The Upside Down Kingdom

Good morning, church.

It's such a joy to be able to preach God's word with you this morning.

! My name is Ed. I'm one of the pastors here at Trinity Cambridge.

! We're going to continue on in our series in Matthew.

We're in Matthew 19, verses 13 to 26.

Matthew 19:13–26

Matthew 19, verses 13 to 26.

Matthew 19:13–26

If you don't have a Bible and you would like to use one,

we'd be happy to gift you a Bible, so feel free to raise your hand

and we'll get you a hard copy if you'd like to use it.

Okay.

Won't you bow your heads with me as we go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Heavenly Father,

we come before you

knowing that we have nothing to offer.

You need nothing from us.

And yet we so often think that we can prove ourselves to you.

I pray, Lord, today, over the course of the next 40, 50 minutes,

that you would challenge us by your word.

You would help us to feel the freedom of childlike faith.

more than anything, that we would renounce all of our unrighteous ways

and turn to you alone for our righteousness,

the all-sufficient merit of Christ.

Expand our eyes.

Help us to have a bigger vision of you, Christ, above all,

and a lower view of ourselves.

And that you would transform us as we remember that it is only possible to make it to the kingdom of heaven

because of your work.

So we look to you, Lord Jesus.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

If you would rise for the reading of God's word to honor him.

Starting in verse 13.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

The disciples rebuked the people.

But Jesus said,

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,

for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

And he laid his hands on them and went away.

And behold, a man came up to him, saying,

Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?

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.

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.

Honor your father and mother.

And love your neighbor as yourself.

The young man said to him,

All these I have kept.

What do I still lack?

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.

When the young man heard this,

he went away sorrowful,

for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples,

Truly I say to you,

only with difficulty

will a rich person

enter the kingdom of heaven.

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.

When the disciples heard this,

they were greatly astonished,

saying,

Who then can be saved?

But Jesus looked at them

and said,

With man this is impossible,

but with God

all things are possible.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

Amen.

On October 12, 2024,

around 2 a.m.,

my life was forever changed.

Because on that day,

my bright-eyed,

big-bellied baby was born.

From head to toe,

he was perfect.

We took him home

and every day since then

have marveled

at his growth and development.

Feels like every day

he's learning a new skill,

exploring a new part of the house,

figuring out how the world works.

And he laughs through it all.

But just as much as

he's learning every day,

I feel like I'm learning

even more from him,

specifically about

what it looks like,

what it sounds like,

what it feels like

to be a child again.

For example,

my 16-month-old son,

as all parents know,

makes an absolute mess

when it comes to dinner time.

It's like someone planted

a cherry bomb

in his pasta dinner.

And yet,

when he's absolutely disgusting,

covered in sauce,

if you give him the chance,

yet without any second guessing,

he will run up right to you,

arms up,

begging for you to hold him.

Or right now,

my son is at the stage

of his development

where he knows what he wants,

but doesn't have

the vocabulary to say it.

And so those two factors combined

means that he screams.

A lot.

Relentlessly.

He unashamedly screams

for us to get more cheese,

to pick up that ball,

to sing that song again.

Whatever it is,

he's screaming for it.

I see my son

when I read this passage.

Jesus welcomes

these needy children,

arms up,

mess and all,

and says,

to such belongs

the kingdom of heaven.

They come with nothing,

and they leave

with everything.

But I read on

and then I see

someone like me.

A young man approaches

Jesus to see

what he can do

to have eternal life.

He has the spiritual resume.

He has the morality.

He has the resources.

In many ways,

he is the polar

opposite picture

from what we see

in the kids.

So of course,

Jesus would love

to have him

in his little posse.

So he invites him

to join,

and they go conquer

the world together.

But that's not

at all what happens.

To the man

who comes to Jesus

clean and competent,

capable and confident,

to the man

who comes with everything,

he leaves with nothing.

This is the upside-down kingdom.

And with both interactions,

Matthew is trying

to illustrate this

one simple truth.

Only by childlike faith

in Jesus Christ

is it possible

to enter

the kingdom of God.

So in turn,

I'm going to be speaking

first about

the children's humility,

and then the young man's

hindrance,

and finally,

the father's help.

Once Jesus finishes

his radical teaching

on marriage,

children are brought

to Jesus,

presumably by their

well-meaning parents

or relatives,

to receive the prayer

and the blessing

of a holy man.

