One of the dangers, I don't know if that's the right word, of teaching and preaching is you come across texts of scripture and you're thinking, I have taught this so many times, I've preached it so many times, that you can lose the marvel of what's going on in these incredible gospel stories. And I don't want us to do that. I know this is a familiar text for us, but I'm going to read from verse 13 to 16 and maybe God can just add a little bit of grace to us that would just be delighted in what we find here in the story. So let me read. It says, then they brought little children to him that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. And when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them. For of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.' And he took them up in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them." Isn't that one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible? Just because you could just watch it happen, the way the Gospels lay it forth for us there. But you can just, in your mind, just see all this happen. And I almost imagine, even though the Bible doesn't say it, a big smile on the face of our Lord as He's just loving on those kids and blessing them. So in the context of where we are in the gospel, Jesus had just spent some time defending the institution of marriage and really honoring and hallowing the institution of the covenant of marriage. And now he's moving on to children. So we're kind of in a section here where Jesus is supporting and undergirding really the family here, the marriage and now the kids. And I think I mentioned this either last time or a couple of sermons ago when we were talking about the kids, because that theme comes up quite a bit. As Jesus tells his disciples, you have to be like one of these little kids if you're going to get into the kingdom. And we unpacked that a little bit. But when we looked at that at prior times, We see Jesus over and over again kind of tearing down some of the cultural errors that were in that day, where children really weren't elevated like maybe they are in our society. They were kind of looked down on. It wasn't like you had these kids probably at some of the more formal dinners and things like that. They really weren't that honored in that society. And that might be why the disciples were kind of keeping these kids at bay. Because they didn't think that they should be brought. The Bible, all it says is they brought. They brought little children to Him. And so we have to kind of think, well, who brought them? And I want to read you a quote by J.D. Jones. I thought it was insightful because I agree with what J.D. Jones says, which is every time I see somebody paint a painting of this scene, it always seems like it's just the moms there bringing their kids. But surely the dads were there, maybe grandparents were there bringing the kids to bring them to Jesus. J.D. Jones, in his commentary, says, I've seen many pictures of this incident, but I cannot remember one which depicts a father as taking any part in it. But the narrative makes it plain that there were fathers as well as mothers present, for the participle in the Greek is in the masculine. Here then we have fathers and mothers bringing their children to Jesus. Children young enough to be taken up in his arms. And the word which is translated simply brought in our version really means offered. It is the word used of the offering of gold and frankincense and myrrh that the wise men brought to infant Jesus. These mothers and these fathers offered their little children to Christ. It was a solemn act of dedication and consecration. They offered little children to him. And then later he goes on to write, it is just here in this critical and all important duty that many fond and loving parents fail. They take every care for their children's health and education and manners. They do their level best to further their worldly success, but many of them take little account for their children's souls. And yet that is really the supreme duty. And isn't that true? It's the supreme duty of the parent. Primary job, I keep reminding my wife, she loves my grandkids so much she'd like to spend all of her time with them if she could. And I remind her that we have a role where we can influence them for Christ and hopefully help lead them to Christ. But the primary duty to have those children come to Christ is on the parents. And it's on dad and mom to raise up those kids. And the Bible deals with that. But that's the primary duty, right? All the way through to their adults and move out. And then what do we do? Now we pray for them all the time. I pray for them every day. Oh, Lord, give them a hunger for you. Give them a hunger for your word. Give them a great love for Christ. I pray that every day for my kids and the grandkids. It says in Luke's telling of this story, and this is Luke 18 to 15, Luke uses a different word for the kids. And Luke says, then they also brought infants. And it's a different word in the original language. Mark and Matthew use a word in the Greek that's little, what do they call them, ankle biters, little kids. And Luke says there was infants there too, and probably both. People are probably bringing little infants and little ankle biters, we used to call them, to Jesus. But the disciples rebuked those that brought the kids. Why? I was reading one commentary that says, well, it might have just been because Jesus was so busy. And he was. He was constantly doing ministry that maybe they thought, well, these kids aren't sick. And Jesus, you know, he's a healer. He has other people that he could be healing. And they're really too young, maybe, even to really take in a deep teaching. Because they saw Jesus's ministry as the