The only "rich" man who Christ said received salvation

[Godsunworthyservant]

In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of Zacchaeus, the only "rich" man who Christ ever said received salvation. In the KJV it reads;

1And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

So, why did Christ tell Zacchaeus "This day is salvation come to this house"? Christ famously said in Matthew 19:23 "That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." This was after his encounter with the rich young man. The young man had asked Christ "what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Christ first answered him "keep the commandments" and listed a few of the Old Testament commandments of God. When the rich young man told Christ "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" is when Christ replied; "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Of course we are told that the young man went away sorrowful because he had "great possessions" and was unwilling to give them up.

When Christ relayed the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in Luke 16:19-31 we read in verses 22-23 "22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments," So, why is it that Lazarus went to "Abraham's bosom" and the rich man went to hell. I've heard people say that the rich man went to hell because he didn't help poor Lazarus. First, nowhere in the story does it say that he never gave him anything. Secondly, it doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint. If he never gave him a handout, why was Lazarus still hanging out, begging at the rich mans gate. One would think if the rich man never gave him anything he would have found greener pastures. All we know from Christ's telling is that Lazarus was poor and went to heaven and the only thing we know about the rich man is he was rich and went to hell. So, without reading between the lines, we have only the fact that he was rich to explain why he was in hell.

So, what was different about Zacchaeus? I think it;s obvious. Zacchaeus told Christ that he had given half his goods to the poor and anyone who he had cheated, he repaid them fourfold. Zacchaeus had heard Christ's teachings and acted upon them by giving away his wealth to the poor and making restitution to those he had cheated. I find it interesting that he gave half to the poor before making restitution. That meant more for the poor since they got theirs off the top and still the restitution to those he had cheated was the same. At any rate, Zacchaeus was the only rich man to actually act on what Christ taught and thus Christ said he had received salvation. This leads one to conclude that the only way a rich man can receive Christ is to give away their riches to those less fortunate and the vast majority of rich people will never do that. Thus the admonition that a rich man can hardly ever get to heaven.

 

[Hoping2]

In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of Zacchaeus, the only "rich" man who Christ ever said received salvation. In the KJV it reads;

1And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

So, why did Christ tell Zacchaeus "This day is salvation come to this house"? Christ famously said in Matthew 19:23 "That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." This was after his encounter with the rich young man. The young man had asked Christ "what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Christ first answered him "keep the commandments" and listed a few of the Old Testament commandments of God. When the rich young man told Christ "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" is when Christ replied; "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Of course we are told that the young man went away sorrowful because he had "great possessions" and was unwilling to give them up.

When Christ relayed the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in Luke 16:19-31 we read in verses 22-23 "22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments," So, why is it that Lazarus went to "Abraham's bosom" and the rich man went to hell. I've heard people say that the rich man went to hell because he didn't help poor Lazarus. First, nowhere in the story does it say that he never gave him anything. Secondly, it doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint. If he never gave him a handout, why was Lazarus still hanging out, begging at the rich mans gate. One would think if the rich man never gave him anything he would have found greener pastures. All we know from Christ's telling is that Lazarus was poor and went to heaven and the only thing we know about the rich man is he was rich and went to hell. So, without reading between the lines, we have only the fact that he was rich to explain why he was in hell.

So, what was different about Zacchaeus? I think it;s obvious. Zacchaeus told Christ that he had given half his goods to the poor and anyone who he had cheated, he repaid them fourfold. Zacchaeus had heard Christ's teachings and acted upon them by giving away his wealth to the poor and making restitution to those he had cheated. I find it interesting that he gave half to the poor before making restitution. That meant more for the poor since they got theirs off the top and still the restitution to those he had cheated was the same. At any rate, Zacchaeus was the only rich man to actually act on what Christ taught and thus Christ said he had received salvation. This leads one to conclude that the only way a rich man can receive Christ is to give away their riches to those less fortunate and the vast majority of rich people will never do that. Thus the admonition that a rich man can hardly ever get to heaven.

I'ld be willing to bet that Jesus' friend Lazarus (Mary-Martha) was pretty well off too.

