When I first looked at the book Encounters with Jesus, I was surprised that one of the sections focused on rejection. It’s not that Jesus rejected people, but that people who encountered Jesus rejected him. While it may not be the most encouraging and uplifting thing to think about, the truth is that many encounters with Jesus ended in rejection. In fact, if we look at the end of Jesus’ life, we might even say every encounter with Jesus ended in rejection. In Matthew 26:56, right after Jesus has been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, it says, all the disciples deserted Jesus and fled. A few hours later Jesus is standing alone being question and accused by the elders and the teachers of the law. Later the next day Jesus again stands alone before Pilate, and when Pilate asks the crowds if they want him to release Jesus or Barabbas, the crowds reject Jesus and choose Barabbas. Jesus then stands alone before the soldiers as they mock him and beat him, and of course Jesus is alone on the cross and alone when he is laid in the tomb. At the end of his life, everyone has rejected Jesus. They have all deserted him, betrayed him and left him alone to die.
So many people rejected Jesus, but why? Why reject Jesus’ love? Why turn away from his grace and the power he gives to help? Why did so many people reject the life that Jesus offered them? And why do we? In short, I think we reject Jesus because the challenge and the call he places on our lives is real and it is difficult, so at times it seems easier to walk away from Jesus then it is to accept and follow him. It was easier for the rich man to walk away from Jesus, to reject him, than it was for him to follow Jesus because what Jesus asked him to do was hard.
In many ways, this story of the rich man in Matthew 19 is one of the most disturbing encounters with Jesus we find in the gospels, and it’s not because Jesus told him to go sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, it’s because he seems so much like us and yet still rejects Jesus in the end. Maybe by exploring and reflecting on his encounter with Jesus we can learn how not to reject Jesus ourselves.
When the rich man comes to Jesus, he is looking for a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in his life. While it says he is looking for eternal life, he’s not really asking about eternal salvation and he’s not really interested in how to make sure he has a life in heaven once his life in this world is over; the man is asking Jesus how to find a greater sense of meaning and purpose in his life because while he is rich and powerful, his money, power and status has not brought him security, contentment or peace. He is still feeling empty and unsure, so he comes to Jesus asking how to find not only what he is missing, but what he is longing for. In many ways, this question is ours as well. Many of us come to Jesus because we know that we are missing something in life and we know there has to be something more that is needed for real life and we know that somehow Jesus has the answer. So like the rich man we come to Jesus sincerely looking for answers and for help.
In response to this man’s question, Jesus asks him to first evaluate his relationship with others. What’s important to note is that Jesus shows us that the ultimate meaning and purpose in our lives is linked to how we treat others. We will never be fulfilled in this life until we are in good and right relationships with those around us. Look at Matt. 19:18.
So if we want to experience the fullness of life God has for us, we need to start by looking at how we treat those around us. Do we treat one another with respect and honor? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we care for another like family? That was the challenge Jesus gave us in the encounter we looked at last week. To experience a deeper faith and to find a deeper meaning in life we need to make sure that our relationships with one another are healthy and Godly, but it doesn’t end there. In many ways, this is just the place where Jesus starts because he then calls this man to go deeper.
Let’s go back to Matthew 19. Jesus highlights 5 or we might say 6 commandments here. Now think about which of the commandments Jesus has omitted. What’s missing from this list? What are missing are all the commandments that talk about our relationship with God. The first 4 commandments God gave were given to strength our relationship with God: you shall have no other God before me, you shall not make any idols, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, and remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. These 4 commandments were given to help us stay in a right relationship with God. They were given to help us worship God alone and trust in God’s power alone for life. While Jesus doesn’t specifically ask this man if he has kept these 4 commandments, he does give the man a kind of test to see if he really does love God with all his heart and soul and mind and stregnth. When Jesus calls this man to go and sell all he has and give the money to the poor, Jesus is really asking him if he loves and trusts God completely. Is he “all in” with Jesus? Will he cut all other ties and surrender himself to God? It is in our complete surrender to God that we find eternal life. It is in loving and trusting God alone that we find life and life abundant and that is the challenge that still faces us today. Do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength? Do we trust God alone and are we willing to prove it by giving up all the things in which we place our turst? Are we “all in” with Jesus? Are we willing to place God above everything else?
