Kaleo San Diego Church

TEXT

Mark 12:35-44: "And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?  36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."  37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?' And the great throng heard him gladly.  38 And in his teaching he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces  39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,  40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'  41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.  43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.'"

INTRODUCTION

We've been looking at Jesus in a very positive light these last several weeks and have listened in on some of His conversations and been stunned by His incredible display of compassion and tenderness towards those who are significantly flawed. 

This week we get to hear Him argue with religious people.  It's important that we listen to someone state their case for what they're against.  In many ways this teaches us even more about what they're for.

To see Jesus argue is to see God argue because Jesus Christ is God who came in the flesh.  He is the very Word of God made flesh, and in this chapter you could say He is the very argument God made who became human.  This chapter shows us Jesus versus a religious culture, Jesus vs. religious leaders, and Jesus vs. a religious heart.

When I use the word religion I'm using the word negatively even though I know you could certainly use it positively.  The word "religion" used in the Scripture is almost always negative and not positive.  There are only a couple of occasions that this word is used positively in the Bible.  Religion operates on the principle, "I obey and perform, therefore I'm accepted," whereas the gospel operates on the principle, "I'm accepted through Christ, therefore I obey."  These two differences are not simple arguments over the same thing, but actually two totally different religions altogether.  The basic motivation of a heart led by religion is typical fear.  You obey and perform because you're afraid of condemnation and if you don't perform God won't accept you or bless you.  But Gospel motivation is joy and gratitude.  You want to love others, you want to read the Word, and you want to live a life holy for Him purely because you love Him since you know that He already loves and accepts you through His Son.  Since condemnation is taken away, you no longer operate out of fear of being condemned and you now operate out of joy for Christ taking your condemnation for you.  These are huge differences and can't be overstated. 

In religion you're basing your standing with God on how you're currently doing religiously.  But with the gospel you're basing your standing with God on what Christ has already done for you.  Simply put, one is a "do" religion, and the other is a "done" gospel.  That's why the gospel has to be announced; it's news, not advice.  The gospel says, "This has been done," but advice says, "This is what you must do." 

Our main problem as Christians is our natural tendency to forget the news and go back to religion to make us feel secure.  We continuously slip back into old ways of relating to God and others.  This is why Luther said that the default mode of the human heart is to base your standing with God on how well you're performing. 

Some don't want us to argue with them, especially over doctrine or truth, because we think it is unloving and not tolerant.  But what do we do when a friend tells us they want to commit suicide because they have a useless life, or are hopeless and have nothing to live for?  We don't say, "Well, that's your view, and I don't want to intrude upon it, so I'll pray for you."  No!  We begin to contradict their doctrine of themselves and this world by telling them that they are valuable and do have hope, etc.  When it is a matter of life and death, you have to contradict someone's views that are killing them.  And Jesus realizes just how deadly religion is.   

I.  JESUS vs. CULTURAL RELIGION

Verse 35a: "And as Jesus taught in the temple..."

All along Jesus has been in the Temple courts having these arguments and embroiled in controversy and Mark is bringing this scene to a close as he welcomes us to see what interaction is taking place. 

In this chapter, Jesus is teaching about land owners and their vineyards, and He answers those who want to argue about paying taxes.  A group of religious experts are trying to debate with Him over marriage after death and the resurrection, and even about the greatest commandment.  These are no small theological debates for the Jews and they keep trying to trap Him with questions and catch Him into saying something against God or His Word. 

This is an incredible scene.  Jesus has the Sadducees, the Scribes, and the Pharisees all taking turns pouncing on Him with all their collective education.  This is like having the democrats, the republicans, and a wicked smart theologian all trying to get you to say something stupid by asking questions which they know will infuriate one of these groups. 

Jesus is contradicting the prevailing wisdom of human thought and ideology.  In these arguments Jesus is opposing both poles of human philosophy and religion. 

On the one hand He opposes the Sadducees, which today would be like arguing against an Ivy League educated secular liberal.  They don't believe in the supernatural.  They believe in a kind of gooey love and tolerance that is wrapped in a golden rule standard. 

