Icebreaker question in pairs: If you died today, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven? If you died, and God asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you tell him?
Matthew 19:16-22
- What do we learn about the rich young ruler based on the question he asked Jesus? That his thinking about eternal matters was a good thing. In addition, like many people, he had the idea that gaining eternal life was by doing good works.
- What further insight do we gain from Mark 10:17? That he knelt before Jesus as he spoke with him.
- Was Jesus advocating salvation by works when he told the man to keep the commandments? Jesus was leading the man to realize that he had not kept the commandments.
- Why did you think the young man asked which commands he should keep? LifeWay teacher’s guide says that the rabbis counted 613 commandments in the Pentateuch. Bruce says that in a legalistic system some think there must be some act so outstanding to ensure eternal life.
- Why do you think Jesus only named some of the Ten Commandments and not all of them? Barnes suggests Jesus knew these were the ones he had not kept. These were the positive and not the negative ones. In Matthew 5:21 and 5:27 Jesus had expanded on these latter commandments, making them virtually impossible to keep.
- Do you think the young man had really kept all of them as he said? Not likely.
- Why did he ask what he still lacked? Perhaps he knew deep down that something was missing in his life.
- When Jesus used the word “perfect,” was he referring to sinless perfection? The word refers to spiritual maturity.
- What was the one thing Jesus told him that he was still lacking? To go sell his belongings and give the proceeds to the poor and to follow him.
- Was the young man willing to do so?
- Was Jesus saying that all who follow him should sell all they have and give the proceeds to the poor? Not at all. That just happened to be the one thing that was keeping this guy from following Jesus. The “one thing” is different for everyone.
- Agree or disagree with this statement: “Sometimes it is just one thing that people are not willing to give up to follow Jesus.”
Practical Application
The two icebreaker questions are from Evangelism Explosion to share the gospel one on one. The number one incorrect answer people give to question #2 is good works. It is not uncommon for them to say something like “I’m not that bad.” Does that seem to be the answer from the rich young ruler? How do we respond to those who give us a similar answer when we are sharing the gospel with them?
Matthew 19:23-26
- Why did Jesus say it was hard for the rich to be saved? F. Bruce says that salvation is by complete trust in God. Riches of any kind, including natural talents, make such trust virtually impossible.
- What was the thinking about wealth in the day that Jesus lived? LifeWay teacher’s guide: “In the theology of that day, wealth and prosperity were taken as signs of God’s blessing for a pious life. So, it ran counter to all conventional wisdom for Jesus to say that rich people would struggle to enter the Kingdom.”
- Is that line of thinking still present today? Oh yes.
- What point was Jesus making with the hyperbole of the camel and the eye of a needle? That being saved for the rich is extremely difficult.
- Why was the question the disciples asked so critical in that day and even today? They were about to embark on the mission to taking the gospel to all the nations. Could the gospel really save people? Jesus told them that what was impossible for man was possible with God.
- Do you know someone that it seems impossible that he will ever be saved? What should be our response? Keep praying and sharing and never give up. Is there anyone God cannot save? No
Matthew 19:27-30
- Did Jesus rebuke Peter for asking about rewards? No
- Why is the reminder that one day God will reward us important? Sometimes being a Christian is hard. Many Christians today are facing extreme persecution. The thought of future rewards can keep us going.
- Agree or disagree with the statement from the LifeWay teacher’s book: “The point is that reward far exceeds whatever is sacrificed.”
- Does 19:29 just refer to the 12 disciples or all believers? All believers
- What does Matthew 20:1-16 have to do with Matthew 19:30. Most commentators agree that the chapter division should not have been made here because in this parable Jesus explains his statement in 19:30.