 

[St_Worm2]

See too Matthew 27:57-60 and John 19:38-39 (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus), Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin was referred to as a "rich man" (he gave Jesus a newly hewn tomb for His burial) AND, he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and Nicodemus, a leader of the Pharisees (the "teacher of Israel"), a member of the Sanhedrin, AND a secret disciple of Jesus, as well, brought about 100lbs of Myrrh and Aloes to embalm Jesus' body (he would have paid around $250,000 for it today).

I believe there are others.

--David

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

We are all guilty before God. The rich and poor needs the same grace.

 

[David Lamb]

I don't think he was the only rich person to be saved. Others have mentioned Joseph of Arimathea. There is also Lydia, who is described as a seller of purple. She would have been rich, as purple dye was extremely expensive, and the purple cloth she sold would have commanded very high prices.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

I'ld be willing to bet that Jesus' friend Lazarus (Mary-Martha) was pretty well off too.

There has been much speculation about the status of the family, mainly based on the fact that Mary was able to procure expensive perfume to anoint Christ. That said, there's no indication they were anything more than of average means and we don't know how generous they were with whatever they had, so I'll reserve judgement on that. Zacchaeus was the only one that we know for sure was rich and received salvation because he gave away the bulk of his wealth.

 

[Clare73]

In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of Zacchaeus, the only "rich" man who Christ ever said received salvation. In the KJV it reads;

1And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

So, why did Christ tell Zacchaeus "This day is salvation come to this house"? Christ famously said in Matthew 19:23 "That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." This was after his encounter with the rich young man. The young man had asked Christ "what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Christ first answered him "keep the commandments" and listed a few of the Old Testament commandments of God. When the rich young man told Christ "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" is when Christ replied; "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Of course we are told that the young man went away sorrowful because he had "great possessions" and was unwilling to give them up.

When Christ relayed the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in Luke 16:19-31 we read in verses 22-23 "22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments," So, why is it that Lazarus went to "Abraham's bosom" and the rich man went to hell. I've heard people say that the rich man went to hell because he didn't help poor Lazarus. First, nowhere in the story does it say that he never gave him anything. Secondly, it doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint. If he never gave him a handout, why was Lazarus still hanging out, begging at the rich mans gate. One would think if the rich man never gave him anything he would have found greener pastures. All we know from Christ's telling is that Lazarus was poor and went to heaven and the only thing we know about the rich man is he was rich and went to hell. So, without reading between the lines, we have only the fact that he was rich to explain why he was in hell.

So, what was different about Zacchaeus? I think it;s obvious. Zacchaeus told Christ that he had given half his goods to the poor and anyone who he had cheated, he repaid them fourfold. Zacchaeus had heard Christ's teachings and acted upon them by giving away his wealth to the poor and making restitution to those he had cheated.

I find it interesting that he gave half to the poor before making restitution. That meant more for the poor since they got theirs off the top and still the restitution to those he had cheated was the same. At any rate, Zacchaeus was the only rich man to actually act on what Christ taught and thus Christ said he had received salvation. This leads one to conclude that the only way a rich man can receive Christ is to give away their riches to those less fortunate and the vast majority of rich people will never do that. Thus the admonition that a rich man can hardly ever get to heaven.

It leads me to conclude that the only way a rich man can receive Christ is the same way a poor man can receive Christ, by loving and trusting Christ more than their possessions, whether they have enough to give away or not.

 

[Hoping2]

There has been much speculation about the status of the family, mainly based on the fact that Mary was able to procure expensive perfume to anoint Christ. That said, there's no indication they were anything more than of average means and we don't know how generous they were with whatever they had, so I'll reserve judgement on that. Zacchaeus was the only one that we know for sure was rich and received salvation because he gave away the bulk of his wealth.

Lazarus comes across as well to do.
He had a house, and he held feasts...something poor folks wouldn't have or be able to do.
I had never considered Mary's ointment scene as a clue to Lazarus' position.
I hope Zacchaeus held to his repentance unto his death.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

Lazarus comes across as well to do.
He had a house, and he held feasts...something poor folks wouldn't have or be able to do.
I had never considered Mary's ointment scene as a clue to Lazarus' position.
I hope Zacchaeus held to his repentance unto his death.

The thing with Lazarus is we really can't know for sure how much money he had or what he did with what he had. For all we know he could have been one who shared whatever earthly wealth he had with those in need.

 

[Mr. M]

Luke Nineteen:
1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus
who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

How does a chief tax collector get rich? By extortion and kickbacks from the other collectors and cheating citizens when the opportunity presented itself. To say that the people reviled the publicans and considered them "sinners" is to understate the comprehension of the matter. Publicans were Jews who cooperated with Rome to exact levies on the people. They were considered traitors.

3 And he sought to see who Jesus was,
but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him,
for He was going to pass that way.

Zacchaeus did not know who was passing by,
and was only attracted by the crowds.
He was not seeking Jesus.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him,
and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down,
for today I must stay at your house.”
6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.

The One whom everyone was gathering to see called him out by name!
His joy at this point is rooted in the pride of being singled out.

7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying,
“He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Oh how quickly his joy is threatened! The crowd who he thought
would envy him are publicly calling him out for who he is and does.

8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord,
“Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor;
and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation,
I restore fourfold.”

First of all, there was no IF, he was well aware of his criminality
and being exposed. He could have wilted away, instead he did what?

Gave away wealth that was not his in the first place?
No, He repented, and acted consistent with Torah reparations.
I did a thread on this before, I think two people read it. Reparations...
Don't hear about that too much.

Acts 26:
19 Therefore, King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20 but declared first to those in Damascus
and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent,
turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

Did Zach do this? You bet he did! Fascinating how so many Christians fail to see this necessity. "Don't wanna try to save myself" How about do what is right in the eyes of God according to His Word. Therefore, it is clear that Zach met the standard to hear:

9 And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house,
because he also is a son of Abraham;
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost.”

This was not about rich men giving away
money in order to be saved. Really???

This is about sinners declaring their
repentance in concrete and public terms,
and demonstrating that change of heart
by taking action.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

I don't think he was the only rich person to be saved. Others have mentioned Joseph of Arimathea. There is also Lydia, who is described as a seller of purple. She would have been rich, as purple dye was extremely expensive, and the purple cloth she sold would have commanded very high prices.

This is why in a subsequent post, I amended my wording to say "the only time the Gospels recorded". Of course there's the speculation about Joseph of Arimathea but the gospels don't record what he did with his wealth. He may very well have been a philanthropist. We just don't know. As for Lydia, Christ wasn't even around for her conversion and we know nothing of what she did with her money either.

 

[All Becomes New]

See too Matthew 27:57-60 and John 19:38-39 (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus), Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin was referred to as a "rich man" (he gave Jesus a newly hewn tomb for His burial) AND, he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and Nicodemus, a leader of the Pharisees (the "teacher of Israel"), a member of the Sanhedrin, AND a secret disciple of Jesus, as well, brought about 100lbs of Myrrh and Aloes to embalm Jesus' body (he would have paid around $250,000 for it today).

I believe there are others.

--David

I don't think he was the only rich person to be saved. Others have mentioned Joseph of Arimathea. There is also Lydia, who is described as a seller of purple. She would have been rich, as purple dye was extremely expensive, and the purple cloth she sold would have commanded very high prices.

This is why in a subsequent post, I amended my wording to say "the only time the Gospels recorded". Of course there's the speculation about Joseph of Arimathea but the gospels don't record what he did with his wealth. He may very well have been a philanthropist. We just don't know. As for Lydia, Christ wasn't even around for her conversion and we know nothing of what she did with her money either.

Abraham, duh.

Genesis 13:2
"Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold."

Matthew 22:32
"“I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”"

 

[Mr. M]

Joseph of Arimathea but the gospels don't record what he did with his wealth.

Jesus was buried in his personal sepulchre in Jerusalem, which would have been costly indeed.
He asked for his body at great risk to himself and saw to His burial.

