Title: Misunderstanding Started with Misfortune
Contents
Ex) the start of a couple fight
Ex) Mother-in-law's misunderstanding
Ex) Japanese military misunderstanding
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Verse 22 of the text says, “Because the man had great wealth, he went away sad and sorrowful at the words of Jesus.”
We were forced to leave Jesus simply because this man was rich or because he had great wealth. It should not be interpreted this way. This is a superficial observation.
We need to think about the real reason he left Jesus with his back and grieved.
Then, what was the real reason he left Jesus and grieved?
It was precisely because of a misunderstanding.
What was the misunderstanding?
1. There was a misunderstanding about who Jesus is (verse 17).
In verse 17, the young man called Jesus, “Good Teacher.”
How did Jesus respond to this title?
Verse 18, "Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God."
Nor should we take a superficial observation of these words and conclude that Jesus denied that He was good.
Jesus said, 'There is no good among men. Only God is good, but I am not the teacher, but the good God.'
Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, not even one.”
In other words, from God's point of view, no one has the goodness to be recognized before God.
And there are many people today, like this young man, who think of Jesus as a respectable teacher, a great teacher of mankind, or a great practitioner of love.
However, this is not the correct knowledge about Jesus presented in the Bible.
It is a misunderstanding, that is, an incorrect interpretation.
Jesus is more than the world's teacher.
He is God and, above all, the Savior of the world who can save man.
But the young man thought of Jesus as a good teacher.
Jesus as a good teacher is one who can easily leave at any time when his income statement is not correct.
How are you?
Who do you think Jesus is?
The real reason he left Jesus with a sad expression on his face was that he didn't know Jesus right away. He just thought of Jesus as a good teacher.
We should know that the reason many people attend church today but turn their back on Jesus is the result of a misunderstanding that comes from not knowing who Jesus is.
2. It is because they misunderstood that eternal life can be obtained by works (verse 17).
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
In other words, it presupposes the fact that 'what must I do' in order to receive eternal life. God will probably give me eternal life only if I have to do something and build a great achievement. They were thinking wrong about how to gain eternal life like that.
This is a very common and wrong misconception that most people have about the way to eternal life, that is, salvation.
However, in the ongoing conversation with this young man, Jesus continues to ask questions to make him realize the wrong assumption or basis of the young man who presumes to act as the basis for salvation.
Detailed explanation of verses 19 - 20 - 21
This young man is still protesting that he is not a sinner.
Because he lived a good life, it means that he has no flaws.
For that, Jesus pierced his heart. Despite this man's moral pride, the inner conflict he was hiding, one of the most powerful life motives that dominated him, was the greed for wealth.
Through this one sin, Jesus wanted to realize that he was a sinner himself.
James 2:10
Jesus expected this from this young man.
I have lived a good life since I was little, but I have a sin of covetousness in me! Therefore, even though I have kept all the commandments since I was young, I am, after all, a transgressor of the law, and I cannot obtain eternal life by my righteous deeds! He wanted you to realize this.
Everyone!
No man's best can save himself.
No charitable act of helping a neighbor can save a neighbor by it.
Of course you can sympathize. We can give you temporary help.
But man cannot save man.
This is because all humans are sinners, and all people have gone astray.
Only God can save.
Therefore, when God saves humans, He does not base them on human works, but only God gives eternal life to them as a gift.
Salvation is a gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
3. You have misunderstood your priorities in life.
What is Priority?
It's that order of what's more important in our lives.
Happiness is living according to priorities.
What is unhappiness?
I believe that life's misfortune comes from a confusion of priorities.
Example) Happiness evangelist ‘Choi Yun-hee’s suicide’
This young man who appears in the text confuses his priorities.
This man thought that the matter of gaining eternal life was important.
So I came to Jesus.
I was also interested in Jesus.
But more important than this concern was the concern that dominated this young man.
It was a greed for wealth. It wasn't that Jesus wasn't important.
Gaining eternal life was not unimportant.
Salvation issues are important in life. I kind of knew that.
Nevertheless, the most important concern that dominated this man was the greed for wealth.
Increasing one's wealth and accumulating wealth was the number one priority in life.
In the end, Jesus was pushed out of the priorities, and the issue of eternal life was pushed aside from the priorities.
Finally, he became a sad protagonist who had no choice but to leave Jesus behind.
Example) The gold crown of a British trading ship