I don’t suppose many of us have given much thought to the word priority . I mean, we use it; we know what it means toputsomethingfirst . Since that is true, why do we talk about priorities plural? Many things cannot be the most important thing! Not even two things can be the most important thing!
This is what happened: The English word priorityhas been around since the 1300s and it meant thefirstthing . But at the time of the Industrial Revolution (1700-1800s), as machines brought greater productivity, a movement of efficiency swept across England, Europe, and America and the word began to be used to refer to the ordering of important things a list of priorities…plural.
Despite that, it is true that two things cannot be the most important thing. With the focus of our worship today in mind, we might even recall something Jesus said which says that very thing: You cannot love both God and money (Matthew 6:24). That is certainly the concern Jesus had to address with an important and wealthy young man who had messed up priorities when it came to what it means to live for God.
As we think about the interaction between Jesus and the man, we learn something about priorities. We learn that…
Followers of Christ Have Their Priorities Straight
One day Jesus was walking along and a young man sprinted up to him and dropped to his knees, begging Jesus for an answer to his question. What kind of nagging question prompted a man to throw himself at the Savior’s feet? A big one! Really, it is THE big question of life.
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Later the jailer in the city of Philippi would ask Paul and Silas “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The same question these men asked is prevalent among sinful human beings. All people have that nagging voice inside that asks what happens after we die, or what do we have to do to live eternally even people who lead “good” lives like this man apparently did.
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” We don’t always like it when someone answers a question with a question, but Jesus did that here and with good reason. He asked, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” That sounds kind of funny as if Jesus was not claiming to be good and distancing himself from God. But exactly the opposite was true. This man needed to reflect on who should be called “good” and whether Jesus was simply a teacher…or something more. Jesus was and is not simply “good”, but great. He was and is certainly much more than just a teacher, he is true God and the world’s Savior. But would the man listen and come to believe this?
Jesus continued and responded to the man’s question. ”You know the commandments. ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’” When he asked Jesus how to be saved, did Jesus really just point him to the commandments?! Did he really only point him to a handfulof the commandments—just the ones that had to do with how we treat other people?! Thatwas his answer?!
Well not exactly. This was Jesus’ initial response, but not his answer. He was leading the man into further discussion and reflection on his life. He wasn’t harassing him or leading him astray, he was trying to teach a man who knew a lot about the commands of God and made excellent efforts to live by them and thought he was prioritizing God above everything else.
“Teacher, I have kept all these since I was a child.” No doubt, this was an honorable man. If he had truly been doing his best to live by God’s commandments, I bet many people in his community would have agreed. He believed in God. He was religious and upstanding. He was sincere. No doubt he was “good” in the eyes of many. We don’t have to find arrogance in his response. It may have been a fact he was a godly man. Outward obedience to God’s commands was what this man and others strived for and what others could see.
What could not be seen, however, was what was in his heart. But Jesus couldlook into his heart and clearly see what the problem was. So, did Jesus beat him over the head with his law? Did he point the big Jesus finger at him and scream, “SINNER!”in his face? No.
Jesus looked at him and loved him. The way Jesus reached out in love to the man was to call him to action. Doing outward works was what this man was all about. He was under the impression that these were the kinds of things that save a person. So, Jesus told him to do something: “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
This fine young man was missing something. What was it? Was it the outward action of sharing his wealth with others that Jesus was encouraging? Had he not given enough away and helped enough needy people? Actually, that was not his problem. It was a lack of love for God above all things. He was a follower of God who had not actually put God first. Jesus’ direction to him was a response, but not the answer. He was trying to lead him to an understanding, and the answer was still to come.
What happened to the man? He went away sad. Was it because he had wealth that he was sad? No, just the opposite. His wealth made him happy—more happy than God made him. God certainly made his list of priorities and it appears he may have been second on the list but money was #1. It was his priority in the original sense of the word. Jesus knew what got in the way of totally loving and trusting God—money and stuff.
The man couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do it. Things in this world were too important to him. Specifically, his money was more important. Though he seemed to prioritize God by going to church and living a morally good life, things were not right with him.
The man’s question was, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus couldn’t even get to the answer with the man. He threw out one thing to get the man’s attention, and he walked away. Jesus never meant to imply that the man had been perfect to this point or that if he would just do this one thing, then he would have earned heaven. Jesus looked at him and loved him. He knew his heart, and he knew what he had to teach that day. If the young man wouldn’t stick around to hear the final answer, there were others who would.
