King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 6 notes
1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
15And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
17Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
18And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22Now 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.
23And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
25For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mark gives more clarity to this statement.
Mark 10:23-24 KJV
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! [24] And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
I don't understand: the man wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, and he had kept all the laws of God from his youth.
But he lacked one thing: he trusted in his riches to the extent that he could not give it up for God.
But I thought obeying the commands of God qualifies you for a place in the kingdom.
But here it seems we must really be sold out to enter the kingdom.
This man was a good man, but his riches were the only thing in his way.
And he was not ready to exchange it for eternal life.
So now I wonder, when time comes to an end, where will this rich young ruler be?
This makes me wonder how the majority of us Christians will enter the kingdom, considering our current lifestyle.
We have been told all we need to do is to believe. But there seems to be more: we must not just believe in our Lord Jesus, we must be sold out to him.
The other thing is, this man asked for eternal life, and Jesus talks of it being hard to enter the kingdom of God.
So eternal life is in the kingdom of God, or is akin to the kingdom... By eternal life I believe it's in reference to the quality of life after death, where that quality is experienced in the presence of God.
I believe eternal life is quality of life, because all souls live forever but are affected by the quality of life.
So now back to the earlier question 🙋: where will the rich young ruler be if he can't make the kingdom?
He will be outside the kingdom 👑, but where exactly?
I don't think he'd go to hell... He'd likely be in the fringes in the earth 🌎, but not part of the New Jerusalem.
26And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
27And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
28Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
29And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
30Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
31Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Even though Jesus knew these things beforehand 🖐️, it did not make it easier for him.
He almost gave up; it was good he knew these things ahead of time.
Else it would have been very difficult for him to go through without knowing the glory to be revealed afterwards.
34And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
35And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
He probably might have heard that the Messiah, the Christos, the Son of David ✡ was here and healing many.
Now his opportunity was here, and he was not going to let it go.
39And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
I can imagine, after such crying out, now Jesus tells him to receive his sight — he then begins to squint and try seeing, and lo, his sight cleared and he was healed.
43And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Ei, so these standers-by had no needs that Jesus could have met?
Rather, they were watching another man receive his miracle right before them, without them taking advantage to receive theirs.