THE CHILD, THE RICH MAN, AND THE CAMEL

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LUKE 18:15-30
Lesson #49
THE CHILD, THE RICH MAN, AND THE CAMEL

• Memory Verse: Luk 18:17
• After telling us about prayer and a God that is eager to hear and answer our prayers, Jesus rebukes the disciples for turning away the little children from seeing Jesus.
• Read Luk18:15-17
  • “…Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not …” (16)
    • As adults, we should encourage children to come to know the Lord.
      • Don’t assume your children are too young to understand the Gospel.
      • Don’t assume your children are too young to make a decision for God.
    • Even though children have salvation before the age of accountability, they can learn about who God is.
      • The age of accountability is the age when a person knows right from wrong. Before this age, he is not responsible for his sins because he does not know that sin is. After this age he is accountable to God for his sins.
      • This age differs from one individual to another and for that the Bible does not tell us a specific age.
    • If the child has learned about God before the age of accountability, then when the child reaches the age of accountability, he will know that he has a remedy for his sinful nature and his personal sins in Jesus Christ.
  • “… for of such is the kingdom of God.” (16)
    • What did Jesus mean when he said that the kingdom of God was like little children?
    • A child has complete and unquestionable trust in his father.
      • The Bible tells us that God is our heavenly Father, but do we have complete and unquestionable trust in God in every situation in our lives?
      • If we had that complete trust like a child we would not:
        • – question why God has not answered our prayers in the way we would want.
        • – doubt that God really cares about us and the things we go through.
        • – think that God’s love discriminates against us.
    • A child has the characteristic of humility.
      • The child realizes he does not know everything.
      • The child realizes he has no power to control anything.
      • The believer in Christ must realize that he does not know everything, only God does.
      • The believer in Christ must relinquish control in his life totally to God.
  • Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” (17)
    • What did Jesus mean when He said we cannot enter into God’s kingdom if we do not receive it as a child?
    • The Gospel of John tells us that we must be born again to be saved or to enter into the kingdom of God. (Joh 3) Nicodemus asked how a person can be born as a child the second time.
      • Of course, Jesus was speaking about a spiritual new birth that makes a person a new creature in Christ. (2Cor 5:17)
      • Like a baby just entering into the physical world where everything is new, the believer in Jesus Christ has his sins forgiven and enters into the kingdom of God spiritually as a new creation.
      • This new birth experience occurs when a person receives Jesus Christ into his heart and the Holy Spirit enters the heart and gives new life to the believer.
• Read Luk 18:18-30 The Sad Case of the Rich Young Ruler and Eternal Life (Mat 19:16-30 Mar10:17-31)
  • “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (18)
    • Why did Jesus rebuke the man for calling Him good?
      • Jesus knew this man’s heart and was setting him up to see the nature of his own heart from God’s perspective.
      • Certainly Jesus is “Good” because He is God.
      • Jesus lived a perfect life without sin.
        • But the man did not see Jesus as God in the flesh, though that is what he needed to do.
        • He saw Jesus as any other Jewish man keeping the Law of Moses.
  • This rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life.
    • From this man’s perspective we can understand his confusion:
      • =1= Jesus had just said a person must be like a little child to enter God’s kingdom.
      • =2= Through the Old Testament the Jews believed that if they kept the Law of Moses, they would be saved for eternity.
    • What should we notice about this man’s thinking?
      • He knew he did not have eternal life otherwise he would not have asked Jesus this question.
        • If he truly believed that keeping the Law of Moses could save him, he would have had the assurance of his salvation because by his own confession, he kept the Law from his youth.(21)
        • Why did this man not have the assurance of salvation?

Keeping the Law of Moses does not save anyone and never has. (Gal 2:16)

One never knows when he has done enough of the works of the Law to make it over the line into the kingdom of God.

All Old Testament saints were saved by faith like Abraham.

• • • • He was a proud man and bragged about keeping the Law. (21)
        • He wanted to achieve perfection, “to be good” through the Law of Moses.

But Jesus told him that only God is good. (19)

In other words, man will never achieve “to be good” in his own strength or by keeping the Law.

