Shabbat Notes 8-22-2026

What Do You Lack?

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Matthew 19:16-26 NKJV  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  (17)  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  (18)  He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,' 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,' 'YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,' 'YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,'  (19)  'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER,' and, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "  (20)  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"  (21)  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  (22)  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  (23)  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  (24)  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  (25)  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  (26)  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  

 

Leviticus 18:1-5 NIV  The LORD said to Moses,  (2)  "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God.  (3)  You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.  (4)  You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God.  (5)  Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

 

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 NIV  Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.  (2)  Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

 

Romans 10:1-13 NKJV  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.  (2)  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  (3)  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  (4)  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  (5)  For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "THE MAN WHO DOES THOSE THINGS SHALL LIVE BY THEM."  (6)  But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above)  (7)  or, " 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  (8)  But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  (9)  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (11)  For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES ON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME."  (12)  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.  (13)  For "WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED."

 

Galatians 3:10-14 NIV  For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."  (11)  Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because "the righteous will live by faith."  (12)  The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, "The person who does these things will live by them."  (13)  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole."  (14)  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

 

Acts 2:41-47 NIV  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.  (42)  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  (43)  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  (44)  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  (45)  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  (46)  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  (47)  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  (7)  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  (8)  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  (9)  Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  (10)  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

 

Romans 4:18-25 NIV  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  (19)  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead.  (20)  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,  (21)  being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  (22)  This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."  (23)  The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone,  (24)  but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  (25)  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 

B. Jesus teaches on riches and following Him.

1. (16-17) A man asks Jesus about gaining eternal life.

Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

a. What good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life: This question demonstrates that this man, like all people by nature, had an orientation towards earning eternal life. He wanted to know what good work or noble deed he could do to inherit eternal life.

i. All three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell us this man was rich. Matthew tells us he was young (Matthew 19:22), and Luke tells us he was a ruler.

b. Why do you call Me good? In this, Jesus did not deny His own goodness. Instead, He asked the man, “Do you understand what you are saying when you call Me good?”

i. It was as if Jesus said, “You come to Me asking about what good thing you can do to inherit eternal life. But what do you really know about goodness?” “The argument is clear: either Jesus was good, or he ought not to have called him good; but as there is none good but God, Jesus who is good must be God.” (Spurgeon)

c. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments: Jesus’ answer to the man’s question was straightforward. If you want to gain eternal life by your doing, you must keep the commandments – all of them, and keep them in the fullest sense.

2. (18-20) Jesus tests him by the aspects of the Mosaic Law that deal with man’s relationship to men.

He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

c. What do I still lack? This alone tells us that this man had not perfectly kept the law, because he still knew that there was something missing in his life, prompting the question, “What do I still lack?” There was still something lacking in his life, reflecting something missing in his relationship with God.

3. (21-22) Jesus tests him by the aspects of the Mosaic Law which deal with man’s relationship to God.

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

i. We may make two mistakes here. The one is to believe this applies to everyone, when Jesus never made this a general command to all who would follow Him, but especially to this one rich man whose riches were clearly an obstacle to his discipleship. Instead, many rich people can do more good in the world by continuing to make money and using those resources for the glory of God and the good of others. The second mistake is to believe this applies to no one, when there are clearly those today for whom the best thing they could do for themselves spiritually is to radically forsake the materialism that is ruining them.

ii. Yet we notice that Jesus simply called this man to be His disciple, in saying, “Follow Me.” He used similar language in calling many of His disciples (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; Mark 2:14). Jesus simply called this man to be His follower; but for this man it meant leaving behind the riches he had set his heart upon.

ii. The principle remains: God may challenge and require an individual to give something up for the sake of His kingdom that He still allows to someone else. There are many who perish because they will not forsake what God tells them to.

4. (23-26) Riches as an obstacle to the kingdom.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

b. It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven: Riches are a problem because they tend to make us satisfied with this life, instead of longing for the age to come. As well, sometimes riches are sought at the expense of seeking God.

c. They were exceedingly amazed: The great amazement of the disciples was based on the assumption that riches were always a sign of God’s blessing and favor.

d. With God all things are possible: It is possible for the rich man to be saved. God’s grace is enough to save the rich man; we have the examples of people like Zaccheus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Barnabas. These all were rich men still able to put God first, not their riches.

i. “Jesus is not saying that all poor people and none of the wealthy enter the kingdom of heaven. That would exclude Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to say nothing of David, Solomon, and Joseph of Arimathea.”