Study 40. Luke 18:18-43. 10/11/23

 16. The ruler feels that he can confidently claim to have obeyed each one of the commandments Jesus has named (18:21). But does Luke 18:22-23 suggest that the ruler is obeying the first commandment (Ex 20:3) perfectly? Why or why not?

N.B.  'Ruler' is not specific. His youth (cf. Mt 19:22) would have made high office unlikely. 

 

We have no evidence that Jesus sought to provoke the man. Mark (10:21) tells us that Jesus 'loved him'. His motivation for all he said to the man was out of this love.

The ruler assumed he needed to do some work that he was not doing (cf. John 6:27-28 ⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” )

 

He could not see his failure to follow the first and greatest commandment. He loved his money more than the one he called 'good'.

17. a. What two things does Jesus say this man must do to be saved (18:22)?

1. Sell everything, give to the poor

2. Follow Him

b. Why are these steps neccesary for this particular man?

 His wealth held him back from following Jesus. Jesus prescribed the solution. But it was too great a price for him to pay. Mark and Matthew record (although Luke does not) what he 'went away' sorrowfully. His identity was overly tied up with his wealth  

Jesus' instructions are not to hold for every man. The Christians in the epistles owned private property.

18. Why is it hard for the rich to enter the kingdom (18:24-25)?

Riches were seen as a sign of God's blessing. So the disciples would have thought: "if the rich cannot make it, what chance do the poor have?" The rich are accustomed to having riches pave the way for them. It would have been harder for a young man rather than an an old man to give up his life to Jesus. 

 

Explain 18:27 in your own words.

Salvation is only of the gift of God's grace. Wealth has a grip on our hearts because money represents everything the world can offer. Only He can turn the wealth-besotted heart towards Him.

 

19. What does Jesus promise to those who decide to obey 14:33 and leave all for him (18:29-30)?

God will never owe us anything. He is not saying God will give us worldly benefits. We receive shared resources and new family within the Church. And finally, we receive an eternal inheritance: "eternal ife" - the very thing the rich young ruler desired.

 

 18:31-34

This is often spoken of as Jesus’ third prediction of his suffering, but it is in fact the seventh that Luke records, following others in 5:35; 9:22, 43–45; 12:50; 13:32f.; 17:25.

On the other side of the cross such sayings must have been very difficult. The disciples did not understand. Jesus said many paradoxical things and they probably reasoned, ‘He cannot mean that he will literally die and rise. This must be something like the dying in order to live that he demands of us’ (cf. 17:33).(Morris)

 

It is noteworthy that God gives understanding of His revelations in stages. 

Jews sometimes described men as "good" (18-18), but rarely addressed them so. Why does Jesus challenge the man on the use of this word?

"It was a piece of thoughtless flattery" (Morris) Jesus asks the man to reflect on what he means: it is an invitation to reflect on Jesus' identity. Recognition of Jesus' divinity would lead to acknowledgment of His authority and absolute clains. We are asked to redefine what ‘goodness’ really means. 

If he had only caught the purity of God he would have seen his unfitness for blessing, but cry out for mercy.(Morris)

Compare 18:29-30 to 18:31-34. Why might the disciples have found it difficult to see how both could be true?

If they had seen the promises of 18:29-30 as what would be theirs in this life, they would not have accepted Jesus' prediction of humiliation and death. 

The Cross is seen as fulfilment of prophecy, not an accident or mistake.
The purposes of God were'hidden' from the disciples. God did not choose to reveal this to them until after the Resurrection. Their faith would be most severely tested.

v.29-30 can only happen because of v. 31-34. This is God’s ‘good’ 

 

 

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