Yet on the other hand He opposes the Pharisees, similar to staunch conservatives who went to seminary in the Bible belt and who consider themselves fundamentalists, though they are a lot less "fun" than they are "mental."  This group believed in the supernatural, and the authority of Scripture, but they were missing a fairly important belief, which is grace.  They didn't get it because they thought life was about getting God's approval by keeping all the rules. 

We think of our culture as unique.  We assume that these arguments are new or at least specific to our cultural moment.  But what this shows us is that through history almost every culture has to come face to face with these two opposing positions.  One believes in tradition and family values and another group sees itself as progressive and free thinking.  One is very serious and unbending in its ideology and the other is open and willing to explore what others think and believe.  One believes in what we can see only, the other believes in what we can't see.  And the list goes on.  At the end of the day one stresses law the other stresses love and these positions have been around for some time. 

Here is Jesus opposing both views.  He is an equal opportunity critic and no one is safe from Him!  Why?  Because true, ancient, Biblical Christianity, the kind that Jesus argued for is not some individualistic, create-your-own view about God and reality, nor is it a moralistic, "save yourself through your religious performance" kind of ideology.  It is neither.  And it isn't somewhere in the middle, it is an entirely different way of relating to God, to others, and to yourself. 

Where do we see this most clearly?  On the cross, because on it we see the absolute moral justice of God being fulfilled totally by the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf so that we can be completely and wholly accepted by God in spite of our failures and weaknesses.  Both are displayed in fullness at the same time in a totally different way than these two opposing views. 

The gospel worldview is utterly unique because on the one hand it embraces moral absolutes, and yet because of God's grace poured out through Jesus' substitute, it welcomes in the weak and broken, the flawed and hopeless.  Jesus isn't a traditionalist or progressive.  He's not a moralist the way we understand it, or a liberal relativist.  He's not secular or religious.  He's something other and so is the faith named after Him. 

Trying to Package Christianity

This is the problem with trying to package Christianity into a nice and neat little political distinction or philosophical ideology.  You simply can't do it. 

There are certain values that the gospel teaches us that would be considered quite liberal.  At the root of overthrowing racism in our country was the rising up of the African American Church in its view of the Exodus of God's people and the need for liberation from tyranny and slavery.  This movement didn't get started because they became less Christian, but ignited when they become more consistent with what they claimed to believe.  Yet there are elements in Christianity that would be considered very conservative as well. 

Rodney Stark and other sociologists tell us there were 10 values of early Christians that stood in contrast to the pagan culture of Rome.

1- They refused to attend blood thirsty entertainment. They wouldn't go to gladiatorial events because they believed it defiled humans who were created in the image of God. This made them appear to be anti-social. Tertullian and Augustine both write about these events in a negative light.
2- They did not serve in the military to support Caesar's wars of conquest, which made them appear weak.
3- They were against abortion and infanticide. In this culture, both were considered acceptable. To throw your baby out on the dung heap if you didn't want it was not taboo.
4- They empowered women by showing their value and dignity in places of learning and service which had previously been exclusively for men. Christians held women in high regard and treasured them rather than viewing them as just a step above expendable children and servants.
5- They were against sex outside of marriage. This fidelity was considered odd and against culture. Sex was viewed as nothing more than a desire like eating or sleeping. Christians held a high view of the bed and kept it pure and would not engage in sex outside of marriage.
6- They were against homosexual relationships. This was odd in a time when same sex practice was not frowned upon.
7- They were exceptionally generous with their resources. They shared what they had with one another and welcomed others in with a hospitality that was unparalleled.
8- They were radically for the poor. In a time when the poor and downtrodden were viewed as getting what they deserved, they were aggressively committed to loving and serving people in the margins of society.
9- They mixed races and social classes in ways that were unseen in their gatherings, and for it they were considered scandalous.
10- They believed only Christ was the way to salvation. This was in a time when everyone had a god and could believe something entirely different and it was totally acceptable to be polytheists and pluralistic. Christians dared claim that Jesus was the only way and refused to bend to other gods.

Our city has yet to see a group of people who hold these practices simultaneously.

