you now the title of today’s message:

“Jesus Does the Impossible.”

Did you see that coming?

Jesus does the impossible...

#1.  OF SAVING THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Who am I talking about?  The rich.

Those that are in the grip of riches.  Captive to wealth.

Jesus says that it’s very hard for those kind of people to enter the kingdom of God.  V.24

“How hard it is the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

How hard is it?  V.25

“Indeed, 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.”

Now, how hard would it be to get a camel through the eye of a needle.

I have here Heather’s biggest sewing needle.

She’s in Canada.  What she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her!

I promise not to sew anything with it. 

You probably can’t even see this needle.

Could you see a camel? What about a baby camel?  Just out of its mother’s womb?

How hard?

How hard would it be?

Jesus is using a word picture, a humorous word picture!  A camel through the eye of a needle?  You’ve got to be kidding.

That’s .... what? ... Impossible.

The disciples understood what he was saying.  V.26 again.

“Who then can be saved?”

It’s impossible!

We all should feel it for ourselves.  Because we all are much more wealthy than that rich ruler was.

If you compare our standard of living to his standard of living, we are rich.

By world standards, everyone in this room is wealthy.

And it is easier for a camel to squeeze through here than for a rich American to enter the kingdom of God.

Do you feel that?

Now, has anyone here entered the kingdom of God?

Is anyone here saved?

“Who then can be saved?”

Is anyone here saved?

Yes!  Jesus Does the Impossible By Saving the Impossible.

V.27

“Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

You can’t do it on your own.

You can’t keep the commandments and expect to make it to heaven.

You’ll fail.  Every time.

You can’t sell everything you have and give it to the poor and enter the kingdom on your own.

You have to have Him.

“What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Jesus Does the Impossible of Saving the Impossible – even rich people like us.
How?

How does He do it?

Number Two.


#2.  BY BEING THE IMPOSSIBLE.

What do I mean by that?

Well, what did Jesus mean by “Why do you call me good?  No one is good–except God alone.”  Hint, hint.

How does Jesus save those who are impossible to save?

He does it by being the impossible.  By being God Himself.

A man and yet God, too.  Both together.  Two natures, one person!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Last Sunday, it was warm and sunny.

Now, it’s covered with white and cold.

What do we celebrate at Christmas time?

We celebrate the miracle of God become man.

Luke has used this word “impossible” one time before.

Does anyone remember where?



Way back in chapter 1, the angel Gabriel talked to a poor young lady named Mary, and he said:

“Do not be afraid, Mary...You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High....

‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ [Inconceivable in every sense of the term!]

The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God....

For nothing is impossible with God.’”

v.27, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Jesus Does the Impossible by Being the Impossible.

Jesus is both God and Man!

Wow!

And He really does save.  A dim light is coming on for Peter here.  He has been trying to follow this conversation. V.28

“Peter said to him, ‘We have left all we had to follow you!’ [We have done what you asked the rich ruler to do.  Are we in?  V.29]  ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.’”

Yes.  Jesus does the impossible.

Jesus saves the impossible by being the impossible, both God and man.

These disciples had made a break with the world.

And Jesus promised them everything.

Remember a few weeks ago we talked about the cost of following Jesus (chapter 14:25-35).

What was the cost?

It costs everything. And it costs nothing because you get it all back with compound interest!

If you give up your family because they disown you because you follow Jesus, then you get a bigger family–the family of God.

If you give up your home because you follow Jesus, then you get a bigger home, Heaven!

In this age (the Kingdom has come) and in the age to come (the Kingdom will come!).

That’s a great promise.

Jesus Does the Impossible Of Saving the Impossible By Being the Impossible...

#3.  AND FULFILLING THE IMPOSSIBLE.

It’s more than just that Jesus is both God and man.  He had to DO something to save us.  And we all know what it is.

But the disciples didn’t.  V.31

“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.  On the third day he will rise again.’  The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.”

But we do.

