Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
“Teacher,
tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Pretty strong words, don’t you
think? He’s not asking a question, or
putting in a request; this isn’t praying boldly, like we talked about last
week. This is an out and out command given
to Jesus, telling Him exactly what to do.
And his command isn’t for the benefit of his neighbor, but for
himself. No “thy will be done,” no, “if
it please you, Lord,” just, “tell my brother to divide the inheritance!”
(Exclamation point) A nameless someone
in the crowd brazenly commands Jesus to make him a wealthy man. It could be anyone; it could even be
you.
We
don’t know who this man is, but Jesus does.
He sees the man’s heart turned toward the things of this life, just as
He sees your heart. Greed and
covetousness have its way to lead us into temptation.
I
don’t think there’s much denying that we live in a culture that’s fascinated
with “stuff” and; what’s more, so many think that they’re entitled to and
deserve that “stuff.” God created all
and makes us stewards over it, for our use and enjoyment. God creates all that we’ve been given and
calls it good, but the problem is that we take what God has called “good,” drop
an o and call it god. Our hearts fear
not having enough of it, we love our stuff and mourn if we lose it, we trust in
it like a security blanket; yet God is clear that our fear, love, and trust is
for Him alone. We’re spiritually
bankrupt, but our greatest concern is being rich in earthly things.
This
love for stuff, this covetousness is instilled in us from early on, and
covetousness, as Paul writes in our epistle text is idolatry. We want to be the kid with the nicest shoes,
the best video games, the most presents at Christmas. And the older we get, the stuff just gets
bigger. We want to most land, the
biggest house, the nicest boat, the newest car.
And yet, in the end, when our soul is required of us, what does this
idolatrous god of stuff profit us?
Most
take Ecclesiastes to be written by King Solomon, the wealthiest king of
Israel. What does this rich king have to
say about earthly wealth? Vanity. All is vanity, a chasing after the wind and
in the end, some fool enjoys the benefits of your toil.
“Take care, and be on your guard against
all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions,” Jesus tells this nameless someone in the crowd and he says it
to us. Your life doesn’t consist in what
kind of shoes you wear, how much land you have, how big your house is, or how
new your car is. Your life doesn’t
consist in the abundance of your stuff, but in Christ.
That’s
the lesson of Jesus’ parable. Life isn’t
about accumulating stuff for the sake of getting more. It’s not about tearing down barns in order to
build bigger ones, you never know when the heart will give out, when that vain
will pop, or when that bus will be coming down the street with your name on
it. In the end, your stuff won’t help
you.
The
game of life isn’t about having the most when you die, but being rich toward
God. Our Sinful nature seeks to be rich
in earthly treasure but apart from Jesus, we’re broke when it comes to heavenly
treasure. So what, then, shall we do?
“Tell my brother to divide the inheritance
with me.” And our Brother does. Our Lord was rich in heavenly treasure, but
gave it up to become poor in spirit, to suffer, to die, so that His
inheritance, the inheritance that should go to Him alone, is divided, is given,
to you.
Christ
came down from heaven, leaving all that He had to share in our human
nature. He came so that you, who are
poor in spirit, become rich in God. He
came in humility so that you would wear that robe of His righteousness and that
crown of glory. He came so that you
would be an inheritor of that heavenly kingdom.
He
accomplished this, “not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood
and with His innocent suffering and death.”
Jesus willingly made Himself poor, going to the cross, spilling His
blood so that you would have treasure in heaven. This great reversal, that we who are
spiritually poor are made rich in God by He who was rich becoming poor. That’s how God accomplishes His good
work. Christ is our greatest
treasure. Greater than anything we can store
in a barn, a bank account, or a safety deposit box. Greater than having the most land, the
biggest house, or the nicest car. For
what good is it to gain the whole world but lose Christ?
And
our Lord continues to give to us, here and now, heavenly riches from His
heavenly treasury. The rich man in the
text, trusting in his earthly wealth said to himself, “Eat, drink, and be
merry.” Jesus points us to Him on the
altar and says, “Eat my body. Drink my blood. Hear my word.
Be merry in the gifts of salvation and eternal life that I bring to you
today.”
It’s
true that we long for earthly wealth more than what God wants to give us in His
gifts of salvation. We must repent. But trust in God, you’re a forgiven, redeemed
child of God.
What can we do to acquire for ourselves
heavenly treasure? Nothing. Our Lord gives it to you, He wins it for you
on the cross. He empties Himself that
you would be filled with His very righteousness. Trust in Him, He’s done it for you.
You’re
rich toward God, Jesus has seen to it.
He’s taken your bankrupt spiritual bank account and filled it full with
His inheritance. And when all things
have come to completion, when your soul is required of you, when He comes to
raise you from the grave, you shall receive your brother Jesus’ inheritance in
its fullest.
Until
then, enjoy what you’ve been given. It’s
not a sin to have much, the sin is trusting in stuff over God, not ever being
content with what He’s given you, being more concerned with accumulation earthly
treasures instead of seeking the heavenly treasures our Lord has won for
you.
Believe
it! The Kingdom is yours! It’s been won for you, the inheritance has
been divided, so that we, who deserve nothing from God, receive everything from
Him through His crucified and risen Son, the One who became poor so that you
would be rich in God. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life
everlasting. Amen.