If we held the values 1-Refused bloodthirsty sports, 2-Refused militarism, 4-Empowered women, 9-Mixed races and classes, and 10-Were radically for the poor, we would be considered liberal by conservative ideology.

If we held to values 3-Were against abortion, 5-Forbid sex outside of marriage, 6-Forbid same-sex practice, and 10-Insisted that Jesus was the only way for salvation, we would be labeled conservative by liberal ideology.

We don't fit into the relativistic landscape of our time, neither rugged individualism nor traditional hierarchical legalism. We simply don't fit into current categories. We don't fit neatly into conservative or liberal categories. This is because we are resident aliens.

Whenever Christians pick up the values of the gospel and begin living them out in their city, they are on the one hand vilified for their values and at the same time oddly attractive in ways that often confound their most vocal opponents.  If we experience neither vilification nor attraction, what qualities of our life are missing which mark Kingdom citizens through history?

We just don't fit into the categories of the world.  We are fighting aids in African in massive numbers and yet we're laboring to see that families are held in high value and working to see that pornography isn't welcomed in our city and neighborhoods.

You simply can't put Jesus or Christianity into one political category because we are constantly seeping over into the others. 

II.  JESUS vs. RELIGIOUS LEADERS

What Jesus is showing us in the chapter is that both the liberals and the religious are actually exactly alike.  Even though they fight, even though they argue, even though they look like opposites, in Jesus' point of view they are just like one another.

This entire chapter, Jesus has been on the defensive.  But at the end of this chapter, Jesus begins to mount an argument by asking them a question and goes on the offensive.  He's surrounded by all different groups of people who don't believe in Him.  Jesus then gives them His argument to show them that what He's saying is true. 

When Jesus gives us an argument so that we'll believe, what do we think it's going to look like? 

Verses 35b-37: "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?  36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.'  37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?"

Jesus is starting with something each of these groups would have understood.  They would have known, whether they believed it or not, that the OT prophets spoke of the coming Messiah who would come through the line of King David.  He would be a descendent of David, or David's son as the term goes. 

They would have understood that this Messiah was coming to put the enemies of God down and make everything right again.  He would bring political and national freedom and oust the occupiers and oppressors.  Jesus is quoting Psalm 110:1. 

How can the Messiah be the Lord of David if He is the descendent of David?  If David was expecting one of His descendents to eventually rule, he would never call him "My Lord" but would instead call him "My son."  Jesus' question is basically this, "How can He both David's Lord as well as his son?"  Of course, this argument doesn't seem to be much to us, but it's because we are fairly ignorant of the Old Testament and the implications of the question Jesus is raising. 

It is a question set to a group of people who are not like us so it can feel a bit removed.  But we need to learn from this question because it is filled with gold if we're willing to dig a bit.

The answer to the question that Jesus is asking is simple but not simplistic.  David can only call him My Lord if He isn't just David's offspring, but He is God's Son.  Jesus is saying to them that their view of the Messiah is a limited one because it is only a human you're envisioning, a hero figure who will come and be a military power for you. 

Jesus is making the point that if you only see this Messiah as a human figure and not God's very own Son, you'll miss the point.  If the Messiah is only human, than He can be David's son, and He may be able to lead a campaign to defeat your enemies, but eventually He'll die and your enemies will return.  The cycle will never end.  But if this figure is not only human but also divine, then He'll be able to defeat our real enemies, and not just for the Jews, but the entire Human race.  He'll come to defeat sin, to crush Satan under His foot, and to make death lose its sting. 

Only the true Messiah can do this, and only if He's God's true Son, and there Jesus stands as the One they're missing.  He's essentially telling them what His plan is and who He is by asking them this question.  It's loaded. 

Since this is tailored for the time of Christ, can we learn anything about His argument?  Of course, and we should. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23, "For Jews demand signs (miracles) and Greeks seek wisdom (philosophy),  23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles"

Paul is saying something very important.  He's telling us that every culture has its own way of determining whether or not something is true.  They have their own basis for knowing, or for understanding how we know something or can prove something is true.  In his day, Jews needed some proof.  They needed some miraculous evidence to prove that what is being said is true.  In their view, they were willing to believe if you showed them an unmistakable act of supernatural power.  Then they would believe it. 