The Secret Disciple​

John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
While Joseph kept his belief in Christ private out of fear, when the “fullness of time” came for him, he boldly stepped up and requested the Lord’s body. We could see this as an example of whom He foreknew, He also predestined. No mention of having to contend for the Lord’s body, as did the angel Michael with Satan for the body of Moses. When called upon, he served the Lord.
Luke 23:50-52 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
In Luke we find further that Joseph himself was a council member who abstained from condemning Christ. Arimathea corresponds to Ramah in Hebrew and was the birthplace of Samuel and referred to here as “a city of the Jews”. This suggests that residing to the north in the land of Ephraim, he may have been considered an “outsider” by the Jews of Judea and Jerusalem proper. When John states that he was a disciple secretly, “because of fear of the Jews”, it was literally a type of peer pressure. Even by not consenting to the council's decision and deed concerning Christ, he would have called attention to his loyalties.
Mark 15:42-44 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
We find in Mark an acknowledgment that Joseph was taking a considerable risk to appear before Pilate, stating that he “took courage”. Also, the early death of Christ came as a surprise to Pilate, and he first learns of his death at Joseph’s report.
Matthew 27:57-60 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
Finally in Matthew, we learn two important and startling facts. First, we see that Joseph was a rich man. Could he have been the rich young ruler who approached Jesus to inquire of the means to inherit eternal life?
Matthew 19:21 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.
Secondly, we find that Joseph had used that great wealth to procure a burial tomb for himself in a garden near Jerusalem. How luxurious! Little did he know at the time he was purchasing the tomb for his Savior. Isn’t that amazing! Christ buried in the place of His secret disciple. Selah As we meditate on these truths, I call to mind times in the past when I felt hopelessly locked away. Giving in to fretting, and asking, why aren’t you using me Lord? If you consider this with an honest and pure heart, you will quickly acknowledge that it is our carnal nature that craves attention and acknowledgment. Today there are many that cannot seem to get enough of the limelight and media attention(to their hurt), and wide public respect.
Could this be why the saints of the Lord are called His hidden ones?

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

How does a chief tax collector get rich? By extortion and kickbacks from the other collectors and cheating citizens when the opportunity presented itself. To say that the people reviled the publicans and considered them "sinners" is to understate the comprehension of the matter. Publicans were Jews who cooperated with Rome to exact levies on the people. They were considered traitors.

Yes, they were considered traitors. And yes many of them made their money through unscrupulous methods. I won't go so far as to say "all" of them did without evidence but at any rate we know Zacchaeus did as He returned to anyone he had cheated fourfold.

This was not about rich men giving away
money in order to be saved. Really???

I never said it was. He had obviously heard the message of Christ, repented and was following the teachings of Christ.

Zacchaeus did not know who was passing by,
and was only attracted by the crowds.
He was not seeking Jesus.

I disagree. In the KJV we read " 3And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." He had to have already heard of Jesus and even knew of his teachings. How else could have told Jesus that he was giving half his goods to the poor and repaying fourfold to anyone he had cheated. It doesn't say that Jesus told him this, or anything else for that matter. Zacchaeus simply volunteered this information. How could he have known that this was a teaching of Jesus if he wasn't familiar with His teachings?

No, He repented, and acted consistent with Torah reparations.

Actually he went beyond Torah or Mosaic Law reparations. First he followed the teachings of Christ, with which he must have been familiar by giving half off the top to the poor. Then he made 4 fold reparations.

This is about sinners declaring their
repentance in concrete and public terms,
and demonstrating that change of heart
by taking action.

Exactly!

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

Abraham, duh.

The post is about the only time recorded in the Gospels that Christ told a rich man he had received salvation. There were plenty of rich folks in the Old Testament. I'm speaking of Christ's teachings and actions. Christ amended and/or clarified some of the Old Testament Law, notably in the area of finances and money matters, as well as sexual sin.

 

[All Becomes New]

The post is about the only time recorded in the Gospels that Christ told a rich man he had received salvation. There were plenty of rich folks in the Old Testament. I'm speaking of Christ's teachings and actions. Christ amended and/or clarified some of the Old Testament Law, notably in the area of finances and money matters, as well as sexual sin.

What is the point of this thread? Are we looking at concepts or details? I have no idea!

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

Jesus was buried in his personal sepulchre in Jerusalem, which would have been costly indeed.
He asked for his body at great risk to himself and saw to His burial.