When Jesus tells the man to go sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor he is not making a blanket statement that says everyone needs to sell their possession in order to be one of his disciples. Being a Christ follower does not require each of us empty our homes and bank accounts, but it does require us to place all our faith and trust in God. That’s what Jesus is saying here, he is letting this man know that eternal life is not going to be found by trusting in his own strength and ability. Life is not going to be found in the money and goods we have accumulated. Life is only found when we trust in God alone. But Jesus doesn’t ask the man if he trusts in God, he asks the man to prove that he trusts in God by telling him he needs to let go of all the things he does trust in.
What Jesus is saying to all of us is that if we want to experience the full power of God and all the fullness of life, then we have to be willing to completely surrender ourselves to Him. There can be nothing in our lives that we place before God and if there is some kind of idol, we need to be willing to get rid of it, and then turn to more fully follow Jesus, but this is not easy. It’s not easy to let go of the things in this world we trust in. It’s not easy to sell all we have and follow Jesus, but it wasn’t easy for this rich man either. It says he went away grieving because he had many possessions. This man walked away from Jesus, he rejected him, because the road Jesus asked him to walk was too hard. What’s sad to think about is that while the rich man chose the road that seemed easy I think he knew he was making the wrong choice. The man comes to Jesus because he knows that Jesus has the answer, he knows that somehow life was going to be found in him, and while he wants that life he’s not willing to give up all he has for it, so he chooses what he thinks is the easy road but in the end he rejects Jesus and rejects life.
What makes this a disturbing story is that too many times this is our story. We come to Jesus because we know he is the son of God, we we know his way will lead to a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life, but we also know that his way is hard and it calls us to surrender, to go “all in”. Many times we chose what we think is easy, we hold on to things in this world and in the process - reject Jesus. When we look to the future and trust in our own wealth and our own ability to take care of ourselves, we are rejecting Jesus. When we think that God will accept us because of all the good things we have done and so go out to do more good things in order to earn our salvation, we reject Jesus. When we are unwilling to give control of our lives to God and place our priorities and our pleasures before God’s purposes and plans, we reject Jesus.
Like the rich man, we walk away not because we think it’s the right thing to do but because we think it’s the easy thing to do, but rejecting Jesus doesn’t bring us life. Life is only found when we accept God’s grace and that choice is ours alone to make.
And it is our choice. We choose to follow Jesus and we can choose to reject him, God gave us with free will. Jesus didn’t force the rich man to follow him, he invited him, the choice was his, and while at this moment the rich man said no, I have often wondered if he ever returned to Jesus and said yes. I was wondering this week if this man ever did go out and sell his possessions and maybe join the way of Jesus, the followers of Jesus, or the church, after Jesus death and resurrection. And then I began to wonder if he did sell all his stuff and go back to Jesus, would Jesus have welcomed him? I have to believe Jesus would because anytime we come to Jesus in faith and trust; we are accepted by him and welcomed into his kingdom. While we may choose to reject Jesus at times, even many times, rejection does not have to be our final choice. Every day we are given another choice, another opportunity to stop trusting in ourselves and in our belonings and start trusting in God. In Lamentations 3:22-23 it says, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morming. Great is God’s faithfulness.
Today we have the same opportunity as the rich man. In communion, God invites us to sell all we have, to stop trusting in ourselves and things of this world and trust in Christ alone for salvation and life. In communion we are saying that it is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that brings eternal life – that’s both abundant life here and now, and everlasting life to come. When we accept the bread and share in the cup we are saying yes to God’s grace and no to ourselves and the world, but we are also saying in communion that it is the example of Jesus that we are going to follow, and the example we see here is a life of complete surrender. Jesus gave all he had; in essence he sold all his possessions and followed the will of God. When we share in this meal we are saying that we are willing to let go of all we have and all we trust in so that we can more fully follow Jesus. It’s a difficult choice, and this is not a meal to acdept and share in lightly – but if we are willing to say yes to God – God will help us in the journey.