But the Greeks were more rationalistic and philosophical and wanted to be convinced by water-tight arguments with flawless logic.  They didn't care as much about the supernatural because to them it was either unimportant, or dubious and not to be trusted at best.  They were seeking an inescapable, fully-consistent, rational argument as the way to prove to them that what was being said was true. 

But what do we see with Jesus?  How does he respond to the well educated, secular liberals and the hard core, conservative fundamentalists in this passage?  Does he pick one culture's way of knowing something is true and stick with that?  Jesus certainly used reason, He uses it right here.  He isn't some guru on the top of the mountain you climb only for Him to ask you, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it really make a sound?"  He isn't about silly little sayings.  He is able to use logic, and does since He's the sum total of logic. 

If you want to believe in Christianity, reason and logic are important and very helpful.  We have to believe that what we're saying is in fact true and with reason.  If you want to believe in God and His Gospel it's important that you look to these things, but it doesn't mean you'll necessarily arrive if you're looking for one specific kind of argument to rule over all arguments.  We can have rational, existential, and evidential arguments as a way of helping us along, but Jesus doesn't give any of those to these groups.

What does He say?  He is saying, "I am the ultimate argument!"  He's telling us to look at the Scripture and pull away what you think He's like, what you wished He was like, what you want Him to be like, and see Him for who He really is. 

If you actually see Jesus for who He is and claims to be, if you actually come to see Him in the way He wants you to see Him, with the eyes of your heart and understanding, you'll have no other way to explain who He is other than to say, "This must be God's Son."  He can't just be David's son; He has to be God's Son. 

There are some of you here this morning who would love to believe, but don't think you can.  You're waiting for a water-tight, inescapable argument.  You're thinking like a Greek.  You're looking for that one argument that will win over every other argument and every doubt you have. 

There are others here who may have believed at one point but with time and maturity you've come to doubt the things you've previously believed and aren't quite sure any more.  You're asking God for a miracle to intervene, some great sign.  You're thinking like a Jew.  You think, "If God would only do X then I'd believe Him."

Let me share something with you that may trouble you, but may also free you from your doubt.  If you continue to wait for God to prove this to you by an inescapable, water-tight argument without any flaws, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life.  Every argument can have flaws found in it because those who articulate the arguments are flawed themselves and not God.  And if you continue to wait for God to show you a miracle to prove to you He's not kidding, that He's really, really, seriously there, without a doubt, you're going to wait for the rest of your days.  Every emotion, every experience you have can be explained away by calling it a hallucination, a day dream, your imagination, a chemical response to being over-tired or over-stressed, etc.  Neither of you will ever believe, unless...  Unless you are willing to consider what Jesus is saying here. 

Jesus is saying that your proof, your confidence, your sense of being sure is not to be found in a water-tight argument.  It isn't to be found in an act of some supernatural hocus pocus.  Instead it is to be found in Jesus, in whom all wisdom and power dwells.  Jesus is the inescapable, water-tight, perfect and flawless argument. 

God didn't simply provide you with a water-tight argument that fits only one particular culture, He's provided a water-tight, inescapable, person without flaws.  A person against whom, in the end, there can be no argument. 

How may people over the years have you heard who know all the arguments for the existence of God and the proof of the resurrection, or have acknowledged these things are true but still have not had a heart transformed and have come to love and follow Christ?  I've met many people who get the facts but still are far from Him.  Why?  Because it's not until they come to see Him, from His words, in His actions as He walked and talked, conversed and lived, loved and died in real flesh and blood, will they come to see that He must be God's Son, and therefore believe who He really was. 

Jesus is full of surprises and shocks if we're willing to really look at Him.  He actually did what we've been reading as we build this biography over the last several weeks.  You just can't escape Him and no one really dares to say what Jesus "ought" to have done or said.  All you can do is look at Him and stand in awe at who He really is or walk away, but there really is no in-between.

Jesus is daring the liberals (Sadducees) and daring the conservatives (Pharisees) to read Him for who He really is and to see how He really lived and loved, died and rose, and then explain Him away.  All that can be said is that He is only David's son (only human) or He really is God's Son (human and divine).  If He's not God's Son, then dismiss Him and reject Him because He's a liar and cruel to have deceived us all these years.  But even the liberals don't want to do that.  They don't want to believe He's really God's Son, but they also don't want to leave Him.  Why?  Because He's inescapable, water-tight, and without flaw and even in our sinful disbelief He is still more beautiful than anything we've ever seen. 

In this statement He's giving us a truth that will be translated into every culture and every objection.  If each culture has its own way of coming to know something is true, then this statement fits in all of them.  Jesus is saying, "If I'm my Father's Son, then no amount of philosophy and no supernatural experience will ever be more important than that."  "If you see me as God's Son, then every argument has been answered because I am the only argument that ultimately matters." 

Of course, we are whole beings and need testimonies of changed lives, rational and reasonable arguments for the truth of Jesus.  We're not just heads on a stick, and we're not just hearts without a mind.  We are a whole people and what we need is a whole person to fill all those categories and that is only found in Jesus Himself.  He is the final argument.  He dares you to get to know Him and to learn who He really is.  He's here and the proof is in the person.  Until you come to see this you'll never have the certainty you need and you'll never overcome your doubts. He's strong enough and beautiful enough to do both.

Ok, you might at this point be following His train of thought, but why does He suddenly begin to talk about the widow's giving?  It sort of seems like it's out of place and just kind of thrown in doesn't it?  That's how I had come to see this story until I listened to Tim Keller preach on this, then I came to see why it transitions like it does.

Keller says, "You'll never get the certainty and the faith that you need in Jesus until you see what He's teaching us about the widow."  That's a strong statement.

He immediately hammers the religious leaders for making great prayers, etc.

Verses 38-40: "And in his teaching he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces  39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,  40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'"

What He's saying here about people who devour widows' houses is actually picking up on the words of the prophets in the OT where God identifies with the poor.  God teaches us in His word that if you have no room for the poor in your heart, you really don't have any room for Him because your heart is fueled by something other than God.  This is what happens when we put our hope in money, sex, pleasure, control, acceptance by peers, respect, or any other thing that becomes ultimate for us.  It pushes God out because it's what we need for our existence, even more than Him. 

These men needed honor at feasts, and in doing so they were willing to rob the widows to get it as they made long and beautiful prayers.  This is incredibly convicting because this is what so many of us want: respect and honor.  I have had a miserable week this week because of various comments that have been made about Kaleo and about some of the leaders, including myself, in gossip, and the reason for my misery is really about my need to be honored and respected.  I'm willing to fight over it to keep it because it is obviously so important to me that if I lose it, I feel like I'm coming undone.  In other words, what I'm saying to God is "Thank you for Jesus' life and sacrifice for me, but He's not enough.  I also need honor and respect to be satisfied in You."  That is idolatry and it's horrible to admit, but true.

Jesus then turns to the woman. 

III.  JESUS vs. RELIGIOUS HEARTS

Verses 41-44: "And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.  43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.'"

This poor widow put in two small coins, smaller than a penny, and she had to put in two for it to be worth a penny.  And Jesus is saying that even though the amount of her gift was the smallest, her sacrifice was the greatest. 

He even goes so far to say that she gave out of her poverty because she put in everything she had to live on. 

We don't really have a great translation of meaning of what Jesus is saying here, but in the original text what He's saying is incredibly strong and shocking.  He saying that she not only gave everything, she put in even her whole life.  That's what the word ‘bios' means, it is for physical life.  She put in her whole life, her whole self, and gave her life away.

When the rich give, when we give, we usually give out of some percentage or margin of our money.  When the gift is done, we're done with our giving.  Our giving is managed out of a dollar calculation, therefore when we've calculated what we can give, we feel like we've done our job and are happy with ourselves.  We feel we have been good Christians because we threw some cash in a box. 