There were prophecies in the Old Testament of a Messiah who would come.  And there were prophecies in the Old Testament of a Servant who would suffer.

And nobody put those two together in their minds.  Some thought that the suffering servant was Israel. And the Messiah would come to release them from Roman captivity.

But the Messiah and the Suffering Servant were the SAME PERSON.

And the Messiah was going to rescue them, but from a greater captivity than Rome’s.

The Messiah, the Christ, would save them from their sins.

And to do that, He would have to suffer.

It’s impossible!

The Messiah doesn’t suffer?!!

Oh yes, He does.  “Everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be handed over to the Gentiles.  They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him.”

Impossible!  They won’t do that to the Messiah?!!

This would have been the biggest surprise yet.

Bigger than the surprise that the rich have a hard time making it into the kingdom of God.

The Son of Man will be shamefully put to death?

Impossible.

But true.

And even more impossible and even more true...v.33

“On the third day he will rise again!”

Now, they didn’t have categories for what Jesus was talking about.  They just didn’t get it.  It was hidden from them.

But we can see.

Jesus has done the impossible.

Jesus has risen from the dead.

And it has made all of the difference for you and me.

2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Jesus Does the Impossible of Saving the Impossible (Rich People Like Us!) By Being the Impossible (Both God and Man!) and Fulfilling the Impossible (Prophecies of Suffering, Death, and Rising Again).

And that’s the gospel.

It’s the best news of all.

So, how should we respond to this?  What’s the application.

The first is simply awe-filled worship.

Worship Him!

He is both God and Man.  He has done the impossible.

That’s why we’re here today.

Praise Him!  Adore Him!

Worship Jesus who does the impossible.

Second, Follow Him.

If you have to, sell all you have, leave all you have, to follow Him, because you won’t lose anything.

Don’t love anything more than Him!

Put your trust in Him and what He did for you at the Cross.

And follow Him by faith.

If you are still on the other side of the needle, you have to come through.

You can’t squeeze through on your own.

You need a miracle.

But Jesus has done the miracle.

He has suffered in your place.
He has risen from the dead.

Put yourself in His hands.  And He will do the impossible for you.

“What is impossible with men is possible with [Jesus]!”

Follow Him by faith.

And number three, Remember Him.


That’s what we’re doing at this table.

We understand what the disciples didn’t understand.

And we remember what Jesus went through for us.

We remember the truth of the huddle of verses 31-34.

“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.  On the third day he will rise again.’”

Jesus does the impossible of saving the impossible by being the impossible and fulfilling the impossible–for us!


Messages So Far In this Series:

Certain of Jesus
The Back-Story of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Jesus - A Very Special Child
Preparing the Way for Jesus
Jesus Is the Son of God
Jesus in Galilee
Jesus and the Sinners
Jesus Brings Real Joy and Rest
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part One
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Two
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Three
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Four
Amazing Jesus
Disappointed with Jesus
Loving Jesus Much
Jesus' Real Family
Jesus Is Lord
Who Is Jesus?
Following Jesus
Sent By Jesus
Q&A With Jesus
Sitting at Jesus' Feet
Jesus Teaches Us to Pray 
Jesus Is Stronger Than Satan
More Blessed Than Jesus' Mom
Jesus and the Judgment to Come
Being Real with Jesus
Jesus and Our Stuff
Be Ready for Jesus' Return
Jesus and Tragedies
Set Free By Jesus
Jesus and the Surprising Kingdom
Jesus and Jerusalem
Jesus at the Party
The Cost of Following Jesus
Jesus and the Lost: Part One
Jesus and the Lost: Part Two
Jesus and the Lost: Part Three
Jesus on Money
Sneering at Jesus
Jesus and the Great Chasm
Jesus Said to His Disciples...
Thanking Jesus
Jesus and the Coming Kingdom
Jesus Says, "Keep Praying"
The Proud, the Humble, and Jesus

0 comments: