First Baptist Church Litchfield
September 6, 2026

      • Jeremiah 23:5–6ESV

  • His Mercy Is More
  • Victory In Jesus
  • Nothing But The Blood
  • There Is One

      • Romans 3:21–26ESV

  • Rock Of Ages (Toplady)
  • Before The Throne Of God Above
  • Charles Spurgeon once described saving faith with a simple picture:

    “Faith is an empty hand… the hand which gives must have the glory, not the hand which takes.” Charles Spurgeon (The Search-Warrant,” preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle)

    That is the great paradox of the gospel: we receive everything from Christ when we come to Him with nothing. And that is exactly what Jesus shows us in Matthew 19. Children are brought to Jesus with nothing to offer Him, and Jesus receives them. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus with morality, religion, wealth, and accomplishment, and he walks away without eternal life.
    Then Peter says, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” And even the disciples must learn that sacrifice does not put God in their debt.
    Three groups of people. Three different encounters with Jesus. But one great lesson we must learn:

    Come to Jesus with empty hands, because the kingdom belongs not to those who have enough, do enough, or sacrifice enough, but to those who depend entirely upon Christ.

    That is the struggle at the heart of this passage. We instinctively want to come before God with something in our hands, something we can point to and say, “This is why I belong. This is why God should receive me.”
    Our fallen hearts naturally want something in ourselves that makes us worthy of the kingdom: our morality, accomplishments, wealth, status, sacrifice, or religious devotion. But Jesus systematically takes every one of those things out of our hands. Jesus saves those who abandon confidence in themselves and depend entirely upon Him, because what is impossible with man is possible with God.
    And Jesus begins by placing before His disciples the most unlikely picture of kingdom citizenship—not a rich ruler, not a religious leader, not someone impressive or accomplished, but a little child.

    I. Jesus Receives the Humble Who Come with Empty Hands Matthew 19:13–15

    Verse thirteen seems strange to modern readers. Why would the disciples rebuke people for bringing their children to Jesus? We live in a culture where children are highly valued and often become the center around which family life revolves.
    But the disciples reflected the values of their world. In the ancient Greco-Roman culture, children occupied a very low place in the social hierarchy. They possessed little status, authority, or social importance. They were viewed as physically weak, intellectually immature, and completely dependent upon adults. Jewish culture valued children more highly as gifts from God and members of the covenant community, but children still possessed little social standing.
    That background helps us understand the disciples. In their minds, Jesus had more important people and more important matters demanding His attention. These children were insignificant. And that is precisely what makes Jesus' response so remarkable.
    The disciples saw an interruption. Jesus saw people worth receiving. The disciples considered them unimportant. Jesus welcomed them into His arms and declared in verse 14,“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.””
    Once again, Jesus turns the values of His world, and ours, upside down. The kingdom belongs not to those who come boasting of their importance, but to those who come to Christ with nothing to offer and everything to receive.
    So, in verse 15, Jesus receives the children by “laying his hands on them.”
    If you think of a small child being carried into a family gathering, they come bearing no gifts, no credentials, no accolades, nothing to offer the family that the world would value. They come empty handed, and yet, the family welcomes them, loves them, fights for them, protects, them, and finds joy in them being there. And the child, simply stretches out his arms to whoever will receive him expecting to be recieved.
    That is Jesus toward us.
    That is how every sinner must come to Christ.
    You cannot come saying, “Look at what I have accomplished. Look at how moral I have been. Look at what I can contribute to Your kingdom.”
    We sang the hymn Rock of ages Cleft For Me last week. The hymn conveys exactly the point:
    Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress, Helpless, look to Thee for grace: Foul, I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die.
    You come saying, “Jesus, I have nothing to offer you, and I know I need You.”
    And that is wonderfully good news. You do not have to make yourself important enough for Jesus to receive you. You do not have to accumulate enough righteousness, accomplishments, or religious credentials. You simply come to Christ with empty hands of faith.
    Matthew now moves us from people who look like they have nothing to offer the kingdom to a man who appears to have everything the kingdom could possibly want. If the disciples underestimated the children, they are about to overestimate the rich young ruler.