But this isn't what Jesus is saying about giving is it?  If it was only the margin of your money, then He would have picked that margin and the first person to give according to that would have heard some divine bells and whistles go off and he would have been held up as the great example.  But those who are giving out of their margins aren't held up in this story are they?

Jesus is saying this woman put in her whole life, she didn't just give her money, she hardly had any to give, and what she had she gave. 

But what does this have to do with Jesus' religious opponents and skeptics?

If we're honest with ourselves we'll admit that the main reason we have such a hard time with believing Jesus is because we don't want to trust Him; we're afraid. 

Our problem isn't as much of a disbelief of the mind but fear from our hearts.  Our "can't" becomes "won't" because we're afraid of losing that much control to Him to really trust Him all the way, with everything, even our own life. 

This is how the secular person and the religious person are the same.  Even though one says, "I'm my own person an don't need anyone to tell what's true, I'm going to freely discover on my own,'" and the other says, "I'm going to be a good little moral person and obey Him so that He'll bless me and take care of me."  Is this different?  No.

Both are the same because neither of them are trusting, neither of them are willing to give up control of their lives to God.  The religious person is trying to control God by forcing Him to bless them through their religious actions and morality.  God has to bless them.  The secular person is trying to control their lives by being their own Lord and Savior, by saying they don't need God and want Him to stay away from them. 

If you remember a few months ago there was this horrific shooting in Colorado Springs at a church called New Life Church and at the Youth With a Mission Center in Arvada killing four people before the gunman was shot by a security guard and then turned the gun to his head and killed himself.  The killer, Matthew Murray, penned a letter and addressed it to God in which he poured out his frustration and confusion over his faith and the hypocrisy of Christians which was found in his car parked outside New Life Church on the day of the shootings.  This is what he wrote:

"I've heard good things about what Jesus can do, yet everywhere I go in Christianity, all the Christians I see or meet are miserable, angry, selfish, hypocritical, proud, power hungry, abusive, uncaring, confused, lustful, greedy, unsure of their doctrine and mean-spirited ...

It seems everyone in Christianity these days are confused. ... What is the truth? Where can I find it? Where can I find the real 'Christians?'"

He pointed out the hypocrisy in Christians and tried to set himself in a positive light in God's eyes.

"I'm a much nicer person with integity (sp) and I am more sincere and caring for people ... The younger people who 'have' Jesus are oftentimes controlled by lust. I'm not," he wrote. "I want to be free from this lifelong pain.

Why didn't any changes occur or any love or help come when I accepted you as Lord and Savior?"...Am I too lost to be saved? My soul cries for deliverance. I'm dieing (sp), praying, bleeding and screaming. Will I be denied???"

Now, I by no means want to take this lightly as I realize that this man was emotionally and psychologically tortured, but it is important that we see what trying to live up to God does to you.  He acknowledged that Jesus was attractive and had heard what Christ can do.  Yet what he heard, in his thinking, was that Christianity was about what you needed to do to have Christ as your Lord and Savior instead of what Christ has done for you.  This is why he gives the reasons he should be accepted by God and welcomed in by Him, not based upon what Christ has done, but based upon his being compared to others-that he's nicer and has integrity, and that he doesn't struggle with lust.  His response is much like the rich young ruler in Mark 10 who came up to Jesus and said:

Mark 10:17-22: "‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'  18 And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.  19 You know the commandments: "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother."'  20 And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.'  21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.'  22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."

When you contrast this rich young ruler with the woman, you see something glaringly obvious.  This man was unwilling to give up his basis for existence, the thing that he thought brought him life.  The widow was willing to give up her entire life to Jesus.  The man had much and couldn't give it up; the woman had nothing to give but her life and gladly did so. 

This is exactly what we do.  This is what the man was doing in Colorado Springs and religion literally killed him and others.  He was burdened under the weight of living up and comparing himself others.  He based his relationship with God upon his merit and sincerity or niceness, his lack of lust.  Jesus gave this rich ruler a challenge to keep the entire law and when the man said he had kept them all, he said that he needed to give up the one thing that had become his true messiah, his possessions, and the man went away sorrowful because he had much.  The man was afraid. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees are doing the same thing because they're both afraid.  They are frightened and therefore unwilling to give themselves fully to God.  They both want to avoid Jesus.  They both want to act as their own savior.  Neither of them have what the widow has. 

