RICH MEN – PART 2
1) Last week we examined the lives of three well known men who were wealthy.
2) Tonight we look at three more wealthy men who are not quite as famous.
3) Our three remaining men are Joseph of Arimathaea, Hezekiah, and Zacchaeus.
4) We will look at these men in the order just given.
5) Joseph of Arimathaea is found in each of the four gospels.
6) We must study each account to get a complete picture of him.
7) Our study begins with Mark, the 15th chapter.
8) In verse 43 we are told how this Joseph was “looking for the kingdom.”
9) Knowing this fact suggests a strong interest in spiritual matters.
10) Joseph may have had a lot of money, but he still saw a need for God and spirituality.
11) Not only was He interested in spiritual matters, He was willing to do some work.
12) Mark tells us how this man actually went to Pilate and asked for the Lord’s body.
13) Mark says he went with “boldness” to see Pilate.
14) Certainly this act contains an element of risk.
15) A rich man was willing to risk his well being for the cause of the Lord.
16) All these details are interesting, but they do not tell us how much money Joseph had.
17)
That information is suggested in the first part of the
verse – READ verse 43.
a)
Joseph was a “councilor
of honorable estate.”
b)
Mark is saying
Joseph was part of the Sanhedrin, a body of about 70 men.
c)
People who
hold a highly visible public job are usually wealthy.
d)
Our Senators,
Judges, Congress People, etc. are hardly ever poor.
e)
When financial
information concerning these kinds of people are released,
f)
The statement
reads something like this:
g)
“Assets
ranging between 2-million and ten million dollars.”
18)
Joseph was
from this same kind of background and he had wealth.
19)
Mark implies
this but Matthew says it outright in Mt. 27.
20)
Matthew tells
us other things about Joseph in the 27th chapter of his gospel.
21)
Mt. 27:60
records how Jesus’ body was laid in a “new tomb.”
22)
Like now,
someone had to buy that grave; plots were not given away for free.
23)
Matthew says
the grave where the Lord’s body was laid belonged to Joseph.
24)
Matthew also
tells us that Joseph had a lot of money – verse 57 – READ.
25)
Based upon two
accounts, we have a rich man interested in spiritual things.
26)
Matthew also
tells us Joseph was a “disciple.”
27)
Joseph was so
interested, as the old saying goes, to “get his hands dirty.”
28)
All this information
suggests he was a good and a righteous man.
29)
Perhaps this
is why Luke uses this exact description of him in Lk. 23:50.
30)
Luke reminds
his readers how Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin.
31)
He says (verse
51) Joseph did not “consent” to crucifying the Lord.
32)
He was in a
different category – READ
verse 50.
33)
John’s says a
little about this same man in Jn. 19:38.
34)
We may not
always view rich people as being very religious.
35)
After all,
with all the money they have, don’t they rely upon servants and paid help?
36)
In the Bible
we have a rich man who was wiling to get his hands dirty.
37)
He was also a
committed disciple of Christ who was willing to take a risk.
38)
If we are, or
if we become, quite wealthy, Joseph is a model for us.
39)
Instead of
letting wealth interfere with his service to God, it must be used to promote
it!
40)
The more we
have, the more we can and must do.
A SECOND RICH PERSON IS FOUND IN A KING
WHOSE NAME WAS HEZEKIAH.
a)
Kings, like
politicians, are generally wealthy.
b)
Hezekiah lived
about 700 years before Joseph of Arimathaea.
c)
He came into
power at the age of 25, and the southern kingdom was not flourishing.
2)
Pagan worship
was a big problem in Israel.
3)
Hezekiah began
to close down many of the pagan shrines, 2 Kgs. 21:3.
4)
Hezekiah was a
good king, and he was also a good manager.
a)
In this fact
we find an important principle in and from his life.
b)
People who
have money often possess it because they are good managers.
c)
Jesus spoke of
people entrusted with earthly wealth and explained how they managed it.
d)
Poor
management can occur in many ways.
e)
People may
spend every dime that comes into their possession.
f)
Others want to
take $5.00 and turn it into $500.00 overnight.
g)
It would be
nice if life worked that way, but it almost never does.
h)
People with
wealth, or people who achieve wealth, usually mange it well.
5) Being
a good manager also means being willing to spend money when it needs to be
spent.
6)
From time to
time someone says, “You must spend money to make money.”