This was quite a common

practice back then.

But yet,

despite the innocence,

the earnestness

of their request,

the disciples

seemed to get

quite annoyed

by all these kids

around them.

Perhaps the kids

were just being kids,

being rowdy,

making too much noise.

Back then,

much like the

aristocratic Victorians,

ancient Jews

often thought that

kids are to be seen,

not heard.

Or perhaps their

anoint stems from

their general low view

of children.

Remember that in

ancient Israel,

kids were at the

bottom of the social

ladder for their

lack of utility.

The Old Testament

in general does

uphold children

as vital blessings

and a heritage

of the Lord,

but at the same time,

the culture

collectively

didn't have

baby fever

or romantic

idealistic view

of children.

They knew that

kids could be

a lot of work.

Depending on their age,

kids can't work,

cook,

drive,

tie their shoes,

or even go to the

bathroom on their own.

Also, Matthew

doesn't mention

any major issues

with the kids.

They aren't

oppressed by demons,

they're not sick

or about to die,

they clearly have

loving parents,

they seem healthy

and functioning,

so all things

considered,

the disciples are

probably just feeling

like,

come on guys,

we have bigger

fish to fry.

Let's get a move on

and go conquer

Jerusalem.

We have better

things to do.

Yet once again,

the forgetful

disciples lose

sight of Jesus'

teaching.

Just from a

chapter ago,

Jesus' words

should have echoed

in their ears.

Unless you turn

and become like

children,

you will never

enter the kingdom

of heaven.

Whoever humbles

himself like this

child is the

greatest in the

kingdom of heaven.

Just consider

how radically

unusual

Jesus'

teaching is here.

Never once

do you find

in any

contemporary

Jewish

or Greco-Roman

teaching,

are children

held forward

as model

examples

for adults.

In fact,

that could be

construed very

easily as

insulting.

But to Jesus,

the children

seeking his

blessing are not

annoying,

not disposable,

but they're the

perfect example

of the ideal

prime candidate

to enter the

kingdom of heaven.

Imagine this

kind of job

interview.

interview.

Thanks for

coming down

to chat

with us,

to interview

for this

role of CEO

at this

Fortune 500

company.

Needless to say,

this is the

most important

role at this

company,

so we're

going to be

really selective

on who we

choose.

Just to be

frank,

I'm rooting

for you in

particular,

so let me

give you

insight of

what we're

going to be

looking for

over the

course of

this interview.

We're really

looking for

someone who,

number one,

has no

formal education,

number two,

has no

job experience,

and number

three,

has no

demonstrable

skills.

To Jesus,

the unskilled,

unschooled,

unseasoned

children will

be co-heirs,

co-rulers,

co-judges with

him in the

new kingdom.

And that's

why he says,

let the

little children

come to me,

and do not

hinder them,

for to such,

and Jesus is

speaking not

just about the

kids directly

in front of

him now,

but broadly

to all,

for to such

belongs the

kingdom of

heaven.

And he

prays for

them.

To all those

who humble

themselves like

children,

who are needy

and unimportant

and know it,

they know that

they have nothing

to offer,

they're the

ones who

are put in

these great

positions of

high esteem

and honor.

Yet,

how prone

are we to

wander away

from this

kind of

childlike

humility?

in one

of my

seminary

classes,

Tom

Schreiner,

a prolific

author of

more than

40 books,

one of the

world's most

respected New

Testament scholars,

talking to the

man,

the man

basically

bleeds

Bible,

just knows

Bible like

the back

of his

hand.

He's one

of the

most respected

figures in

all of

evangelicalism.

And yet,

this great

figurehead

shared that

in one season

of his

life,

he felt

incredibly

dry.

Reading

scripture felt

tiresome,

worship felt

flat,

praying felt

unnatural.

It wasn't

until God

spoke to him

through these

very passages

in Matthew

18 and

19 to

wake him up

to see what

he was

missing.

He realized

all the time,

almost

unconsciously,

he fell

into a

pattern where

he thought it

was all

up to

him,

that he

had something

to offer

God.

Look,

I know how

to study

the Bible.

I know how

to pray.

I'm a

pastor.

I'm a

seminary

professor.

I know

how this

Christian

thing works.

Yet,

it was

precisely

that kind

of attitude

that sucked

all the

vitality,

all the

joy out

of his

Christian

life.

