A Comparison of Two Rich Guys
Luke 18 and 19
Today, I want to connect two stories. One that is found in Luke 18 and one that is found in Luke 19.
In chapter 18, we see the story traditionally referred to as “The Rich Young Ruler.” This is the story where Jesus is asked about what must be done to inherit eternal life, and as the interaction draws to an end, the young fellow who posed the question is told that he lacks one thing and that he should sell all he has and give to the poor.
The rich ruler goes away sad, and Jesus comments on how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. This commentary includes the camel through the eye of a needle verse.
Chapter 19 begins with a story about another rich guy. This guy probably didn’t follow the law as meticulously as the previous guy did. At least, that’s what I’d assume based on the fact that tax collectors were not known to be the most scrupulously righteous members of society.
I mean, just look at verse 7 where the people mutter about Jesus being the guest of a sinner. They did not hold Zacchaeus in high esteem. I dare say they would never be caught sitting at his table.
But Zacchaeus surprises them by standing up and declaring that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and that if he had cheated anyone, he’d pay them back four times the amount he had stolen. Even in this, we can see that he was quite different from the young ruler who had proclaimed that he had kept the whole law from the time he was a child.
While the rich ruler thought he measured up pretty well against the law and in his ability to please God, Zacchaeus knew he didn’t.
I love how Luke put these stories so close together in his gospel. If one is reading through the book of Luke from start to finish and not just skipping here and there from story to story, one can see how these two rich guys set up a great comparison study.
One story ends with a declaration of how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God and the other ends with a declaration of “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9 NIV).
One ends in sorrow - as the man goes away sad and we’re left to wonder if he ever did meet God’s requirements - while the other ends in joy.
Both men sought out Jesus. But only one (that we know of) truly found him in their meeting. Only one seems to have repented.
Zacchaeus’s surprising proclamation that he would give to the poor and repay what had been stolen makes me wonder if he had heard John preach about the fruit of repentance?
Remember this from chapter 3:
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they said, “what should we do?”
“Do not collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.”
(Luke 3: 10-14 NIV)
We see the fruit of repentance (metanoia) in the story about Zacchaeus, but we aren’t shown that in the story of the rich ruler.
This comparison of the two stories about rich guys left me wondering if the riches that Jesus was talking about that made it hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God was just money or if it also included “spiritual” riches in the form of the richness of self-righteousness.
Both of these guys had money and possessions - and lots of them. However, only one had a wealth of self-righteousness that made him think he had already done all he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Both had great wealth, but one seems to have clung to it tightly, while the other held it with open hands outstretched to do what God wanted him to do.
On a blue sticky note that I affixed to the chapter 19 notes in my binder, I have written:
Kingdom citizens aren’t about amassing riches for themselves. They are about using what they have to bless others. It was, after all, from His riches that God gave us Christ and all that we have.
Our wealth - both physically and spiritually - are gifts from God, given to us to use to do kingdom business while we wait for our King to return.
It’s easy for us to understand that if we have physical wealth, we should use that to bless others. I’m not saying it is easy to do, but I think it’s easier to recognize physical blessings and needs.
We have a house. We have a car. We have enough in the bank to cover our expenses. These are all blessings that are easy to see.
But the Bibles and Bible apps that we have, the access we have to biblical teaching in books, on blogs, and via videos and podcasts, the opportunity to join with other believers from all around the country and world via chat and live streams – do we count those as spiritual blessings? The ability to understand scripture, the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives us – do we see those as the riches that they are?
And most importantly, what do we do with those spiritual riches? Do we feast on them, satisfying our own hunger to know God and the things of God, and then take our ease. Or do we share those riches with others?
There are many weeks when I honestly don’t want to write these journal entry posts. I want to just keep the things I’ve learned on my notebook pages and move on to the next passage of scripture.
But…
As I have written next to the section of scripture about a lamp on a stand in chapter 8:
When you learn truth, take it to others. Share it. Spread the word. Giveaway what you receive.
And that idea of using/sharing what I’ve been given ties in rather well with what comes next in Luke 19, but I’ll leave that until next time.
For now, a great exercise for us all to do is to take a spiritual riches inventory and see what we have that can be used to bless others.
What access do you have to things that help you grow in your faith? How can you use those things to meet the needs of others – whether it’s encouraging a fellow disciple or helping a non-disciple become a disciple?
Here are some ideas to get you started thinking:
Heard a great podcast? Share it. Leave a rating and/or a review. (Ratings and reviews help it gain visibility so that others might find it in their recommendations.)
Seen an awesome video? Give it a thumbs up. Leave a comment. Share it.
Been blessed by a verse you read? Create a beautiful meme to post. Write about how it blessed you.
Know a shut in who could use a friend to watch a livestream with them? Then, maybe, spend your Sunday worship time on their couch or doing an online “watch party.”
Have you read or listened to an uplifting and encouraging book? Share about it and/or write a review and give it a rating. (Again, those ratings and reviews help the book be seen by more potential consumers.)
Found an interesting sounding Bible study on an app like YouVersion? Why not invite friends to complete and discuss it with you.
And don’t forget the traditional methods – invite a friend to church or small group with you and share about God’s goodness (which includes the gospel message) when opportunities arise.
I hope that’s got your mind thinking about how you can use what has been entrusted to you to bless others. I’ll see you next week to talk more about this “using what we’ve been given” thing in the next journal entry.