7)
There is some
truth in those words.
8)
Sometimes
money must also be spent to preserve what we have.
9)
One of the
places we read about Hezekiah’s good management is 2 Chron. 32.
a)
At this time
Assyria was a major world power.
Sennacherib was the king.
b)
Sennacherib
came to the area of Judah and started to look at cities he wanted to claim.
c)
On his real
estate list was the city of Jerusalem.
d)
Sennacherib
was prepared to make war with and take over the capital city.
e)
Verses 2-6 of
2 Chron. 32 – READ.
10)
Hezekiah was a
man whose initial wealth appears to have been limited.
11)
What he did
possess was in danger of being removed.
12)
Yet, this king
lived in a way that was right and things changed—for the better.
13)
Verses 22-23 – READ.
a)
There are
times when God provides wealth to people.
b)
Sometimes
those who start out with a little end up being over a lot.
c)
It has
happened in the past and continues to happen today.
14)
With this kind
of experience can come a problem.
15)
A person can
begin to so enjoy wealth this world becomes a bit too comfortable.
a)
Hezekiah, as
this chapter later says, got sick—he was deathly sick.
b)
He recovered,
but there were problems from his continued years.
c)
Hezekiah made
a choice that led to the Babylonians eventually overtaking Judah.
d)
Hezekiah had
been prospered, but as time passed, there were negative consequences.
e)
Today is still
possible for people to be blinded by money.
16)
I recently
spoke with a Christian from this area but not from Elkhart county.
17)
He described a
company he has been working for the last few years.
18)
This company
started small but grew very, very quickly.
19)
With the
growth came a lot of money.
20)
This man said
to me, “The company owners became drunk with the money.”
a)
The Christian
didn’t mean they were out buying liquor.
b)
He meant money
had blinded them; the owners had lost their focus.
c)
Not all
wealthy people have had a life which was good to them or others.
d)
This is also a
critical lesson for us.
21)
Zaccaheus is
the last wealthy character we wish to study.
a)
Luke and only
Luke tells us about him.
b)
Zaccaheus was
a tax collector.
c)
Some of us may
have watched the Presidential parade a few days ago.
d)
Those who
didn’t have a ticket likely had to see it on t.v.
e)
Zacchaeus
didn’t have a ticket problem; he was too short to see the Lord.
f)
Because he
wasn’t tall enough, he climbed into a tree.
22)
We surely
remember how Jesus called to this man and even ate at his house.
23)
Reading this
account tell us Jesus is interested in the rich.
24)
He does not
disdain wealthy people.
25)
Other people,
however, disdain in the rich. In the
crowd with Zaachaeus were others.
26)
Listen to Lk.
19:7 – READ.
a)
Virtually all
of us have heard often repeated complaints about the rich.
b)
They get all
the breaks. The rich get richer, the
poor get poorer.
c)
All tax breaks
are for the wealthy.
d)
The rich don’t
have to work; they have it all.
27)
All kinds of
things are said about the rich.
28)
What is said
is consistent with Lk. 19 – rich people are not always liked.
29)
When Jesus saw
the rich, He saw something we do not always see.
30)
Lk. 19:10 – READ.
31)
In view of the
context, who are the “lost”?
32)
In this
specific instance, it was a rich person.
a)
When viewing
the rich we often focus on what they have.
b)
It is their
yacht, the fleet of cars they have, multiple million dollar homes, etc.
c)
God has a
different view.
d)
Heaven tells
us God sees what the rich do “not” have.
33)
Wealth can
never buy salvation.
34)
Zacchaeus gave
away some money, but it was in response to God’s free gift.
35)
The story of
this little man reveals yet another important point to us.
a)
Money is not
the best way to gain friends.
b)
Oh, sure, some
will come if we are handing out the cash and goodies.
c)
Those who are
not getting anything from us may actually hate us.
d)
Have a lot of
money can sometimes mean a very lonely life.
36)
6 men from the
Old Testament and New Testament testaments are pictured as being rich.
37)
They are
separated by a couple thousand years but their experiences are still relevant
today.
38)
One of the
most striking verses for me in the Bible is Prov. 30:9.
39)
The writer
said, “don’t give me too much” or else I might forget God.
40)
Don’t give me
too little lest I steal and profane God’s name.
41)
We must have
the right attitude towards wealth, and that comes by being a Christian.