heaven sent teacher and healer. That's what Jesus was doing. And maybe they thought, well, this is just going to be a distraction to what Jesus is primarily here to do. And the Bible does say that Jesus was pretty upset with his disciples. There's strong language in the original, at least in Mark's gospel, that he was pretty upset that they wouldn't see that there was a need for Jesus to minister and just bless these kids. I thought about that myself, because this is something we all need to remember, because there's times where I think a child's too young to really learn. I remember a long time ago, down in the basement, we had a church supper or something. I'm talking years ago, probably 20 years ago. And a dear friend of ours, a Christian lady, Betty Jo Stout, was here. I don't even know why she was here, but she was here. And somebody had a baby. And I remember Betty Jo, Betty Jo loves babies and kids. And so Betty Jo takes the baby and she's just walking around patting the baby on the back. And I just happened to be close enough to her to see her whispering in that baby's ear, you know, the Lord Jesus loves you, little one. You know, just whispering in this baby's ear. And I thought, That's going into their mind. I mean, you know, it's just, it becomes a part of the life that these little children live. And she thought, you know what, if I've got a moment with this little baby, I'm gonna be talking to this baby about Jesus. I thought that impressed me. Kids, right? You probably know this about the prophet Jeremiah, but he was very young. We don't know how young he was when he was called to be prophet, but it does say this in Jeremiah. God's speaking and dealing with Jeremiah, and it says in Jeremiah 1 verse 5, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Now Jeremiah is taken aback by that. Can you imagine God telling you that? I set you apart. I knew you before you were even in the womb. And I sanctified you. And so Jeremiah says, oh, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth. And God said to him, Do not say, I am a youth. I love that. Don't you be talking that stuff about you being a youth. He says, God says, Don't say, I am a youth, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Don't tell me you're too young, you're my prophet. That's what God tells Jeremiah. So we're to receive the kingdom, and we talked about this, I don't want to go over this too much because we've already spent a sermon or two looking at this, but we're to receive the kingdom like children. And here the disciples are keeping the children away. And earlier Jesus took a child and used him as an example. Here he says, no, no, suffer the little, the King James, suffer the little children to come to me for such is the kingdom of God. And he brings the kids and he blesses them and he picks them up and I just imagine him smiling. These disciples did not understand this, but later they did. And I say that because of passages like 1 Peter, where Peter, who's one-on-one saying, no, no, no, keep your kids away. In 1 Peter 2.1-2, he talks to the church. He says, therefore laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes. desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby." And Peter later, he's saying to the church, you have to come to the kingdom like little children. And he says, like a newborn baby would be nourished at the breast of his mother, so you be nourished by the word of God. And I think Peter learned this, you know, as Jesus kept talking to his rather thick disciples, which encourages me because I tend to be kind of thick myself and God just keeps teaching us. I want to read you a story and this is a little bit of a rabbit trail that you have to go with me on. But I want to read a quote and understand, just in case you aren't familiar with the story. Some of you are, some of you might not be. This is in the Old Testament, Book of Second Kings in chapter five, beginning in verse nine, a little bit of a story here about Naaman. And some of you know the story about Naaman who had leprosy. And it says, then Naaman went with his horses and chariot and he stood at the door of Elijah's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean. But Naaman became furious, and he went away and said, Indeed, I said to myself, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy." I mean, he knew exactly the way that this was supposed to happen. He doesn't even go out to him. He just sends a servant and says, go down and wash him with Jordan seven times. So he's mad. He says, are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servant came near and spoke to him and said, My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, wash and be clean, So he went down and he dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child. And he was clean. I never really noticed that before. He had the flesh of a little child. He wasn't just cured of leprosy, he was renewed in his skin. Just like a little child's skin. Now J.D. Jones picks up on that, and I want to read this quote because I thought it was good. He says, as a little child, Jesus tells us, you have to come into the kingdom as a little child. He says, what regrets the very phrase stirs within us, What would we not give to shake off the defilements and the evil knowledge and the sinful entanglements that the years have brought? Is it possible again to become as a little child? Yes, it is. We must be born again, said Jesus. He never gave a command which was not also a half promise. I read in the old book of the leprous man who, at the command of the prophet of the Lord, dipped seven times in the Jordan, and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child. But there is a better fountain than the Jordan, in which you and I can wash away the defilements of the years, and become again in soul and in spirit like a little child, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. So we've got a better place to wash, to become like little children, than in the Jordan. It is the blood of Jesus, right? Karen and I listened to this country song, and the lyric, and I don't remember it exactly, but I like the lyric, it's talking about the dad wants to know, or the mom wants to know, this boy, this date, and his daughter, you know, are you washed in the water, or are you washed in the blood? You know? Do you really know the Lord Jesus? I love that lyric. Are you just washed in the water, or are you washed in the blood? So then we move on from that episode to a story here of a young man that wants to inherit eternal life, which is an important subject. And let me read the whole episode here, verse 17 to 27. Now, as he was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before him and asked him, good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? So Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is God. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother. And he answered and said to him, Teacher, all these things I have kept for my youth. Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, one thing you lack, go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow me." But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God. 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. And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, with men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God, all things are possible. Well, I already took you down one rabbit trail. So I'm going to take you down another one. I enjoyed, I was reading a lot of commentaries as I always do, but I was reading a John MacArthur's commentary on this. And he went down a little rabbit trail. He just threw a bunch of scripture verses. And I started looking them up and thought, that's a good rabbit trail. as we're talking about the desire for eternal life. Now this young man had the right desire. He wanted to know that he knew for sure that he had eternal life, life eternal. And we should all want to know that for sure. And so we'll talk about that for a moment and then we'll get back into the story. Eternal life is found in Christ alone. And these are three passages where Jesus is the one doing the talking. John chapter three, verse 15, Jesus says, whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting or eternal life. John 10.28, Jesus says, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. In John 17 verse 2, Jesus says, and He's speaking to His Father, He says, "...as you have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as you have given Him." And this is eternal life. Now, everybody has eternal existence. We talked about that before. All will come out of the graves, some to the resurrection of condemnation, and some to eternal life, those that are in Jesus Christ. So now He's going to tell us what is eternal life. So John 17.3 says, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, he says to the father, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. That's eternal life. To have, in that language of knowing is intimacy. That we have an intimate relationship with the living God through his son, Jesus Christ. Romans 6.23 says, "...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 1 John 5.11 says, "...and this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." 1 John 5.13 says, These things I have written to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. And 1 John 5.20 says, And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Those who have come to Christ and have eternal life have passed, the Bible says, from spiritual death into life itself. Jesus says this in John 5.24. He says, Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 1 John 3.14 says we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Now Ephesians really explains what they're talking about, passing from death to life. Ephesians chapter 2 where he says, and you, he's speaking to the Christians, to the church, and you he made alive who were dead. in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just like the others." We were dead in sin. We were spiritually dead to God. We had died. And God resuscitated us back to life, spiritual life, when we gave our hearts, if you will, to Jesus Christ. It also speaks in the Bible of those that have eternal life have died to sin. We're alive to God, but we've now died to sin. Romans 6 says, what should we say then? Should we continue to sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus, we're baptized into His death? Our old selves were put to death. We're new creatures in Christ. Romans 6.11 says, likewise, you also reckon yourself. In other words, think of yourself this way. Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And then we have the life of Christ in us. That's the way the Bible puts it. 2 Corinthians 4.11 says, For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Our Lord and Savior is living through us. Galatians 2.20, probably most succinctly, puts this. This Paul writing, he says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And then lastly, in my favorite trail, is with all that being true of us who've put our faith in Christ, we have a completely different perspective on everything. But in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16, it says, Therefore, we don't lose heart. We do not lose heart even though, even though this is the circumstance. He says, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are, and it's that word again, eternal. So we have eternal life, everlasting life in Christ Jesus who's living through us, and we have a different perspective because we look to those things which are eternal. I mean, life can beat us up at times, but we know, you know what? This isn't going to go on forever. And either my Lord's going to come back while I'm still walking this earth, or I'm going to go to be with him, one or the other. And that's the destination for us all, is glory. And so this man who runs up to Jesus and falls to his knees has the right idea, the right question. He's bothered because he's not sure if he has eternal life or not. And he wants to go to Jesus to find out if that can actually be something he can obtain. Jesus, before he even really answers them, he kind of calls them out right away, doesn't he? I love the Lord. I just love the way he talks, and he's the most brilliant of teachers. Jesus makes it real clear, real fast, that nobody's good. That's the first thing he says. Why are you calling me good? There's only one that's good, and that's God. Now, you could take that down a bunch of different paths. Was he inviting this guy to come to the realization that he was actually talking to God in the flesh? I don't want to read too much into it. I think he's telling the guy there's nobody that's good. The only good human being that ever lived this life is Jesus himself. He is the only law keeper. The rest of us fall woefully short of that. And if you don't believe me, let me read you a couple passages of scripture. When Solomon, King Solomon, dedicates the temple in 1 Kings 8, He gets the people together, they consecrate themselves, they go before the Lord, and Solomon is praying a long prayer to God. And when he prays that prayer, in verse 46, he says to God, and he's speaking on behalf of the kingdom, he says, when they sin against you, He doesn't say, if they sin against you. He says, when they sin against you, parentheses, for there is no one who does not sin. And then he's going to ask God, if they would cry out to God and repent, that God would come and heal and pour his favor out on them again. But that's what he says. When they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 20 says, there's not a just man on the earth. who does good and does not sin. Romans 3.10, we all know, where it simply says, there is none righteous, no, not one. In other words, there's none righteous. And if you're thinking, what about that one guy? No, not even him, not even him. Nobody's righteous except for Jesus. Psalm 14.1 says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They've done abominable works. There is none who does good. And one last one. Job 15 verse 14 says, What is man that he could be pure, and he who is born of a woman that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in his saints, and the heavens are not pure in his sight, how much less man who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water? That's not a real high view of man's ability there. But that's the way the Bible paints it. It's an ugly picture, and if we didn't know that, we would never cry out for a Savior. And I think that's what Jesus is really doing here in this conversation, is to get this individual to realize nobody is making it by their own merits. That does start with that. Nobody's good except for God. Then Jesus immediately sends a lawyer to the law. He goes right to the law. Verse 19, you know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother. Jesus takes him to the second table of the law. The first four commandments are between us and God. We're not to have other gods. We're not to use the Lord's name in vain. It's our relationship with God. And now, the second table, God is dealing with us in our human relationships. It says, don't do this, and do that, and don't do this. And so he takes him to the second table of the law. And did you notice anything strange when I read that list? There's one missing, and there's one added. Did you notice that? He changed it. It's not that it's not in the law. Jesus isn't messing with the law, but he didn't say, thou shall not covet. He didn't tell the man that. Instead he said, do not defraud. And Jesus, the master teacher, he's up to something with this. Now, Leviticus 19 says this about defrauding somebody. It says in verse 13, you shall not cheat your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired should not remain with you all night until morning. In other words, don't be ripping off your neighbors. And if you hire somebody, don't you just keep the money and maybe collect interest on it and tell him I'll pay you next Tuesday. You pay him when his pay's due. That's what that law's talking about. Something about the fact that Jesus slipped in, do not defraud, makes me think that was this man's Achilles heel. And at the root of any kind of a defrauding, or maybe the opposite. The law itself, when it tells us not to steal, There's a positive side of that negative command. And Paul picks up on it. Is it Ephesians where he's talking about the guy in church that used to be a thief? And he says, well you tell that guy that used to steal to steal no longer, but then what? Tell him to work with his hands to earn enough money that he can help other people. So you get the negative of don't steal, but what am I supposed to do? Well, you're supposed to be industrious, work, and have a little extra so you can help people. You're not supposed to take their money. You're actually supposed to help people out and give them some money. And with defrauding, it could be that maybe he hadn't actually defrauded someone, but he hadn't been generous with his possessions. He hadn't helped people. His stuff had him. Some people have stuff, some people their stuff has them. And I think that's the problem with this man. So the purpose of the law, right? The purpose of the law. Galatians tells us in chapter three, verse 19, what purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgression till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. That's the story of Moses receiving the law. What's that talking about? I don't want to go back and re-teach Galatians, but just so you understand what he's saying is that God had promised Abraham that the nations would be blessed through his seed. Paul labors in Galatians that that seed ultimately was not a bunch of kids. It wasn't plural. It was a singular use of the word seed and that seed is Jesus Christ. So if you're in Jesus Christ by faith, then you're a recipient of the promise, and you're under the blessing of God, and you receive that by faith. That's kind of Galatians in a nutshell, a lot more than that, but that's in a nutshell. So when you get to Galatians 3.24, he says, speaking of the law, that the law was our tutor. It was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. So the law itself is a mirror that we look into, and we see how woefully short we fall of God's standards. And we realize, like a tutor leading me, well, how can I be saved? And then the gospel comes along. Somebody preaches to you the gospel. There's hope for you if you repent and put your faith in the Savior. And then Jesus becomes our Savior, and we're saved by just embracing Him by faith. I thank this gentleman who fell on his knees before Jesus, who said, I've done all these things since my youth. That's kind of arrogant, isn't it? But I think he probably laboriously performed these outward acts of the law. The same thing that Paul, before his conversion, said was true of him when he was known as Saul, the Pharisee. Because he said, concerning the righteousness which is of the law, this is Paul speaking in Philippians, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. I was blameless. And then later he realizes, if you read that whole string in Philippians 3, he came to realize that he was a covetor. He was just like this man here. He was a covetor and he coveted all these things that God didn't give him. And he realized that he was a sinner that needed a savior. So like Saul, the Pharisee, this young man says, all these things I've kept from my youth. Now in Matthew's telling of this story, he adds this. He says, the young man said to him, all these things I've kept from my youth, what do I still lack? It seems to me like this man who had been trying to keep the law so meticulously somehow knew that he wasn't pulling it off. I'm still lacking something. I've come to you that you can show me, tell me what it is that I'm missing here because I feel like I'm lacking something. Now before Jesus gives him the command, and it is a command he's going to give him, he loves him. Love comes before the command. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and then said to him. Holman, a commentary on Mark, says, Mark is the only gospel writer who records that Jesus looked at him and loved him. It gives us a sharp image of a God who loves unconditionally, passionately. This is the God who asks us to follow him. Some interpreters have taken this verse to mean that poverty is more blessed than riches, but Jesus did not intend this meaning here. He was declaring that nothing must come between a person and devotion to God. Some people may have to give up money. Others might have to abandon a cherished dream. Still others may have to surrender family. But one thing is certain, Jesus' love comes before the command. Whatever He commands us to do is because of His love for us. Remember that. And then the command. He says, what do I lack? He says, well, one thing. One thing you lack, go your way, sell everything you have, give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven. And then come, take up the cross and follow me." Now, where was Jesus going? He's on his last journey to Jerusalem to go to the cross. He invites the man, he really commands him, go do this, sell your things, and then come be my disciple. And that involves carrying a cross. Some say that this is the saddest verse in the Bible. I saw one commentator put the heading of the great refusal. Cause it says in verse 22, but he was sad at this word. He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. This is the only time that Jesus calls somebody in Mark's gospel and they don't come. Right? The one thing, James Brooke says, the one thing that the man lacked was devotion to God, as demonstrated by compassion for the needy. Had this man truly trusted in the goodness of God, he would have welcomed Jesus' command as God's best for him. The command, sell everything, give to the poor, should not be universalized or applied literally to every professing Christian. It pertains to the need of a particular person. It should not be ignored either. Other persons may have to give up other things in order to follow Jesus, maybe a vocation, or a style of life, a sinful passion, or a relationship. The call is not to poverty, but to discipleship, which takes many forms. Discipleship, however, is costly. It involves sacrifice. It involves obedience. It involves following the example of Jesus. And then Jesus teaches to his disciples how hard it is for those that have riches to enter into the kingdom of God. And he clarifies that a little bit. And did you notice that Jesus now calls his disciples children? They're starting to learn. They have to come to the kingdom like little kids. And the second time he says children, How hard it is for those who trust, and that's the key. It's not that if you have money you're going to hell. It's those who trust in riches. To let go of it because you have a more overwhelming trust of the Lord than in your stuff. This guy had his heart wrapped around his stuff, his riches. And when the Bible says riches, it's not just that he had a lot of cash on hand. He probably had an estate, property, lands, things, and money. And he wasn't willing to give it up. And really, those things had really choked the life out of this man. And he kind of knew it. I'm lacking something. What is it? And when he heard what it was, he says, no, no. That's too much for me. I can't give that up. His disciples here are astonished. They're flabbergasted at this. And you think, well, that's kind of a strange reaction that they'd be so astonished by this. But in that Jewish culture, wealth and health was seen as God's good favor upon you. So if you saw somebody that was really in good health, and God has abundantly blessed you, you must be righteous. You must be a righteous person that God has blessed. Actually, there's some portions of America that go down that same path. So they're just astonished at this. The rich guy, who obviously has God's favor on him, he's not going to make it into the kingdom? But who can? And Jesus didn't say, well, you know, if you just really pull on your heart strings and just come to your senses. He doesn't say that. He said, we're talking about salvation here? With men? It's impossible. It's impossible. We're too full. We're dead in our sins and our trespasses. God has to do something. That's why it's so important that we pray for people that we know and love that don't know Jesus. Because God can break through. God can bring somebody. I try to talk to Him. I try to talk to Him. I'm like, Lord, will you bring somebody else to this person? And just overcome the resistance, Lord. Just give them life. Give them the gift of repentance and faith. But he says that salvation, it's impossible with men. Psalm 3.8, Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people. Romans 8.3 says, For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, because we're sinners, God did by sending His own Son. In the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin, He condemns sin. in the flesh, and he did that in the body of Jesus Christ as he hung on that cross, and the wrath of God Almighty was poured out on his own son, where he atoned for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day. Jesus says, with men this is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible. Never give up on anybody, by the way. Cling on to that verse. If you think there's no way God's ever going to reach that guy, watch. Just pray for him and get out of the way and watch God work. Now wrap up with verses 28 to 31, because now Peter, impetuous Peter, I'm sure he was just thinking this, and then Peter can't help it, you know, you start thinking something for two seconds, and boom, it comes popping out of his mouth. So Peter began, and he says to him, See, we've left all to follow you. And Jesus answered and said, Assuredly, I say to you, there's no one who's left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the Gospels, who shall not receive a hundredfold, now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions, and the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Now, in Matthew's telling of this, we see that Peter actually said, in this Matthew 19.27, he says, see, we've left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have? We left it all. Are we in the kingdom? Do we get eternal life? What do we get? Is kind of what he says. Jesus doesn't rebuke him for saying it. He's just saying, well, we did leave a lot. And when you look at Matthew's gospel, he talks to his disciples, although we know Judas Iscariot is going to betray Jesus and go to the dark place and not into glory. But he says to them, as an answer to them specifically, not to everybody. He says, "...shortly I say to you that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Is that good enough for you, Peter? That's what you get. You get a throne. You gave up your business, you gave up your fishing net, you left your dad's zebedee. Matthew, you left your tax booth. You gave it all up. You get to rule under my headship as you sit on thrones and judge the nations, the judge of the tribes. That's what you get. And then he turns here and says, and anyone who's left, what I've told them to leave, to come and follow me, they'll receive so much more in this life. I like Adam Clark's commentary on this. He sums it up and says, what do you get? You get the fullness of grace here. and the fullness of glory hereafter." Is that good enough for you? Is that good enough for you, Peter? You get the fullness of grace now in this life, even though you'll have tribulations and persecutions. But I'll be with you through all that. And you get glory hereafter. I think that's a pretty good bargain. So let me end with that. Our Father and our God, we thank you for your word. Lord, it's so delightful. And Lord Jesus, thank you for being our great Redeemer. Lord, we confess, none of us are going to make it into heaven on our own merit. Lord, we've sinned miserably, and we acknowledge that. But Lord, we thank you that you gave us the law that leads us to a Savior, Jesus Christ, and we repent and put our faith in that Savior. And you give us not what we deserve, which is wrath, you give us grace, and you give us life eternal. Lord, thank you for that. Help us to be renewed in our faith, Lord, and ready and prepared and filled to go out of this place this week to serve. And Lord, I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. We'll receive the benediction of the Lord. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his confidence upon you and give you peace. Go in the peace of Christ Jesus to a world that desperately needs to hear the gospel. In Jesus' name, amen.