Feb. 25, 2026

Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us tonight for Bible study. We are studying Jesus' engagement with the "rich young ruler" and the teachings that followed. The Scripture is Matthew 19:16-30. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

FEBRUARY 25, 2026

Matthew 19:16-30

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you

would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall

not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,

19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said

to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go,

sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the

kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for

a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly

astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is

impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left

everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the

new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit

on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or

sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will

inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

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v 16 – “Teacher, what good deed …”

“Teacher” -- didaskalos – respectful, but not the same thing as “Lord”

“must I do” and “to have” –both verbs are in the aorist tense, meaning a completed action. More

lit. “What good might I do …” but, again, it is in aorist tense. Not a question about how I

should be living on into the future.

v 17 – “And he said to him …”

Jesus question showed the man that he, Jesus, knew “where he stood” with him

The man did not believe in Jesus as the Son of God

More lit. “But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

“keep” [téreó] is an interesting word, often used for the commandments. It is a different

word than “obey”

vv 18-19 – “He said to him …”

more lit. “He says to him, which?”

In Jesus’ examples, we might wonder, did Jesus begin at the ones which he knew the man had

kept the most successfully, and then, as he progressed, made him less comfortable? This is

just a “musing.”

The last example Jesus gave is, notably, not a part of the Ten Commandments.

v 20 – “The young man said …”

more lit. “The young man says to him, All these I have kept.”

“kept” – phylássō – from a military guard, so to watch over, keep secure

a confident statement

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Without even knowing this man, can we imagine the delusion of immaturity (at best) he was

under to speak of “love you neighbor as yourself” as a commandment he had completely

kept? And we could probably add “Honor your father and mother.”

He did not even respond to the last commandment Jesus mentioned with any sense of surprise or

challenge—just “All these I have kept.”

Then: What do I still lack?

v 21 – “Jesus said to him …”

more lit. “If you desire to be perfect [i.e. complete], go, sell what you are possessing, and give to

the poor, and you will have [future tense] treasure in the heavens; and come, follow me.”

For all of the young man’s naiveté, Jesus responds to him—not exactly according to the

question, but with the answer he really needed.

This man’s life was given—first—to his riches and all that comes with that—probably including

in his case, a great respectability and admiration and reputation—and, unfortunately, prideful

self-righteousness.

In order to enter into eternal life, this is what the young man needed to do. Jesus knew that.

This was the most important moment in the young man’s life. This was, for him, the moment of

decision upon which the rest of his life would depend.

He was being offered the one thing he had asked for –and beyond what he could have imagined –

and being offered it by the Savior of the world.

v 22 – “When the young man heard this …”

This is one of the most tragic moments in the Bible

His decision revealed—perhaps even to himself—where his true loyalty lay. It revealed whether

he truly desired, above all else, to enter eternal life.

“he went away sorrowful” – more lit. “he went away grieving.”

“for he had great possessions”—but how poor a trade, and how worthless those possessions are

compared to eternal life!

This is not the call upon every life, but it is the call upon some. Manh people, throughout the

ages, have given up their worldly possessions and position and plans and aspirations in order

to follow Christ.

Philip Henrya (1631-1696): "He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep,

when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose." Paraphrased by

Jim Elliot (1927-1856) in his journal: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep

to gain that which he cannot lose.”

“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my

Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in

order that I may gain Christ.”—Philippians 3:8

vv 23-24 – “And Jesus said …”

more lit. “Truly [Amen] I say to you that rich with difficulty [hardly] will enter into the kingdom

of the heavens.”

This was the opposite of popular (Jewish) belief. The rich were more likely to be considered as

favored and blessed.

“but yet again I say to you …” – now for even more emphasis

“it is easier”

the camel and the eye of the needle

a Philip Henry was a Puritan minister, persecuted for his beliefs and continued preaching, even after being forbidden to do so.

He is the father of Matthew Henry, the famous Bible commentator.

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This, of course, is impossible

Jesus used unforgettable imagery—it, like so much of his teaching, has become part of our

language

Some say it is (merely) hyperbole to make a point. I think that is an understandable viewpoint.

But what if it were literal to make a point! What if Jesus is revealing what has to happen

spiritually to a rich person to enter the kingdom—that this is, by human effort alone,

absolutely impossible?

Whatever the answer, Jesus’ point should not be lost on us. He compared the rich being saved to

an utter impossibility.

v 25 – “When the disciples heard this …”

“they were astonished exceedingly!”

astonished – ekpléssó, to strike with astonishment

properly, "strike out of one's senses"b

exceedingly – sphodra, vehemently, violently

they were knocked to the floor, they were amazed out of their minds, …

more lit. “saying, Who then is able to be saved?”

If God’s favored ones—the rich—are not able to be saved, then who?

v 26 – “But Jesus looked at them …”

the sense of the verb is that he looked at them fixedly—what he was about to say was what they

absolutely needed to know about salvation of the rich (and who does that include?)

“with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

v 27 – “Then Peter said in reply …”

(Probably only impetuous and unfiltered Peter would have asked this question, whoever else may

have been thinking it)

Peter had heard what Jesus had said to the rich young man. It would have been a question on

their minds.

v 28 – “Jesus said to him …”

Truly I say to you – emphasized by Jesus

in the “new world” – paliggenesia, regeneration; only used twice in the NT (here and Titus 3:5)

In Titus, referring to the new birth; here referring to the earth and heavens following

Jesus’ second coming

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his

glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one

from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”—Matthew 25:31-32

“you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat

down with my Father on his throne.”—Revelation 3:21, letter to Laodicea

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders,

clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. … And the twenty-four elders

who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God”—Revelation 4:4;

11:16

“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was

committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus

b from HELPS Word-studies, www.biblehub.com/Greek/1605.htm

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and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not

received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ

for a thousand years.”—Revelation 20:4

“And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the

twelve apostles of the Lamb.”—Revelation 21:14

Whatever one’s understanding of these passages (e.g. thrones are mentioned in different ways

and belonging to different persons), it seems clear that the apostles—the “twelve”—have a

special place in the Church.

This one verse certainly evokes interest and invites many questions. Whatever one’s view, it

must be developed in context of the rest of the New Testament.

v 29 – “And everyone …”

“everyone” – pas

This seems to be a continuation, meaning the same group as “you who have followed me,” in

which case the previous verse should not be understood as referring to only the twelve

apostles but to all disciples … which still does not answer all the questions that verse

presents. Either way, this verse is to all believers.

Jesus recognizes that there will be those who give up some of all of these things “for his name’s

sake”

His promise is that they will receive reward beyond measure—and beyond comparison to their

temporary loss.

And will inherit eternal life – this, as Jesus teaches it, is in addition to particular rewards that

each person mentioned here will receive.

v 30 – “But many who are first will be last …”

Often taught and emphasized by Jesus

The eternal rewards that Christ gives may not seem always to correlate to the recognition that a

servant of Christ received during this age—this in both directions.