Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we earn the right to ask the right questions that expose the character of God and the heart of those who are far from God...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. As Jesus finished telling a parable about self righteous people; and as Jesus engaged young families who were bringing their babies to Jesus so that He might bless them and pray for them, a ruler engaged Jesus so that he could ask Him a question. This ruler, who would have been considered a leading political and social figure in the Jewish culture of Jesus day, asked Jesus "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus responded to the ruler’s question with a question of His own: "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus basically asked the ruler three questions is one question. Jesus basically asked this ruler “How do you define goodness? What is true goodness?” And “Why are you calling Me good?”  Jesus responded to this ruler the way that He did was because Jesus wanted to question and challenge this ruler’s view of goodness.

However, before the ruler could answer His questions, we see Jesus redefine the concept of good by revealing the reality that God is the only source of true goodness. But why would Jesus do that? Why would Jesus redefine that ruler's concept of what good is? The reason why Jesus redefined good for this ruler was so that He could challenge the ruler’s view of who He was. Jesus is basically asking this ruler “so you believe that I am good. Well the only source of true goodness is God. So since you are calling Me good, do you believe that I am God?”  Jesus was, in essence, asking the ruler if he believed that Jesus was God.

Jesus continued to engage this ruler and his question by quoting the 7^th, 6^th, 8^th, 9^th and 5^th commandments of the Ten Commandments that God had given the Jewish people through a man named Moses. Jesus was attempting to help this ruler see that he did not measure up to the standard of goodness that had been defined by God.

The ruler’s answer, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “All of those commands I have followed and obeyed since I was a child. I haven’t slept with someone else’s wife. I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t stolen from anyone. I haven’t lied to anyone or about anyone. I have always treated my parents well. If that is the scorecard; If that is all I have to do, then I’m good with God. If that is all I have to do, I’ll be in Heaven.”

 In Mark 10:21, Peter tells us that Jesus looked up at this ruler and felt a love for him. You see, this ruler genuinely wanted to be right with God. This ruler genuinely wanted to be with God in Heaven. This ruler was genuinely searching and shopping for answers to his question.

However, this ruler was oblivious to the reality that he was in desperate need for the mercy and forgiveness of God. This ruler was oblivious to the reality that he was the subject of Jesus previous parable. This ruler missed the point of Jesus previous parable and the point of Jesus statement that only God is good. After all, the ruler thinks that he is pretty good as well, doesn’t he? “All of these things I have kept from my youth”. And Jesus loved this ruler and his desire to search and shop for answers to his question. Luke then reveals for us how Jesus responded to this ruler and his answer in Luke 18:22:

 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Now notice what Jesus does not do here. Notice that Jesus does not contradict the ruler’s statement. Notice that Jesus does not challenge the ruler’s statement. Notice that Jesus does not say “You are quite wrong. You are a liar. You are not good; you are a sinner. You are disobedient and need forgiveness”. Jesus does not do any of that.

Instead, Luke tells us that Jesus basically said to this ruler “Well there is one thing in your life that is deficient when it comes to your relationship with God.  There is one thing that ought to be present in your life that is not present in your life. In order to be right with God and be with God in Heaven, you just need to sell all of your possessions and give them to those who are without possessions. If you would sell the abundance of treasure that you have accumulated for yourself here on earth in order to help those who are here with you on earth, you will store up treasure in Heaven. Then after you do that, you need to come follow Me.”

Now to fully understand what Jesus is saying to this ruler, we first need to understand what Jesus is not saying to this ruler. Jesus is not saying that being rich or having lots of possessions is bad. Jesus is not saying that being poor gets you into Heaven and being rich keeps you out of Heaven. And Jesus is not saying that you get into Heaven by being generous to poor people.

Instead, Jesus here was challenging the ruler, who was rich, to give up the one thing that was in competition with Him in terms of devotion and worship. Jesus was challenging this ruler here because Jesus knew that how we handle our treasure reveals what we treasure. Jesus was challenging this ruler because Jesus knew that this ruler treasured his treasure more than he treasured Jesus. By calling this ruler to follow Him, Jesus was asking him to follow him as His disciple. So Jesus here is calling this ruler to make Jesus large and in charge of his life instead of making his treasure large and in charge of his life. Jesus is calling this ruler to follow Him instead of following His treasure.

You see, what ought to be present in this rulers life that was not present in this rulers life was that Jesus was to be large and in charge of this man’s life. What was deficient in this man’s life was that this man did not trust Jesus as his treasure. Instead this man trusted and treasured his treasure. Jesus was pointing the ruler back to the ten commandments that dealt with the worship of God and idolatry in an attempt to help the ruler see that he did not measure up to the standard of goodness defined by God and desperately needed the forgiveness of God. Luke then revealed how this ruler responded to Jesus answer in verse 23:

But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

Luke tells us that this ruler responded to Jesus answer by walking away from Jesus dejected. When faced with the decision about who or what he was going to trust in, this man walked away from Jesus because his treasure was more important than Jesus. If this ruler had to choose between his possessions and Jesus, this ruler would choose to trust in his possessions. And that was the choice that this ruler made. This ruler walked away from Jesus and toward his treasure because that is what he had placed his trust in. We see how Jesus responded to this ruler walking away from Jesus in verse 24-25:

And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! "For 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 this morning, notice what Jesus does not do here. Notice that Jesus does not run after the ruler. Notice that Jesus does not say to the ruler “Hey come back, I really need to you to follow Me”. Notice that Jesus does not say to the ruler “Hey come back, I have decided that I will lower the bar of expectations when it comes to following Me".  Notice that Jesus does not say to the ruler “Hey come back, I have decided to compromise and change my position when it comes to what you must treasure”. Notice that Jesus does not say “I’m okay with being second; if you want to put your possessions first that’s fine with Me”.

