Tested Obedience

Author: Joseph

Date: November 19, 2023

A young man, eager to hear what he could do to obtain eternal life, approaches Yeshua and asks Him what he must do. Yeshua responds by telling him to keep the commandments of God to enter into eternal life. The young man then asks which commandments must be kept. Yeshua lists a few of the commandments, knowing the man’s heart is eager for an answer, but leading him to ask further. The young man does inquire further, saying he has kept these from his youth and admits in his question that he is lacking, but wants to know what else could be done. Yeshua then directly commands the man to go and sell his possessions, then to follow Yeshua.

The young man was perhaps expecting to hear which of the written commandments could redeem him into eternal life, but Yeshua revealed to Him that only by following Him and obeying His commands could he enter into eternal life. The young man was cut in his conscience and went away grieving over the statement from Yeshua because he was very wealthy and did not want to obey Yeshua in giving this up. The man disobeyed Yeshua and walked away from Yeshua. The One, Yeshua, Who could open the door for the young man into eternal life, was rejected. Ironically the young man had just been boasting about how he kept the commandments of God since his youth, yet he didn’t keep the command of God directly told to him through Yeshua. And furthermore, the young man’s attachment to wealth was revealed to be stronger than His obedience to God.

Obedience when it did not interfere with his attachment to wealth was easy, but as soon as God’s will came between the young man and his desires, his obedience proved unfruitful and meaningless. Yeshua, seeing the young man walk away tells His disciples, “truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23). The disciples were astonished, the Bible reads, and asked “Then who can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25). Yeshua assures them that even though no man can achieve salvation, with God it is possible. It is not through the efforts of man that one can be saved, but simply by their submission to God’s will and putting faith in Him, no matter what the cost may be to their own desires. Letting go of our own desires comes with its own reward. Yeshua confirms that even though we may leave our own family or possessions behind to follow God, we will be rewarded with eternal life for our obedience to Him as well as membership in the family of God and much greater things than we possessed before (Matthew 19:28-30). What may seem even a very great cost to us now will pale in comparison to what God grants to us in His kingdom. But if our attachment to other things is stronger than our desire to follow after God, then we will not enter His kingdom, nor have anything that He wishes to give us in reward for our obedience to Him.

"...leave behind this world to enter into the kingdom of God."

What about your own obedience to God? In your comfortable circumstances, have you taken for granted that God desires full obedience to Him and a life committed to following Him no matter what the cost? If your circumstances changed, would your obedience to God change? Do not let anything else have a grip on you other than a life devoted to God, fully committed to leaving everything behind to follow Him and obey His will. The young man who asked Yeshua what he must do to obtain eternal life was fully convinced he was doing everything right, until the moment he was asked to break away from his own desires. Do not be deceived into clinging to things that will drag you away from eternal life. To not enter into the kingdom of God is the worst end anyone can face. For all the young man’s claims to obedience, he did not have the faith to follow God when it mattered the most: when God called him to leave behind this world to enter into the kingdom of God.

Matthew 19:16-30

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org