Christ’s Unrelenting Lesson: Riches are a Handicap
As always, Jesus planned an intentional teaching moment. The Lord Jesus was training Peter as well as the rest of the Twelve, and this lesson was vital. What did Jesus want them to know?
Riches are a handicap to eternal life, not an aid. Jesus was unrelenting in His position: It is impossible for anyone trusting in riches to get into Heaven, period.
Listen to what He said in v. 23-27:
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 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! 25 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. 26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”(NKJV)
Peter and the rest of the disciples were astonished, greatly astonished. Money seemed to be the best thing to have; it made life more accessible, which is so true from an earthly standpoint.
More money, more power. More money, more freedom. More money, more security. But Jesus added something they had never thought of. Money makes earthly life easier, but money can also make eternal life impossible.
Jesus was pointing out before their very eyes that material possessions tend to rivet the owner’s attention upon earthly matters, to the exclusion of heavenly. Wealth can enslave us without us even realizing what is happening. So Jesus said: Beware. Riches are a Handicap.
Peter had already heard Jesus explain the dangers that money, possessions, and pursuits posed to even listening to the Word that brings salvation. We can be captured and controlled by our recreations, comforts, and possessions. Look back at Mark 4:19:
Jesus warned: “And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (NKJV).
The rich young ruler of Mark 10 illustrates the most deadly byproduct of wealth: it hardens the soul against the requirement Jesus gave of simply clinging to Him for salvation. When our hands are full of earth’s treasures, it is hard to really come to the point of trusting Christ alone and saying with the hymn Rock of Ages:
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to the cross, I cling.
Now, join me as we go back to 2 Peter 3:14-17.
Materialism Blinds Our Eyes to Christ With Earthly Treasures
(ROK-05b)
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