As

Pastor Rob

Golding

wrote,

it is the

foolish child

who forgets

that it's

the Father's

hand that

makes him

fly.

We feel

this tendency

to drift

too,

don't we?

For Bible

reading,

what once

was an

opportunity

to simply

receive your

daily bread

from your

Heavenly

Father,

now turns

into a

stressful

assessment

to make

sure that

you interpret

the passage

correctly,

read the

right commentaries,

meditate on the

passage,

memorize,

memorize,

memorize.

In evangelism,

what was once

an opportunity

to simply

share the

joy of the

gospel,

to explode

with joy

in evangelism,

now becomes

a test

to see if

you can get

all the

theological

facts just

right.

In prayer,

what was once

an opportunity

just to pour

out your

heart before

your Father,

your Abba

Father,

now becomes

a performance

of saying

the right

things,

quoting

enough

scripture,

convinced it's

up to us

now,

we forget

how to

laugh at

ourselves,

and we're

always on

because we

need to

keep up

the act.

But Jesus

knows the

thin veneer

of self-sufficiency.

Children

playing house

don't convince

anyone that

they're grown-ups.

As much as

we try,

we don't

convince God

either.

And if we're

not convincing

anyone,

we might as

well learn

to own

up to

our

neediness.

I've shared

with those

closest in

my life that

ever since

I've been

ordained as

a pastor,

and honestly

before that,

I've been

struggling with

imposter

syndrome,

wrought by

the sin

of comparison.

I find it

hard not to

when you have

such gifted

men in

Sean,

Todd,

and Andrew.

I find it

hard not to

when our

church,

is stacked

with faithful,

knowledgeable,

evangelistic,

loving members

such as

yourselves.

So I see

my flaws.

I see my

weaknesses,

and my gut

instinctual

reaction is to

cover them

up,

to hide

them.

Or,

really ideally

for me,

is to pour

in all my

effort into

working on

this thing,

these weaknesses,

weaknesses,

through some

hopefully quick

training montages,

so that in

the end,

in the grand

cinematic reveal,

they're now my

greatest strengths.

But the

Apostle Paul has

a different

approach when it

comes to his

perceived weaknesses.

He doesn't hide

them,

pretend that they

don't exist,

but he

counter-culturally

boasts in them.

He says,

if I must

boast,

I will boast

of the things

that show my

weakness.

Just imagine

what our

church could

be if we

all own

the fact

that we

are needy

children.

All of us

Christians

generally

acknowledge

that we

are sinners.

Fewer

of us

share

specifically

how we

are sinners.

But do you

know what

others will

say when we

boast of our

weakness?

When we

let others

see our

limitations?

When we

refuse to

build a

reputation,

but confess

that we

fall short

as husbands

and wives?

How we

struggle with

bitterness?

How we're

prone to

anxiety?

It's not

how ridiculous

you struggle

with that,

but it's

I'm not

the only

one.

And only

then do

we learn

to welcome

and receive

fellow

needy

children

like

ourselves.

We

don't

shoo

them

away,

tell

them

they're

a

waste

of

time.

But

vulnerability

alone is

not the

end that

we seek.

If we

merely

confess sin

in our

accountability

groups and

only say,

yeah,

me too,

yeah,

I struggle

with that

too,

that does

nothing to

mature us.

We receive

others ultimately

for the goal

of pointing

them to

Christ.

God

has

to

come

to

me,

Christ

said.

Some

Christians

think we

grow and

change by

working on

our heads,

reading more

books,

sharpening our

theology.

Others

think that we

grow working

on our

hands,

purifying our

behavior,

living more

in line with

a moral

code.

Others

still think

that we

change by

changing our

hearts,

searching our

feelings,

cultivating

deeper spiritual

experiences.

None of those

things are bad,

but in

isolation,

they're

ineffectual

to change

us.

The only

catalyst to

change is

a relationship.

It's a

relationship with

the living

Christ.

And the

one requirement

that he has

is that we

simply come

with open

hands,

empty

pockets.

And if

that's true,

how does

this next

character fare?

A man

comes up

to Jesus,

sincerely

asks him,

teacher,

what good

deed must

I do to

have eternal

life?

At this

point,

everyone's

ears must

have perked

up,

because this

is the

most important

question,

the most

important answer

of all time.

What do we

need to do

to make it

to the

kingdom of

heaven?