To them, Jesus said, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Let’s be very clear about what God says and how he feels. God does not say that wealth is wrong, nor does he say that it is impossiblefor a rich person to be saved. God gives riches, and people of varying degrees of wealth have been faithful followers of the Lord you can see lots of examples in Scripture and in the people around us. But how hard it is for a rich person to get into heaven, Jesus says! It is because, many times, they have the problem this young man had they prioritize wealth above God. Those who were there, including the disciples, were amazed by this.
Maybe we are too, but the warning is right on the money, so to speak! You can work for and pray for financial blessings, but you better be sure to pray for wisdom and a heart that knows and manages God’s gifts well, because it is not easy to keep money and possessions in their proper place even for those who are not rich.
It would be prideful for us to be so sure that we would have been so much better than this man in our hearts or in our actions.
As that man needed to repent over prioritizing material things above God, so do we. As that man needed to repent for not keeping God in his proper first-place position, so do we. As that man needed to repent for thinking that he was living in a way that earned something from God, so do we.
When Jesus said that it is easier for the largest animal in all of Palestine to go through the tiniest opening than for a rich man to get into heaven everyone who heard it, including the disciples, were amazed. They couldn’t believe what Jesus was saying. They threw up their hands and said, “Who then can be saved?”
If we just think about our sins for a moment, we can see that like that young man, we cannot earn heaven by our outward behavior and way of life no matter how “good” we think we are. When our Lord sets the expectation that a follower of Christ puts God first and that we do this 100% of the time we’re right with the disciples! We throw our hands up and say “Who then can be saved?” I mean, if this man, who lived such a squeaky clean, righteous life, couldn’t be saved by his godly living, how do any of us stand a chance?
Then we’re right back where we started. We’re back to the big question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Here is the answer: Our salvation requires intervention. What we cannot do, God can do…and has done…and will do!
I sure hope that rich young guy was moping around close enough to hear Jesus give to those who stuck around, the amazing answer to his question: “For people, it is impossible, but not for God, because all things are possible for God.”
It is impossible for us to save ourselves, but salvation is totally possible with God! That is why the Father sent his Son into the world—to save sinners. At the end of his earthly life, as he hung on the cross, Jesus could actually say that he had kept all of God’s commands his entire life. Impossible for us to do; totally possible for Jesus to do. As he died on the cross, he paid for the rich man’s failings of life and heart. He paid for you and me to have salvation too. Jesus set our salvation as his priority.
What an eye-opening warning this is for you and me! I mean, look at us. Here at church…again. Bible Study? For lots of us, yes—maybe even a couple times a week. Helping out at church sometimes? A lot? Invite a friend or two to church? Pretty good spouse? Decent father? Not a bad kid? Living a Christian life? There’s this thing that can happen and it’s not great. We start to think that we’re pretty good. We have this sense that God should be pleased with what we are offering him as far as our life goes. Some of you can say that you have known God your whole life since you were a child, like this man. You’ve believed and lived for God the whole time. That’s good in people’s eyes, great even.
But none of this can earn even one day in heaven. The price for that is way beyond what you can earn. You know the price for that. You know it because you have heard and you have read that Jesus prioritized you as the most important thing. He pushed away the divine glory of heaven for you. And he held nothing back, but gave you his very life on the cross.
A follower of Christ loves and trusts in God above all things. This happens when a person really gets what Jesus’ love moved him to do and that that’s what gives eternal life. So, naturally, God expects to find that love and trust when he looks into your heart and observes the way you prioritize things in your life.
Jesus didn’t see that in the wealthy man who stood before him. Things seemed good with him on the surface, but there was an internal faith problem that he wasn’t aware of until that moment Jesus told him to prioritize God above all else. He couldn’t do it. At least not at that moment. We don’t know if he ever did.
Jesus had looked at him and loved him, wanting him to love God above everything else in his life. What is it like when Jesus looks at you with love and compassion in his eyes?
This man saw that look.
Peter, after his denial of Jesus, saw that look. The criminal on the cross next to Jesus saw that look.
He’s looking at you with that same look. He sees your sins. All of them. And there is an appeal in his eyes, for you to see in him the one who was perfect for you and completely forgives you. Let nothing hold you back. Don’t prioritize anything ahead of him. He’s looking at you with love. Look back at him the same way. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.