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?”, and in chapter nineteen and verse twenty-one of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus told the young man, “go and sell that you have, and give to the poor” where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor,”. Matthew began with the words, “Jesus said” or “Jesus whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto him” which refers to “the young man”, “if you will be perfect” which means “whether and since you desire to be complete, brought to the end, wanting nothing necessary to be complete and mature”, “go and sell” or “leave and depart and barter to buyers” “that you have” which means “the young man's possessions, goods, wealth and property”, “and give” or “and distribute, grant, bestow, supply and furnish” “to the poor” which refers to “the reduced to beggary, begging, destitute of wealth, lacking and paupers”. Matthew shared how Jesus told the young man if he really desired to be “complete and mature”, he was to “sell” everything he owned and distribute it to the “destitute and lacking” among him.
The verse goes on to say, “and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Matthew added the words, “and you shall have treasure” or “and the young man would have, hold, possess and own storehouse, repository, magazine and deposits” “in heaven” which refers to “the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”: “and come” or “go hither to this place and calling” “and follow me” which means “and join one as a disciple and attendant”. Matthew wrote how Jesus told the young man he would “possess and own” a “repository in heaven” if he sold his wares and gave them to the poor, and he was instructed to be joined to Jesus as a disciple.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus touched upon the one area of this young man's life in which he had not observed the calling of God. Jesus told him to “sell everything” and give it to the “poor” around him, and he would be “rich” in heaven. Afterward, the young man was to “follow” Jesus and become His disciple. God knows the areas in every person's life where they hold on and will not let go, and whatever that “possession” may be, Jesus may touch upon it and ask a person to give it up for His Kingdom's sake. A relationship with Jesus is more valuable than any other asset a person owns, and it is good to be reminded that were it not for Jesus, nothing we possess would be ours.
Next time Matthew shares what happened, “when the young man heard that saying”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
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Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
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