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Matthew 19:16-30
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16Just then a man came up to
Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17“Why do you ask me about
what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to
enter life, keep the commandments.”
18“Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not steal, you shall not give false testimony,
19honor your father and
mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20“All these I have kept,”
the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21Jesus answered, “If you
want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22When the young man heard
this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Then Jesus said to his
disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of heaven.
24Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the
25When the disciples heard
this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26Jesus looked at them and
said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27Peter answered him, “We
have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28Jesus said to them, “Truly
I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his
glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of
29And everyone who has left
houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields
for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
30But many who are first will
be last, and many who are last will be first.
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1)
According to
verse 16 what did the man want to find out from Jesus?
o
He wanted to find
out what good thing he must do to get eternal life.
2)
In accordance
with what Jesus said in verse 17 whom did
he mean when he referred to the only one
who is good?
o
Jesus meant God.
3)
Was Jesus denying
that he is good or that he is God in his reply to the man in verse 17, given that the man did not fully know what ‘good’
meant?
o
No, because Jesus
was simply challenging the man’s not fully knowing what ‘good’ meant.
4)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 17 what should the man
do if he wanted to enter life?
o
He should keep
the commandments.
5)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 18 and 19 which commandments
did he cite in response to the man’s enquiry as to which ones he should keep in
order to enter life?
o
You shall not
murder.
o
You shall not
commit adultery.
o
You shall not
steal.
o
You shall not
give false testimony.
o
Honor your father
and mother.
o
Love your
neighbor as yourself.
6)
According to
verse 20 what did the man say in response
to Jesus citing the commandments?
o
He said
§
That he had
kept the commandments.
§
And that he wondered
what he still lacked.
7)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 21 how should the man revolutionize the way he related to
others and to Jesus if he wanted to be perfect?
o
He should
§
Sell his possessions
and give to the poor.
§
And follow Jesus.
8)
How did the word
‘go’ as in ‘Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven’ commence a totally new direction for the man who used to store
up things on earth?
o
Storing up things
on earth now gave way to laying up treasures in heaven.
9)
How did the word
‘come’ as in ‘Come, follow me’ commence a totally new direction for the man who
used to follow the dictate of his desires?
o
Following the
dictate of his desires now gave way to following Jesus.
10)
According to
verse 22 what did the man do upon hearing Jesus’ words and why?
o
He went away sad.
o
Because
o
He had great
wealth.
11)
Why were the
disciples greatly astonished and why did they ask who then could be saved when Jesus
said in verses 23 and 24 that it was hard for someone who was rich to enter the
kingdom of God, given that the rich was considered to be blessed by God in the
Jewish culture of their time?
o
They thought that
it would be
§
Even harder for
the rest to be saved.
§
To the point of
impossibility.
o
If
o
It was hard for
the rich who was blessed by God,.
12)
Were the disciples
looking at the matter of getting saved from the perspective of personal merits or
from the perspective of God’s grace?
o
They were looking
at it from the perspective of personal merits.
13)
Was Jesus looking
at the matter of getting saved from the perspective of personal merits or from
the perspective of God’s grace when he said in verse 26 that with man it is
impossible, but with God all things are possible?
o
Jesus was looking
at it from the perspective of God’s grace.
14)
Was it necessary
for the rich man to sell his possessions and give to the poor in order to get eternal
life and why?
o
No, because he
could get eternal life by faith in Jesus.
15)
Why then did
Jesus tell the rich man to sell his possessions and give to the poor in order
to get eternal life, given that he wanted to get eternal life by his own
merits?
o
Jesus wanted to
find out how badly he wanted to get eternal life.
16)
How important was
eternal life to the rich man when he went away sad upon hearing Jesus’ words?
o
Eternal life was
to the rich man just another feather on his cap.
o
That
o
He could do
without.
17)
Why were the
disciples able to leave everything to follow Jesus but the rich man was not,
given that the disciples had a dream to chase after with Jesus but the rich man
did not?
o
The disciples
were able to leave everything to follow Jesus.
o
Because
o
The realization
of their dream held sway over them.
o
So they left
everything to chase after their dream with Jesus.
o
The rich man was
not able to leave everything to follow Jesus.
o
Because
o
He had no dream
worth chasing after.
o
And wealth held
sway over him.
o
So he was trapped
by his wealth.
18)
But was it not
how much one had to walk away from that determined whether the disciples and
the rich man were able to leave everything to follow Jesus?
o
No, because
§
The disciples
would not be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus.
§
No matter
§
How little they
had.
§
If
§
The realization
of their dream did not hold sway over them.
§
The rich man
would be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus.
§
No matter
§
How much he had.
§
If
§
The realization
of his dream held sway over him.
§
It was
Ø
One’s dream.
Ø
Not the amount of
one’s possession.
§
That was the
determining factor of following Jesus in these two cases.
19)
What was Jesus’
strategy for picking disciples?
o
Jesus
§
Picked those to
be his disciples who were willing to leave everything to chase after their
dream with him.
§
Then aligned
their dream with the reality of the Christ through discipleship.
20)
According to verses
27 to 28 what was Jesus’ reply to Peter’s
question as to what reward there would be for the disciples since they had left
everything to follow him?
o
Those who have left
everything to follow Jesus will
§
Also sit on
twelve thrones.
§
And judge the
twelve tribes of
o
When
o
The Son of Man
sits on his glorious throne at the renewal of all things.
21)
When is the
renewal of all things?
o
The renewal of
all things comes.
o
When
o
Jesus returns at
the end of the age to judge the world.
22)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 29 what will be the reward for those who put aside their
properties, family relationship and careers for his sake?
o
They will
§
Receive a hundred
times as much.
§
And inherit
eternal life.
23)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 30 what will happen to many who are first and many who are
last?
o
Many who are
first will be last.
o
And many who are
last will be first.
24)
When will the
reversal of fortune take place?
o
It will take
place in the age to come.
25)
What makes it
worthwhile for those who are last in the present age to wait to be first in the
age to come, if we pay attention to the length of duration of the present age and
the age to come?
o
Being last in the
present age only lasts a short lifetime.
o
Being first in
the age to come will last for eternity to come.
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Matthew 19:16-30
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