What do you think would have happened if the rich man, instead of walking away, had said to Jesus I’m not sure I can do this on my own. To sell all my possessions and follow you, I’m going to need your help. I think Jesus would have helped him. I think that when we pick up this bread we are saying to God, I can’t do this on my own, I can’t surrender myself to you without your help, so would you help me live this life of faith and trust? Will you help me surrender myself to you? I think God is just waiting for us to ask. Instead of rejecting Jesus and taking a road that seems easy, let’s take the difficult road. Let’s make the hard choice and ask God to help us find life, and life eternal.
So many people rejected Jesus, but why? Why reject Jesus’ love? Why turn away from his grace and the power he gives to help? Why did so many people reject the life that Jesus offered them? And why do we? In short, I think we reject Jesus because the challenge and the call he places on our lives is real and it is difficult, so at times it seems easier to walk away from Jesus then it is to accept and follow him. It was easier for the rich man to walk away from Jesus, to reject him, than it was for him to follow Jesus because what Jesus asked him to do was hard.
In many ways, this story of the rich man in Matthew 19 is one of the most disturbing encounters with Jesus we find in the gospels, and it’s not because Jesus told him to go sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, it’s because he seems so much like us and yet still rejects Jesus in the end. Maybe by exploring and reflecting on his encounter with Jesus we can learn how not to reject Jesus ourselves.
When the rich man comes to Jesus, he is looking for a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in his life. While it says he is looking for eternal life, he’s not really asking about eternal salvation and he’s not really interested in how to make sure he has a life in heaven once his life in this world is over; the man is asking Jesus how to find a greater sense of meaning and purpose in his life because while he is rich and powerful, his money, power and status has not brought him security, contentment or peace. He is still feeling empty and unsure, so he comes to Jesus asking how to find not only what he is missing, but what he is longing for. In many ways, this question is ours as well. Many of us come to Jesus because we know that we are missing something in life and we know there has to be something more that is needed for real life and we know that somehow Jesus has the answer. So like the rich man we come to Jesus sincerely looking for answers and for help.
In response to this man’s question, Jesus asks him to first evaluate his relationship with others. What’s important to note is that Jesus shows us that the ultimate meaning and purpose in our lives is linked to how we treat others. We will never be fulfilled in this life until we are in good and right relationships with those around us. Look at Matt. 19:18.
So if we want to experience the fullness of life God has for us, we need to start by looking at how we treat those around us. Do we treat one another with respect and honor? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we care for another like family? That was the challenge Jesus gave us in the encounter we looked at last week. To experience a deeper faith and to find a deeper meaning in life we need to make sure that our relationships with one another are healthy and Godly, but it doesn’t end there. In many ways, this is just the place where Jesus starts because he then calls this man to go deeper.
Let’s go back to Matthew 19. Jesus highlights 5 or we might say 6 commandments here. Now think about which of the commandments Jesus has omitted. What’s missing from this list? What are missing are all the commandments that talk about our relationship with God. The first 4 commandments God gave were given to strength our relationship with God: you shall have no other God before me, you shall not make any idols, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, and remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. These 4 commandments were given to help us stay in a right relationship with God. They were given to help us worship God alone and trust in God’s power alone for life. While Jesus doesn’t specifically ask this man if he has kept these 4 commandments, he does give the man a kind of test to see if he really does love God with all his heart and soul and mind and stregnth. When Jesus calls this man to go and sell all he has and give the money to the poor, Jesus is really asking him if he loves and trusts God completely. Is he “all in” with Jesus? Will he cut all other ties and surrender himself to God? It is in our complete surrender to God that we find eternal life. It is in loving and trusting God alone that we find life and life abundant and that is the challenge that still faces us today. Do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength? Do we trust God alone and are we willing to prove it by giving up all the things in which we place our turst? Are we “all in” with Jesus? Are we willing to place God above everything else?
When Jesus tells the man to go sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor he is not making a blanket statement that says everyone needs to sell their possession in order to be one of his disciples. Being a Christ follower does not require each of us empty our homes and bank accounts, but it does require us to place all our faith and trust in God. That’s what Jesus is saying here, he is letting this man know that eternal life is not going to be found by trusting in his own strength and ability. Life is not going to be found in the money and goods we have accumulated. Life is only found when we trust in God alone. But Jesus doesn’t ask the man if he trusts in God, he asks the man to prove that he trusts in God by telling him he needs to let go of all the things he does trust in.
