The Kingdom of God and Eternal Life

Matthew 19:16-30 

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"

17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

18 He said to Him, "Which ones?"

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 your mother,' and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"

21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

With God All Things Are Possible

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, 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."

25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"

26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"

28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, 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 wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

What do we have to do to inherit (not earn) eternal life and enter into the kingdom of heaven?  That is the question posed by a certain rich man to Jesus.  The Lord told him that to do that he needed to keep the law perfectly toward his fellow man.  This is impossible even though the man claimed he had kept all the commandments (Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:10, James 2:10-11).  The only way to keep every point of the written law of God’s commandments is through faith (Galatians 3:11-12) in the only one who ever could and did for us (Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 3:13-14) to trust in and have that righteousness credited to our account.  We enter the kingdom of God’s gift of eternal life through the only open gate set before us which we are bid to come into and follow the Shepherd (John 10:3, 9, 14-15, to those green pastures (Psalm 23:2) of rest from our futile working to earn God’s favor where His favor of grace invites us freely (Isaiah 55:1).  That is why Jesus began His answer to the rich man to point out that only God is good (who the man was speaking to) and not him or any other person who always comes up short (Romans 3:20-23) of the requirements of complete obedience (James 2:10) for earning eternal life ourselves.  He then advised the rich man to give up the riches he possessed as he did to the notion that he was good enough and then follow Jesus instead for entrance as His sheep in through the Lord and His righteousness as the gate to the kingdom.  He told those hearing these truths that it is impossible to save yourself unless made possible by God Himself.  That is the heart of the gospel.  If we hold to our riches of self-righteousness we cannot lay hold of that grace of Christ’s work by faith (John 6:29) to enter His kingdom clothed in His holiness alone.  Why should we be astonished to hear this when we observe the depravity of man every day all around us?  If we then follow Jesus by this trust of faith in His work on the cross with the hope proven by His resurrection from death to life, we will share in what was promised (John 5:24, Psalm 16:11, 133:3) to the disciples in the regeneration to come.  What seems valuable in this present world pales in comparison to the rewards of the kingdom to come!  Those who trust in their own ability and possessions might come in (though last) by this same faith due to their pride of life (1 John 2:15-17) but the ones trusting straightaway in humility will be first as those doing His will by faith in His work to abide eternally with Him.  It is not what we have in this life that matters for eternity, but in whom we trust for true riches of the kingdom and eternal life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  This is the kingdom of God and eternal life.