    II. Jesus Rejects the Proud Who Come with Full Hands (Matthew 19:16-22)

    In verse 16, Matthew introduces us to a striking contrast with the children Jesus has just received. Matthew tells us that this man was young and possessed great wealth, while Luke adds that he was a ruler (Luke 18:18, 23).
    On the surface, this is exactly the kind of person the disciples would expect Jesus to receive. He is young, wealthy, moral, religious, influential, and interested in eternal life.
    The children had nothing. This man seems to have everything.
    He approaches Jesus respectfully, calling Him “Teacher,” and asks: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (v. 16) Notice the assumption behind his question: What must I do?
    He believes eternal life is something he can obtain through his own goodness. There must be some work he can perform, some religious achievement he can accomplish, some final requirement he can satisfy.
    What good work can I do? How much money should I give? How much sacrifice must I make? Just tell me what is required, and I will do it.
    That is the religion of the proud. The proud come to God with full hands. They come carrying their morality, accomplishments, religion, generosity, reputation, and good works, believing they have something worthy to offer God.
    But Scripture says: “None is righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)
    And: “By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
    The Law was never given as a ladder by which sinners could climb their way to heaven. The Law is a mirror that exposes how far short of God's holiness we have fallen.

    A. The Law Exposes the Insufficiency of The Rich Man’s Righteousness Matthew 19:17–20

    Notice how Jesus responds:
    “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” (v. 17)
    Jesus turns this man's attention away from his own standard of goodness and toward God's standard of goodness. The issue isn't whether he is better than other people. The issue is whether he is as righteous as God requires. Jesus is confronting his self-righteousness with the Law of God.
    The man responds, “Which ones?” That question itself reveals his misunderstanding. He seems to imagine that there might be some particular commandment he needs to add to his spiritual résumé.
    But Scripture says: “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:10)
    Nevertheless, Jesus answers: “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (vv. 18–19)
    Notice that Jesus draws primarily from the commandments governing our relationship with other people, and this is a bit of a set up because the young man has to some degree kept those commands externally. The young man responds: “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” (v. 20)
    There is his problem. He looks into the mirror of God's Law and still sees a righteous man.
    He reminds me of the Pharisee in Jesus' parable who stood before God and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men.” (Luke 18:11) The Pharisee wasn't a thief. He wasn't an adulterer. He fasted. He tithed. He looked at his religious résumé and concluded, God must be pleased with me.
    The rich young ruler does essentially the same thing. I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't committed adultery. I haven't stolen. I honor my parents. I've kept those commandments. What else do I need to do?
    Do you realize how many of our neighbors and friends live their life looking into the mirror of God’s law and still seeing themselves as righteous, essentially saying the same thing: I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't committed adultery. I haven't stolen. I honor my parents. I've kept those commandments.
    That is the danger of religion without a relationship with Christ. You can be deceived by your good behavior. But Jesus is about to show him that he has not understood the Law at all. The Law doesn't merely examine our hands. It exposes our hearts.

    B. Jesus Exposes the Idol of the Rich Young Man’s Heart Matthew 19:21

    Jesus says: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (v. 21)
    Now Jesus moves into the one place this man does not want Him to go: his heart. Jesus is not teaching that poverty earns eternal life. Nor is He establishing a universal requirement that every Christian must sell everything he owns.
    Jesus is exposing this particular man's god. The man claimed to love his neighbor as himself.
    Jesus says, in effect, Then give your possessions to your poor neighbors.
    The man claimed to obey God. Jesus says, Then surrender what you treasure and follow Me.
    He claimed to have kept the commandments, but his wealth exposes him. He covets. He does not love his neighbor as himself. And most importantly, his possessions occupy the place in his heart that belongs to God alone.
    He has broken the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
    His problem isn't ultimately that he has possessions. His problem is that his possessions have him.
    Here is a simple way to understand what Jesus is doing. Imagine a doctor examining a patient who insists, “I'm perfectly healthy.” The doctor doesn't argue with him about every possible disease. He presses on one particular spot—and the patient cries out in pain.
    Jesus presses on the idol, and the man's heart cries out. Jesus puts two treasures before him: Your possessions—or Me.
    Sell what you have. Give it away. Let go of the treasure you can see, and I will give you treasure in heaven. And then come: “Follow me.”
    Don't miss that. The greatest treasure Jesus offers this man isn't poverty. It is Himself. Jesus is saying, Let go of the treasure that owns your heart and take Me as your treasure.
    As the psalmist says: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” (Psalm 73:25)
    Or as Paul would later say: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8)
    The children came to Jesus with nothing in their hands and everything to receive.
    This man comes with his hands full. Full of wealth. Full of morality. Full of religion. Full of confidence in himself. And Jesus tells him that if he is going to receive the kingdom, he must open his hands, let go of this world, and receive Him as His treasure. What will this young rich ruler do? What will you do?

