Matthew the apostle wrote how, “one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He said unto him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me”, and in chapter nineteen and verse twenty-two of his book, Matthew shares how the young man, “went away sorrowful” where we read:
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The verse reads, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful:”. Matthew began with the word, “but” or “moreover and” “when” which means “at the time and moment” “the young man” which means “the young man who asked Jesus what good thing he must do to inherit eternal life” “heard” or “was given the faculty for hearing, attended to and considered” “that saying” which means “Jesus' declaration about selling all he had and giving it to the poor”, “he went away” or “the young man left and departed” “sorrowful” which means “with sadness, grief and offense”. Matthew shared how the young man who came to Jesus left “grieving and sad” after he heard Jesus say to sell everything he owned and give it to the poor.
The verse continues, “for he had great possessions.” Matthew added the word, “for” or “because, since and on account that” “he had great possessions” which means “the young man owned, possessed and held massive and large properties, lands, acquirements and estates”. Matthew wrote how the young man was sad because he was very wealthy.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we understand the price Jesus asked this young man to pay to receive treasure in heaven. Not only would he need to “follow” Jesus, but he was to sell everything he owned and distribute the revenues to the poor. Jesus said, “count the cost” for following Him, and those who realize no one owns or holds anything that has not been given to them understand their need to surrender everything to God who is the rightful owner of it all.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples, “a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment