Matthew 19:16-22
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One comes to him that seems a prime candidate for joining His followers: young, leader in the synagogue, sincere, moral, proactive.

The value of an object is determined by what those in the market are willing to pay for it. If you think about it, we make all our life decisions according to our estimate of the value of things. How much is keeping my marriage healthy worth? How much value do I place on having a good relationship with my children? What’s a solid education worth to me? How much time and energy am I willing to devote to my job, my hobbies, my family and friends, my church family, sharing the gospel, worshiping God?

The whole economy of our spiritual existence rests on market worth. Consider the parable of the treasure in the field—the man sold everything to buy the field. If you gain the whole world and lose your own soul, what do you have? Paul counted his religious attainments as loss for the sake of having Christ.

In the passage we’ve read tonight, Jesus probes our sense of market worth. The rich young ruler is not all that different from many of us here tonight—in fact, he would be what we would consider one of the best products of our religious training, the one voted most likely to succeed, a probable candidate for alumnus of the year, a success story…except for one thing: his sense of market worth was fatally skewed. It is that reality that the Master brings to light in His probing responses to what appears to be an eager follower.

I. Too Low an Estimate of True Goodness (16-17)

The young man’s question betrays that he has not yet realized how demanding the law of God really is. He was thinking superficially based on external deeds. Even a little time meditating on the Ten Commandments should disabuse him of that notion. Covetousness is a matter of heart desire.

Or what about, “Here, O Israel, the LORD our God is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Love expresses itself on the outside, but comes from the inside (Deuteronomy 6:8).

He was thinking incompletely. He thought that one significant deed of righteousness will somehow put him over the top.

What about all that has been neglected or violated? What atones for all of that? What was the whole sacrificial system about if anyone could actually keep every particle of the holy law of God?

Closer attention to the Scripture would reveal to him that by the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified in God’s sight (Romans 3:19-20).

Jesus answered him kindly, but directly that there is only One Who is good. He is the perfect standard. And no one who is not God can match it. Jesus continues, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Those who want to be justified by the law must make the attempt. In so doing, they will find out the truth the law reveals about themselves.

II. Too High an Estimate of His Own Righteousness (18-20)

He said that he had kept all the commands that Jesus rehearsed. Really?

Consider the first two: if we’re thinking actions committed, many people could say they haven’t murdered anyone or been unfaithful to their spouse physically. But the difference between murder and manslaughter is the motive, not the result. So murder is also a matter of the heart—hatred; as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Likewise, can anyone say he’s sinless if he has entertained immorality in his mind and heart, even though he may not have carried out his desire physically?

Then about stealing, he might be okay on this for now, but if the God-man calls on him to give his stuff away and follow Jesus, and the man decides that it’s too much to ask, is he not keeping for himself what God says should belong to others?

What about being a false witness? Unless you limit this purely to courtroom testimony, can anyone say he’s never lied or tried to deceive—ever from his youth up?

He says that he always honored his parents? Was he never ever disciplined for disobedience or backtalk? Has there ever been such a child? Love your neighbor as yourself? He’s about to find out that his poor neighbors don’t matter to him as much as he professes.

These are the only ones Jesus mentions. They are only a sampling. He does not deal with covetousness. He doesn’t mention the first four commands that have to do with one’s supreme devotion to God. The young man would have failed those requirements as well.

Too low a view of the law demands and too high a view of my own righteousness actually go together. The only way to justify myself is to reduce the demands of the law and to inflate the level of my obedience.

This kind of confusion of market worth dominates nearly every religious community in the world. It bars the gate of heaven. So long as you’re confused on these matters, you may be as zealously committed as the apostle Paul, but you will have no hope of heaven. He realized that he had to throw away such self-righteousness before he could have Christ

The young man knows it, too. He says, “What lack I yet?”

Something inside him tells him that he has not done enough.

Reality is, he will never be able to do enough.

III. Too Low an Estimate of Eternal Life (21-22a)

Jesus is not teaching that giving everything away earns a person entrance to heaven. It is common for people to turn their back on eternal life for the sake of making more money on earth, but that is not always what stands in the way.

Sometimes it is some kind of sinful indulgence. Sometimes it is the desire for personal prestige and power. Sometimes it is as simple as wanting to rule one’s own life without interference from anyone else, including God. Sometimes it is the desire to feel intellectually superior to the kind of people that have to have religion as a crutch.

Whatever it is in your own life, you can be sure that Jesus will put his finger on it. He will say, “Mine.” And you will either trust Him with it, or defend it at all costs, even at the price of your eternal soul.

What is the acid test?

How valuable is heaven to this young man? How big is God in his estimation?

How compelling are the needs of the poor?

How important is it to follow Jesus?

Would this man trade all he counts valuable to have treasure in heaven?

Answer: depends on how valuable he estimates treasure in heaven to be.

Clearly, he did not hold it to be valuable enough.

Until he got this right, all his wealth, all his respectability, all his religious leadership, all his sincerity, politeness, and apparent interest in Jesus, do nothing but blind him to his desperate condition.

Jesus’ test of this man probes his heart.

The way that we treat others reveals what we think of God (1 John: if you do not love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?). It is common for attachment to things to stand in the way of sacrificial love for others.

So we have to ask ourselves the questions: Is there anything that keeps me from following where Christ is calling me to go? Can I call that anything but an idol?

Can I engage in idolatry and still worship God for real (1 John 5:21)?

IV. Too High an Estimate of his Material Possessions (22b)

His love for material possessions was the core issue. He had a lot of stuff. What was worse was that the stuff had him. Is this not a common experience? We get used to having what we have, and we find it hard to go backwards for any reason.

Can you even imagine a life without personal computers, iPads, cell phones, microwaves (we recently lived without ours for 3 weeks!), televisions, central heating and air conditioning, cars? While these are all useful things, are they necessary to life?

The possessions he enjoyed had grown like a vine through the latticework of his heart. He could not tear himself away. Not even for heaven, eternal life, Jesus.

But what was the real market value of all the things he possessed compared to the market value of his soul, of knowing and following Jesus, of entering the life of fellowship with God, of gaining entrance to the new heaven and new earth, of tasting immortality, of experiencing a life with no sin, no death, of never having to hear the horrifying, chilling words, Depart from me into everlasting fire!

No wonder he went away sorrowful. He had played the market, and he had lost everything. Everything that mattered forever. He even lost what he gave up heaven to keep, because he’s been long dead now. He did not keep one penny of his wealth. It passed on to someone else. He could have given it away and followed Jesus into heaven itself.

Did he ever reconsider? Did he ever see the light? Did he ever find the eternal life he desired, but did not desire enough at this point?

We don’t know.

The test leaves it a tragedy so that you and I might be solemnly warned, lest we make the same fatal mistake when it comes to Market Worth.

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