ALMS - LUKE 18:18-24

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! KJV

In the Apostle Luke's testimony of the man speaking with Jesus to ask Him about eternal life we find some interesting information. In the other two accounts in Matthew 19:16-23 and Mark 10:17-23 the man’s occupation is not mentioned this is the only account where the man is referred to as a “ruler”. This has special meaning because it informs us that as a ruler he was typically telling others what to do. A ruler is one who rules over others, therefore people skills are usually a major part of their daily operation. In the case of the Jewish rulers the Law of Moses instructed them how to behave as a servant of God and also how to lead others by the principles of God. In the Old Testament we have many fine examples of godly rulers like the Prophet Moses, King David and the Governor Joseph to name a few. These plus the many others that are mentioned in the Old Testament should have been inspirational role models for this young ruler. It is said, "There is really only one Ruler and everyone else is either a follower or a fighter against that one Ruler". Obviously the Supreme Ruler is God and those who desire to follow God are His servants even if they have an earthly title called "ruler". We can see Jesus mentioned this fact in verse 19 with the statement, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God." The Lord pointed the ruler’s attention away from a good man unto a good God. In verse 20 the Lord continued His reference to the Supreme Ruler by reciting a few of the major commandments from “The Law of God”. Jesus as a wise teacher (instructor, counselor) started with what He knew the ruler was exposed to because every Jew should have been taught the Law of Moses. It seems the answer of the ruler pleased the Lord because he stated that the commandments of God were kept since he was young. One thing I know pleased the Lord was that the ruler stated confidently "All these have I kept" which reveals that the ruler was diligent about the things of God. Whenever we can state that we are keeping all the major commandments of God that is a good foundation. This statement caught the Lord's attention and that is why in verse 22 the next steps for the ruler to improve his fellowship with God were revealed. Generally speaking, the Lord will judge how you are doing on keeping the fundamental commandments of God spoken to everyone to gauge if you are ready for specific instructions to you. Since the ruler had passed the first test of keeping the written Law of Moses now it was time to start fulfilling the Law of Love. This Law of Love is the Law of Christ, which ask for each man upon the earth to die to his own will for the purpose of complete submission to God's perfect will. Doing a lot of good deeds in temperance (self-control, physical restraint) is good but making your will to be God's Will in deed and truth is perfect. Thus verse 22 spells out a concise straightforward path of direction for the ruler to take. The first instruction to "sell all that thou hast" was clearly a sign that the Lord desired for the ruler to die to his personal image of what life is all about. Notice the word "all" is used to certify that no room for second guessing what the Lord meant could be found. Keeping the instruction short and concise is why it was so clearly understood. Then the Lord said, "and distribute unto the poor" which meant he would have to interact with those of a lower class. Generally, the wealth has no appetite to give to the poor because they do not like to be associated with those of a lesser class. The risk you always run with giving to the poor is that they may come looking for you again to give them more provision. Therefore many people who are rich do not trust the poor and typically will avoid even being seen with those who resemble a beggar. Next, the Lord Jesus reveals the reason for His commandment to give to the poor. Surprisingly, the reason was not solely for the benefit of the poor, nor was it completely to pass a test of God but the only reason given stated, "and thou shalt have treasure in heaven". This is difficult for even some Christians today to comprehend that the Lord was asking this ruler to do something that was for his own personal benefit. Yes, giving to the poor will benefit the poor and yes, giving to the poor is according to God's Will but we must also notice that giving to the poor deposits your money into Heaven. This is important because apparently the ruler’s Heavenly account was empty because the Lord said "you shall have treasure in Heaven” which means he currently didn't. To be rich on earth and have an empty account in Heaven is a sign of poor stewardship. Since the Lord freely gives people the power to get wealth He does expect for them to share that wealth freely (liberally) with those who are less fortunate. So for a rich man to decide not to give any financial return to a few people in need that are loved by the Lord is completely dishonorable to God. This is a point of emphasis because he had a position of a Jewish ruler which means he was constantly working with people. This working with people translates into dealing with information about all types of people. That information will usually come with specific details about someone in your organization or your community who is struggling financially during a difficult time. Trouble and problems visit all mankind and for that reason the Lord gives extra money to some for the purpose of helping others during a challenging circumstance. As a Jewish ruler (we could even say, a Christian leader) it is unthinkable to never have given to the poor in your own religious family but apparently this ruler was lacking in this area. Finally the Lord Jesus states, "and come, follow me" which means I will be with you to show you how to do all that I have requested. The Lord will ask you to do some difficult things at various times during your walk with Him but He will always help us to do them. Remember according to Hebrews 13:5 it is stated, “He (Jesus) will never leave us or forsake us”. Knowing this about the Lord comes from spending time in His presence but since the ruler did not understand the heart of Jesus he was not able to handle the Words of Christ. Thus, the response from the ruler was one of sorrow and silence. This is an example of one who called Jesus “Good Master” according to verse 18 but did not obey His Words as a “good servant”. This answer hurt the heart of Christ because the ruler was basically saying "No" to God's Will for his life. Many people don't understand that when they disobey God's specific instructions for their individual life they are refusing to let Jesus be Lord over their life. The selling was necessary to accomplish God's perfect will just like the giving of "alms" to the poor was God's perfect will for this specific ruler. The giving of "alms" is always an act of kindness to show a small portion of God's Love to someone less fortunate. So if we can not give this small token of God's Love in the expression of "alms" to another the question remains, "Do we really have a measure of God's Love in our heart?" The ruler had a position of leadership but did not have the godly heart of a leader. This is why the Lord Jesus asked the man to "come, follow Him" to help him learn the real meaning of honoring (loving) others first. This God type of Love was (is, and will always will be) flowing abundantly out of the heart of Jesus so all those who are close to Jesus will learn exactly how to release this agape Love to others. This was an opportunity to develop into a love filled man of God just like Jesus by literary following the footsteps of God. Jesus knowing the message of sorrow is loss knew that this man was not ready (prepared) to enter in the Kingdom of God according to verse 22. The Lord reveals the reason for the decision to depart from the presence of God as the "having of riches". Why this is such a serious problem is because those who have (own) riches desire to be in control of the riches instead of counting them as God’s possessions. Those who desire to be their own lord have little room in their life for the Lordship of Jesus. Just remember if you boast of having the riches, assets and wealthy that means by your own mouth the riches, assets and wealth is not God’s to direct to whomsoever He Wills. The very thing (assets, prosperity, materials, etc…) that the Lord put on the earth to blessing the people this ruler was not able to understand can hurt the owners if not used to glorify God. If riches could really make you happy this ruler would not have went away sad. All men need to understand that joy comes from being right with God, the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ His Son. The fact of the matter is he was not happy after talking to Jesus because he knew he was walking away from God’s Will for his life. We can conclude that the riches of a few must be shared with the many poor to bring balance to the provision of God for men upon this earth until the Lord Jesus comes back to receive His children. So if you are a person of great substance (riches, and/or wealth) please be sure you give to the poor (the giving of 'alms") on a regular basis to keep your heavenly financial account in a prosperous surplus just like your financial accounts on earth. This is how we follow Jesus in deed and truth because this is one road (pathway) into the Kingdom of God through the giving of "alms" to our fellowman at the commandment of God. Amen!

In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster

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