As important

as all other

questions of

theology,

like baptism,

spiritual gifts,

maybe even

divorce and

remarriage,

they're all

dwarfed by the

magnitude of

this weighty

question.

If you joined

us today and

you're not a

Christian,

I just want to

quickly say

again,

we are so

glad that you

are here.

I especially

invite you to

tune into Jesus'

answer here,

because if you

understand it,

it will change

not just your

life here on

earth,

but your

eternity

forever.

Initially,

Jesus gives a

curious response.

Why do you

ask me about

what is good?

There is only

one who is

good.

This response

has led to

great confusion,

debate,

leading some,

often Muslims,

to conclude that

Jesus is denying

his own deity

here.

But I don't

think that's a

reasonable

interpretation,

because the

focus in the

Greek is not

on the word

me,

but it's

on the

thrice-repeated

adjective

good.

Jesus really

isn't focusing

on himself

right now.

He's not

trying to

comment about

himself.

He's simply

probing the

young man on

how he

defines goodness.

How do you

understand what

is good?

As a quick

plug,

during our

ongoing bridge

course at our

church,

the first session

addressed this

question,

how good

are you?

I

screenshotted

this little

image,

the good

old meter,

on one of

our pamphlets

associated with

bridge,

sensing that

this man thinks

that he is

at ten,

which is only

confirmed later

by his

answers.

Jesus is

reestablishing

the standard

of goodness

here.

Why do you

ask me about

what is good?

Don't you

already know

that there is

only one who

deserves that

ten,

and that's

not you?

But Jesus

continues to

play along,

and he gives

them basically

the most

Jewish answer

ever.

If he would

enter life,

keep the

commandments.

Jesus knows

that the law

was given

to expose

and to

exacerbate

sin,

for through

the law

comes knowledge

of sin,

as Paul writes

in Romans

3.20.

James 2.10

writes of the

impossible

standard of

keeping the

law,

for whoever

keeps the

whole law

but fails

in one

point,

just one

point,

has become

guilty of

it all.

So when the

young man

replies,

which ones?

I don't really

think that he's

picking up what

Jesus is putting

down here.

Still stuck in

his Jewish

culture,

he's thinking

about what

others,

what other

rabbis have

essentially done.

They've ranked

the commandments

in tier lists

of the most

important laws

to keep.

So he wants

now Jesus'

tier list.

of how these

613 Old

Testament laws

stack.

Okay,

Jesus continues

to play along

and you can

tell he's

playing along

because he

doesn't even

include the

greatest commandment

to love your

God with all

your heart,

soul,

mind,

and strength.

But instead

he focuses on

the second half

of the Ten

Commandments,

which are all

observable and

doable,

at least to

how the Jews

defined it.

Interestingly

enough,

only Matthew,

not Mark

or Luke,

includes this

sixth command,

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

I think it's

conceivable that

there are some

who haven't

murdered,

cheated,

stolen,

borne false

witness,

or publicly

rebelled against

their parents,

but to love

your neighbor

as yourself,

that should

have made the

young man hit

pot and

second guess

whether he

truly has lived

a good life

until now.

But even

that commandment

doesn't stop

this train.

He believes

that he's

kept all of

these.

And in Mark

and Luke,

it says that

he says that

I've kept all

of these

from my

youth.

The young

man apparently

missed all

of Jesus'

sermon on

the mount.

He missed

how Jesus

didn't come

to relax

one of the

least of

these commandments.

There he

didn't lower

but raised

the bar

for obedience.

So looking

at a woman

lustfully

is adultery.

Anger for

another is

murder.

Divorce for

any cause

leads to

adultery.

And to cap

it off,

he commands

you must

be perfect

as your

heavenly

father is

perfect.

Remembering

that context

then,

we can see

very clearly

that this

man is

spiritually

blind.

He's

spiritually

out of

touch.

Contra

the man's

belief

by no

stretch

of the

imagination

has he

perfectly

kept

these

from

his

youth.

But

then again,

perhaps,

this young

man might

actually be

more spiritually

in tune

than we

think.

Because

even when

he thinks

he's

blameless

to the

law,

even when

he thinks

that he's

that 10

on the

good-o

meter,

he's

earnest

and self-aware

enough to

sense that

he's missing

something.

All this

rule-following

can't be

it.

Commentator

Bill

Mounts

suspects

that the

man's

uneasiness

reveals

an

instinctive,

intrinsic

human

awareness

that

legalism

falls

short

of God's

intention.