    C. The Proud Walk Away When Christ Demands Their Idol Matthew 19:22

    Verse 22 gives us one of the saddest pictures in the Gospel: “When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
    He looks at Jesus. He looks at his wealth. And he chooses his wealth.
    He wanted eternal life, but he wanted his earthly treasure more. He wanted Jesus as Teacher, but not Jesus as Lord. He wanted a good deed to perform, but Jesus demanded his heart. And when Christ touched the one thing he would not surrender, sadly, he walked away.
    That is what idols do. An idol is not merely something you enjoy. It is something you cannot imagine surrendering even if obedience to Christ requires it.
    Think of a child holding a fistful of pennies while his father offers him two hands full of diamonds. The child cannot receive what his father offers because he refuses to open his hand.
    That is this young man. And that raises the question for us:
    What are you clinching with your fists?
    What is the thing you would struggle to surrender if Christ said, “Give Me that and follow Me”?
    Your money? Your reputation? Your career? A relationship? Your plans for your children? Your comfort? Your control? Your morality and religious accomplishments?
    Jesus will not become one more treasure added to everything else you treasure. He must become the Treasure.
    And look at the contrast Matthew has placed before us.
    The children have no status, no wealth, no accomplishments, and nothing to offer Jesus. Jesus receives them.
    The rich young ruler has status, morality, wealth, accomplishments, and everything his world considered valuable. He walks away.
    The children come with empty hands and receive the kingdom. The rich man comes with full hands and cannot receive it.
    And his departure is about to shock the disciples. If a moral, religious, wealthy man like this cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, then who possibly can? Jesus' answer will take us to the very heart of the gospel.
    The young man's departure shocks the disciples because they assumed wealth and prominence was evidence of God's blessing. If a moral, religious, wealthy man like this cannot enter the kingdom, then who possibly can? Jesus' answer takes us to the heart of the gospel.

    What a tragic picture.

    This young man came to Jesus looking for eternal life, and he walked away sorrowful. He came wanting to know what he could do, what he could add, what accomplishment he could put into his hands that would make him worthy of the kingdom.
    But Jesus showed him that his problem wasn't what he lacked in his hands. His problem was that his hands were already full.
    And that is the question this passage puts before every one of us this morning:

    What is in your hands?

    What are you holding onto that gives you confidence before God?
    Maybe you don't have the wealth of this young ruler. But perhaps your hands are full of something else.
    Your morality. Your church attendance. Your theology. Your reputation. Your accomplishments. Your sacrifice. The fact that you've been a Christian for fifty years. The fact that you're not like the people you consider worse than you. But none of those things can give you the kingdom.
    The children teach us how we must come. They had no status to claim, no accomplishments to present, no wealth to offer. They simply came to Jesus with everything to receive. And Jesus said, “to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
    The rich young ruler teaches us the danger of coming another way. He had everything this world admired, but when Jesus put His finger on the treasure of his heart, he would not let it go. He wanted eternal life, but he wanted his treasure more.
    So don't walk away from Jesus clutching something that cannot save you.
    Open your hands. Come helpless. Come needy. Come dependent. Come to Christ.

    Come to Jesus with empty hands, because the kingdom belongs not to those who have enough, do enough, or sacrifice enough, but to those who depend entirely upon Christ.

    And perhaps you hear that and think, But if that's true, who can possibly be saved?
    If the children have nothing, and the rich young ruler's morality, religion, and wealth cannot save him—then who can be saved?
    That is exactly what the disciples are going to ask. And next week Jesus will give us one of the most glorious answers in all of Scripture: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” You cannot save yourself. But God can save you. And that is where we will begin next week.

      • Matthew 19:13–22ESV

      • Matthew 19:13–15ESV

      • Matthew 19:16–22ESV

      • Matthew 19:21ESV

      • Matthew 19:22ESV

  • Knowing You
First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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