Instead, Luke tells us that Jesus looked at the man as we walked away and said "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ”For 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 this saying was a common hyperbole about something that was impossible to occur. In the Jewish culture of the first century, a camel was the largest animal that lived in the region where Jesus lived and taught. By contrast the eye of a needle was one of the smallest items that a person in the Jewish culture of the first century would have dealt with on a daily basis.

By making this hyperbole, Jesus is revealing for us the reality that it was impossible for rich people by their own efforts or energy to live in a way that was right with God. By making this statement, Jesus was flying in the face of the cultural view of the His day and the prosperity gospel movement of today. You see, in the Jewish culture of Jesus day and the prosperity gospel movement of today, material wealth was viewed as a sign of God’s blessing. Material wealth was viewed as evidence of being right with God. And because of that reality, people in Jesus day would have been shocked at Jesus statement. We see Luke reveal this reality in verse 26:

They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

Jesus disciples, along with the large crowds that were following Jesus, responded to Jesus statement with a question that flowed out of fight and alarm: "Then who can be saved?" In other words, Jesus disciples and the large crowds were basically asking “Well, if that is the case, if 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, then who can be right with God so that they can be with God in Heaven?”

From the perspective of Jesus disciples and the large crowds that were following Jesus, if rich people who were viewed as being favored by God could not get into the kingdom of God, then who could get into the kingdom of God? From the perspective of Jesus disciples and the large crowds that were following Jesus, if rich people could not get in then no one could get in. Luke reveals for us how Jesus answered His disciples and the large crowds in verse 27:

 But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

In other words, Jesus basically said to His disciples and the large crowds that were following Him “what is impossible for people to do, which is to perform for God in a way that makes them right with God, God is able to do”. You see, Jesus wanted His disciples, and the large crowds that were following Him, to clearly understand that it was trusting in God’s performance for us through Jesus, not in our performance for God, that makes us right with God.

And it is here, in this event from history that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we earn the right to ask the right questions that expose the character of God and the heart of those who are far from God.   In order to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus, we must take the time and the effort to earn the right to ask to right questions to those who are far from Jesus.

As followers of Jesus we need to take the time and the effort to ask questions that will help us better understand those who are far from Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we must live out the truth about Jesus in a way that demonstrates that we know Jesus and that we desire to know and understand those who are far from Jesus.  Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we take the time and the effort ask the right questions that help people see the motives of their hearts in a way that helps them better understand themselves.

As followers of Jesus, we must earn the right to ask the right questions that penetrate to the heart so as to expose the heart of those around us who are far from Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we must take the time and the effort to not simply ask questions that focus on the “what” of a person’s behavior. Instead, as followers of Jesus, we must take the time and the effort to ask questions that focus on the “why” of a person’s behavior. “That was an interesting decision that you chose to make. Tell me more about how you came to that decision? Why did you choose to do that? What drove you to make that decision?”

However, to take this time and make this effort requires three things. It requires that we show that we care deeply for people so that they will let us know them well. It requires that we be willing to develop deep relationships with them that demonstrates a deep interest in them; and it requires that we count the cost of what it means for that person to open up their heart to us. We must be committed to invest in the life of a person who is far from Jesus when they choose to open their heart to us.

And inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we take the time and the effort ask the right questions that help people see the character of God in a way that helps them better understand God and their need for the forgiveness of God. As followers of Jesus, this requires that we take the time and the effort to learn to ask indirect questions that allow those who are far from Jesus to experience the conviction that comes from God instead of trying to bring that conviction upon them ourselves.

As followers of Jesus, this requires that we allow any wounding of a person’s heart to be the result of activity of God and not our activity. As followers of Jesus, this requires that the love of Jesus be the driving motivation behind all that we do and say, so that our words and actions are done with sympathy and compassion. As followers of Jesus, we are to lovingly demonstrate such sympathy and compassion, because when we help people see the character of God and their need of the forgiveness of God, we ought to be reminded of our need for the forgiveness of God as well.

So here is a question for us to consider: Are you willing to take the time and the effort to earn the right to ask the right questions to those who are far from Jesus? Are you willing to demonstrate that you care deeply for those around you who are far from Jesus? Are you willing to pay the price to take the time and effort to develop deep relationships that demonstrate a deep interest in those around you who are far from Jesus?

Because that is what is takes to earn the right to ask the right questions of those around us who are far from Jesus. And, as we have discovered, inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we earn the right to ask the right questions that expose the character of God and the heart of those who are far from God.