Or as

church

father

Augustine

famously

said,

our

hearts

are

restless

until

they

rest

in

you.

the

irony

is

striking.

The

man

with

many

possessions

is

still

missing

something.

So

restless

and uneasy

he asks,

what do I

still

lack?

Then

Jesus

finally

goes for

the

jugular.

He

finally

gets to

the very

heart

of what

this

man

is

lacking.

If

he

is

to

be

perfect

like

our

heavenly

father

is

perfect

then

Jesus

commands

him

go

sell

what

you

possess

and

give

to

the

poor

and

you

will

have

treasure

in

heaven

and

come

and

follow

me.

Although

he's

kept

up

so

far

when

the

young

man

hears

this

final

command

he

goes

away

sorrowful

because

of his

many

possessions.

If

we

weren't

so

familiar

with

this

passage

we

would

be

shocked

first

we're

stunned

at

how

bad

Jesus

is

at

closing

a

conversion.

Doesn't

Jesus

know

that

all

we

need

to

do

is

just

believe

we're

saved

by

faith

alone?

Wouldn't

we

in our

sophisticated

21st

century

knowledge

of

us

who

know

how

to

close

a

conversion

just

say

just

believe

our

works

don't

save

us

all

you

need

to

do

is

just

ask

God

into

your

heart

but

Jesus

doesn't

make

that

pitch

he

asks

him

to

give

not

10

not

50

not

99

!

but

shockingly

all

of it

and the

man

can't

do

it

even

when

Jesus

tries

to

motivate

him

with

greater

secure

treasures

in

heaven

he

still

goes

away

sorrowful

and

empty

handed

the

first

question

in

everyone's

mind

reading

this

probably

is

is

Jesus

asking

the

same

of

me

is

this

the

same

requirement

for me

to make

it to

the

kingdom

of

heaven

and the

answer

is

yes

sort

of

selling

all of

one's

possessions

is not

presented

anywhere

else as

a

universal

prescription

for every

disciple

Jesus

doesn't

make

the

same

requirement

for many

of his

other

followers

like

Mary

Martha

and

Lazarus

the

wealthy

wife

of

Chusa

or

even

Zacchaeus

who

gives

only

half

of

his

net

worth

away

but

while

he

does

demand

nothing

rival him

in our

hearts

that's

the

spirit

of

the

command

I

don't

think

Jesus

commands

us

to sell

everything

that's

the

letter

of the

law

we

do

need

to

follow

the

spirit

of

the

law

that

we

cannot

have

anything

rival him

in our

hearts

but if you

just breathe

a sigh of

relief

thinking that we're

free from the

letter of the

law

you might be

the exact

kind of person

Jesus would

say this

to

in fact

in preparation

for this

sermon

I found

myself

all too

keen

to try

to soften

the blunt

!

edge of

Jesus'

demand

on this

young

man

we

try to

justify

this

because

this

can't

possibly

apply

to

us

right?

Surely

this

young

man

is

a lot

richer

than

me

but are

you

so

sure?

First

the text

obviously

doesn't

specify

how much

the

man

had

and

secondly

we

live

in

a

time

and

place

of

unparalleled

affluence

a country

where the

poverty

level

exceeds

the

average

standard

of

living

in

nearly

every

other

society

in

human

history

past

or

present

so

perhaps

we'd

be wise

not to

just

move

on

from

this

passage

immediately

for

Jesus

knows

how

difficult

it

is

for

a

rich

person

to

enter

the

kingdom

of

heaven

that's

verse

!

In fact

money

is

one

of

Jesus

favorite

topics

he

speaks

far

more

about

money

than

about

heaven

hell

faith

or

prayer

in

all

the

gospels

Jesus

focuses

on

money

because

he

knows

that

there

is

a

powerful

relationship

between

our

true

spiritual

condition

and

our

budgets

it's

true

of

our

church

too

every

year

we

present

a

budget

and

you

could

see

very

clearly

on

paper

for

better

for

worse

what

is

important

to

us

and

what

is

not

important

to

us

and

the

same

is

true

of

you

and

your

budgets

the

way

you

spend

your

money

is

the

expression

of

the

inner

workings

of

your

heart

it's

questionable

whether

he

actually

said

this

but

Martin

Luther

is

often

quoted

having

said