The Secret Disciple​

John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
While Joseph kept his belief in Christ private out of fear, when the “fullness of time” came for him, he boldly stepped up and requested the Lord’s body. We could see this as an example of whom He foreknew, He also predestined. No mention of having to contend for the Lord’s body, as did the angel Michael with Satan for the body of Moses. When called upon, he served the Lord.
Luke 23:50-52 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
In Luke we find further that Joseph himself was a council member who abstained from condemning Christ. Arimathea corresponds to Ramah in Hebrew and was the birthplace of Samuel and referred to here as “a city of the Jews”. This suggests that residing to the north in the land of Ephraim, he may have been considered an “outsider” by the Jews of Judea and Jerusalem proper. When John states that he was a disciple secretly, “because of fear of the Jews”, it was literally a type of peer pressure. Even by not consenting to the council's decision and deed concerning Christ, he would have called attention to his loyalties.
Mark 15:42-44 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
We find in Mark an acknowledgment that Joseph was taking a considerable risk to appear before Pilate, stating that he “took courage”. Also, the early death of Christ came as a surprise to Pilate, and he first learns of his death at Joseph’s report.
Matthew 27:57-60 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
Finally in Matthew, we learn two important and startling facts. First, we see that Joseph was a rich man. Could he have been the rich young ruler who approached Jesus to inquire of the means to inherit eternal life?
Matthew 19:21 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.
Secondly, we find that Joseph had used that great wealth to procure a burial tomb for himself in a garden near Jerusalem. How luxurious! Little did he know at the time he was purchasing the tomb for his Savior. Isn’t that amazing! Christ buried in the place of His secret disciple. Selah As we meditate on these truths, I call to mind times in the past when I felt hopelessly locked away. Giving in to fretting, and asking, why aren’t you using me Lord? If you consider this with an honest and pure heart, you will quickly acknowledge that it is our carnal nature that craves attention and acknowledgment. Today there are many that cannot seem to get enough of the limelight and media attention(to their hurt), and wide public respect.
Could this be why the saints of the Lord are called His hidden ones?

OK, we do know that Joseph gave his burial tomb to Christ. That was a incident where we know he used some of his earthly goods to the inurement of Christ. It's like when Mary anointed the Lord with perfume. It was a special circumstance. When Mary anointed Christ. The disciples, knowing what Christ had taught, asked about it. in Matthew 26:8-9 (KJV) we read; "8But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor". They knew that Christ had always taught that we shouldn't spend our money on expensive perfume or any worldly treasures but rather we should use it to help the poor. So, what was Christ's reply? In verses 10-12 we read; "10When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. 11For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. 12For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial." Did he say, forget the poor? No, he said the poor will be with us always but this was a special occasion where the thing she was doing for His burial. So, we don't know don't know what either did with any other money or worldly goods they may have had and besides that Christ never told either that they had received salvation that I can find.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

What is the point of this thread? Are we looking at concepts or details? I have no idea!

The thread is about the concept that Christ taught that a rich man shall hardly enter into heaven and the only rich man that the Gospels record He told had received salvation was one who first told Christ that he had given half his worldly goods to the poor and then repaid anyone he had cheated fourfold, thus demonstrating that he had repented and was taking action based on the faith and repentance.The reason for all the details is all the questions about the details. Many people want to dissect all the details instead of discussing the concept.

 

[Mr. M]

OK, we do know that Joseph gave his burial tomb to Christ.

Matthew 27:57-60 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

We also know he was a rich man, and a disciple. You seemed uncertain about that fact.

 

[All Becomes New]

The thread is about the concept that Christ taught that a rich man shall hardly enter into heaven and the only rich man that the Gospels record He told had received salvation was one who first told Christ that he had given half his worldly goods to the poor and then repaid anyone he had cheated fourfold, thus demonstrating that he had repented and was taking action based on the faith and repentance.The reason for all the details is all the questions about the details. Many people want to dissect all the details instead of discussing the concept.

The details are only used to forward your claim because your claim literally does not work unless you define it so narrowly. It's like asking, "How many people in the Bible got boils for their righteousness?" (Job) So, I feel your details are an excuse for not being fair with the data.