• • • • • Even though he kept the Law of Moses all the years of his life, he knew it was not enough.
      • He asked what he should “do” to inherit eternal life.
        • The answer is that man can “do” nothing to inherit eternal life.
        • Jesus Christ did everything on the cross that needed to be done.
        • The man asked the wrong question. He should have asked, “How can I see the kingdom of God?” (Joh 3:3)
    • Jesus began to tell Him the points of the Ten Commandments. (20)
      • But notice that Jesus mentions only the commandments that dealt with man’s relationship to man and not man’s relationship to God, which the rich young ruler needed a relationship with God.
      • As Jesus recites the commandments, this man with much pride is telling himself, “I did that one, I did that one…”
      • Then Jesus tells him one thing he had not done.
  • “…sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” (22)
    • Why did Jesus not tell this man that keeping the Law would not save him?
    • Notice that Jesus did not say that by selling his personal wealth and giving it to the poor would earn him eternal life. Instead it would earn him treasure in heaven.
    • Every person must come to the realization personally for himself that good works do not buy salvation.
      • Just as God rested on the seventh day of creation, man must rest from his good works in trying to earn his salvation.
      • Jesus set this man up to see his imperfection from the beginning when He said that only God is good. Man cannot achieve perfection.
      • Jesus said, “Follow me”.
      • Jesus was not shutting the door on this man. If he had sold everything and followed Jesus, he would come to understand the difference between “works” and “faith”.
        • Man is saved by faith in the grace of God. (Joh 3:16)
        • No man is every saved by works even though those works may be very good.
  • “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” (23-24)
    • Why is it hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God?
      • Personal wealth can make a person self-sufficient and prideful. Instead of putting his faith in God, man trusts in himself and in his own resources.
      • If a person never sees a need in his life that he cannot fix or fill, he will never see his need for Christ.
    • Wealth can be addictive. The more you get used to the more you want to have. It is man’s selfish nature that wants to consume it upon his own lusts.
  • The Camel and the Eye of the Needle (25-27)
    • In response to Jesus’ statement that a rich man can barely receive salvation we have the strange saying about the camel and the eye of the needle.
    • What does it mean?
      • Every city in the Middle East at the time of the New Testament had a wall around it for protection.
      • That wall had a main city gate through which travelers and merchants passed every day.
      • However, because robbers were common, the city gate was shut at night.
        • Therefore, a traveler or a merchant that arrived at the main city gate was not permitted entry after the city gate was closed for the night.
        • This meant that a legitimate merchant would have to spend the night outside the city gate and be susceptible to robbery.
      • Therefore, cities had a smaller gate beside the main gate for just such an occasion.
        • The smaller gate was called the “eye of the needle” to indicate its small size.
        • A merchant that came by camel to the small gate would have to unload all of his goods from the back of his camel. Then the camel would have to go down on his knees and be coaxed through the gate on his knees. All of the merchant’s goods had to be hand carried through the small gate.

Notice that it is not impossible for the camel to go through the eye of the needle

But it is very difficult and time consuming.

• • • • When Jesus told the rich young ruler that he had to sell everything and follow Him, that rich young ruler had to be like the camel going through the eye of the needle.
        • He had to unload his material possessions to see that eternal life is more valuable.
        • He had to humble himself (down on his knees like the camel) by getting rid of his pride in his own accomplishments.
  • Jesus’ disciples begin to wonder about all they gave up to follow Jesus. (28-30)
    • Sometimes the cost of discipleship is great, but Jesus tells us that the rewards are worth it.
    • The disciples left, businesses, houses, and family members to follow Him and serve God.
    • ^“ Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.” (30)
      • Jesus promises us, as His disciples, that we will receive more in this present time. In other words, He will meet our current needs whatever they may be in the way He sees fit to supply them.
      • Jesus promises us, as His disciples, a reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (1Cor 3:13-15)
      • And we will have eternal life which has the greatest value of all, and that is what the rich young ruler wanted in the beginning.
• Application:
  • The title of our lesson indicates that the child, the lesson to the rich man, and the camel are all related.
  • To inherit eternal life:
    • A person must humble himself like a child and see his life from God’s perspective.
    • Unlike the rich man, material possessions are eternally worthless.
    • Spiritual life for eternity with God is worth giving up everything to obtain.
    • But man does not have to “do” anything to obtain it. It is a free gift by faith in Jesus Christ.

Homework
Luke 18:31-43
Luke 19:1-10

• Application of Luk 18:15-30
  • What is it in your life that has the greatest value?
    • Houses
    • Family
    • Wealth
    • Serving God
  • In the lesson, who do you relate to the most and why?
    • The child
    • The rich young ruler
    • The camel
• Preparation for Luk 18:31-43 and Luke 19:1-10
  • Read Luk 18:31-43
  • Read Luk 19:1-10
    • Why do you think prophecy in the Bible was so important?
    • What titles for Christ do you find in these scriptures?
    • What did Jesus say was His purpose for coming to earth the first time?
• Memory Verse: Luk 19:10