The widow was willing to take her life and put it in the hands of God and say like a child, "I trust you daddy."  And neither the Sadducees nor the Pharisees were willing to do that.  One wanted the respect from other thinkers, the other wanted the respect of other religious people.  Both were living for something other than for Him. 

The reason we don't want to believe is simply because we're afraid of the Jesus from this story.  That's why we're doing what we're doing and pursuing false lovers of our hearts, false messiahs who promise us peace, joy and salvation from what ails us. 

So what do we do?  Where do we go from here?  Can we get out of this mess?  Yes, when you come to God's word and begin to see Jesus identifying Himself with those who admitted they had nothing to bring to Him.  The marginalized, the poor, the social and religious outcasts, and the morally ostracized were the ones whom Jesus identified with as He opposed the religious professionals who thought they we're fine because they had it all together. 

Jesus didn't only come to identify with the lowly and those without resources, He came to take their place.  On the cross Jesus was stripped naked and became utterly impoverished and poor for us.  Only the gospel would dare to say that God broke in and became poor, became exploited, and on the cross He was made weak and He lost everything, even the Father's loving favor for Him was turned away for you and me! 

The answer to the question in Matthew 25 about when we did we see Him hungry, when did we see Him thirsty, when did we see Him naked and in prison is shown on the cross.  That's when we saw Him stripped for us. We owed a debt we could not pay; He paid a debt He did not owe.  That is the great power of the gospel.  He was our substitute and took all our poverty upon Himself, all our nakedness upon Himself, and all our hunger and thirst upon Himself so that you and I would become rich in all things, so that we could be clothed with His robes of righteousness, so that we would be able to see Him with the eyes of our hearts and the hunger of our souls would be satisfied. 

The widow, as incredible and beautiful as she was, as much as she was an example for how we're to give our lives to Jesus, is really a portrait of how Jesus was going to give His life for us.  When He became David's son and was born in the flesh, He was willing to get involved and come to rescue us. 

C.S. Lewis wrote this in an essay called "Is Christianity Hard or Easy?"

The ordinary idea which we all have is that...we have a natural self with various desires and interests...and we know something called "morality" or "decent behavior" has a claim on the self...We are all hoping that when all the demands of morality and society have been met, the poor natural self will still have some chance, some time, to get on with its own life and do what it likes.  In fact, we are like a very honest man paying his taxes.  He pays them, but he does hope that there will be enough left over or him to live on.

The Christian way is different-both harder and easier.  Christ says, "Give me ALL.  I don't want just this much of your time and this much of your money and this much of your work-so that your natural self can have the rest.  I want you.  Not your things.  I have come not to torture your natural self...I will give you a new self instead.  Hand over the whole natural self-ALL the desires, not just the ones you think wicked but the ones you think innocent-the whole outfit.  I will give you a new self instead.

The almost impossibly hard thing is to hand over your whole self to Christ.  But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead.  For what we are trying to do is remain what we call "ourselves"-our personal happiness centered on money or pleasure or ambition-and hoping, despite this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly.  And that is exactly what Christ warned us you cannot do.  If I am a grass field, all the cutting will keep the grass short but won't produce wheat.  If I want wheat...I must be plowed up and re-sown. 

Are you willing to be plowed up and re-sown?  Are you willing to give yourself to him, ALL of you? 

What has been keeping you from giving your life fully to God and to others?  It is the same fear of losing control and the same fear if you admit you have nothing to bring, and that you can't fix yourself, then you have no other choice but to rely on Him for your security?  This scares you and causes you to cling to your religion.

But to the degree that you believe like this woman did, to the degree that you are willing to cast yourself upon Him in full trust, to the degree that you believe the gospel instead of religion, to that same degree you will begin to see yourself being formed into the image of Christ and you will want to give every area of your life to God, and pour yourself out for others. 

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