What Jesus is saying to all of us is that if we want to experience the full power of God and all the fullness of life, then we have to be willing to completely surrender ourselves to Him. There can be nothing in our lives that we place before God and if there is some kind of idol, we need to be willing to get rid of it, and then turn to more fully follow Jesus, but this is not easy. It’s not easy to let go of the things in this world we trust in. It’s not easy to sell all we have and follow Jesus, but it wasn’t easy for this rich man either. It says he went away grieving because he had many possessions. This man walked away from Jesus, he rejected him, because the road Jesus asked him to walk was too hard. What’s sad to think about is that while the rich man chose the road that seemed easy I think he knew he was making the wrong choice. The man comes to Jesus because he knows that Jesus has the answer, he knows that somehow life was going to be found in him, and while he wants that life he’s not willing to give up all he has for it, so he chooses what he thinks is the easy road but in the end he rejects Jesus and rejects life.
What makes this a disturbing story is that too many times this is our story. We come to Jesus because we know he is the son of God, we we know his way will lead to a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life, but we also know that his way is hard and it calls us to surrender, to go “all in”. Many times we chose what we think is easy, we hold on to things in this world and in the process - reject Jesus. When we look to the future and trust in our own wealth and our own ability to take care of ourselves, we are rejecting Jesus. When we think that God will accept us because of all the good things we have done and so go out to do more good things in order to earn our salvation, we reject Jesus. When we are unwilling to give control of our lives to God and place our priorities and our pleasures before God’s purposes and plans, we reject Jesus.
Like the rich man, we walk away not because we think it’s the right thing to do but because we think it’s the easy thing to do, but rejecting Jesus doesn’t bring us life. Life is only found when we accept God’s grace and that choice is ours alone to make.
And it is our choice. We choose to follow Jesus and we can choose to reject him, God gave us with free will. Jesus didn’t force the rich man to follow him, he invited him, the choice was his, and while at this moment the rich man said no, I have often wondered if he ever returned to Jesus and said yes. I was wondering this week if this man ever did go out and sell his possessions and maybe join the way of Jesus, the followers of Jesus, or the church, after Jesus death and resurrection. And then I began to wonder if he did sell all his stuff and go back to Jesus, would Jesus have welcomed him? I have to believe Jesus would because anytime we come to Jesus in faith and trust; we are accepted by him and welcomed into his kingdom. While we may choose to reject Jesus at times, even many times, rejection does not have to be our final choice. Every day we are given another choice, another opportunity to stop trusting in ourselves and in our belonings and start trusting in God. In Lamentations 3:22-23 it says, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morming. Great is God’s faithfulness.
Today we have the same opportunity as the rich man. In communion, God invites us to sell all we have, to stop trusting in ourselves and things of this world and trust in Christ alone for salvation and life. In communion we are saying that it is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that brings eternal life – that’s both abundant life here and now, and everlasting life to come. When we accept the bread and share in the cup we are saying yes to God’s grace and no to ourselves and the world, but we are also saying in communion that it is the example of Jesus that we are going to follow, and the example we see here is a life of complete surrender. Jesus gave all he had; in essence he sold all his possessions and followed the will of God. When we share in this meal we are saying that we are willing to let go of all we have and all we trust in so that we can more fully follow Jesus. It’s a difficult choice, and this is not a meal to acdept and share in lightly – but if we are willing to say yes to God – God will help us in the journey.
What do you think would have happened if the rich man, instead of walking away, had said to Jesus I’m not sure I can do this on my own. To sell all my possessions and follow you, I’m going to need your help. I think Jesus would have helped him. I think that when we pick up this bread we are saying to God, I can’t do this on my own, I can’t surrender myself to you without your help, so would you help me live this life of faith and trust? Will you help me surrender myself to you? I think God is just waiting for us to ask. Instead of rejecting Jesus and taking a road that seems easy, let’s take the difficult road. Let’s make the hard choice and ask God to help us find life, and life eternal.
