Mark 10:17-31
(A Bible Study Led by Dr.
Larry Reynolds)
October 4, 2012
Mark
10:17-22 – These verses contain one of best known stories in
Bible. I think it is so well known for
two reasons:
·
First, it appears in three of the four gospels...often
referred to as rich, young ruler...actually have borrowed from each of the
gospel accounts to come up with that name...all three say was rich but only
Matthew mentions was young and only Luke mentions was ruler...
·
Second, there is another reason so well known...not just
because appears three times but because easy for us to identify with...came
seeking secret of eternal life, something we're all interested in...tragically,
failed to find eternal life because made three critical mistakes...three
mistakes which we must avoid...
He failed to
grasp the true identity of Jesus
1. Notice in v.17 how the young man addressed
Jesus...referred to Him as "Good Teacher..."...no doubt
intended that as term of flattery...obviously Jesus was good...no-one could do
the kind of things He did --make lame walk, blind see, heal sick, feed hungry,
befriend the outcasts-- and be anything less than good...and obviously Jesus
was a teacher...no-one could reveal the kind of profound truths about God and
love and life and forgiveness and human relationships which Jesus revealed and
be anything less than "rabbi" - teacher...of course Jesus was good
and of course He was a teacher...
2. But Jesus' response to this greeting indicates
the man didn't really understand who Jesus was....when Jesus asked in v.18, "Why
do you call Me good? No one is good
except God alone." He was not saying that He was not good...nor
was He saying He was not God...instead, Jesus was pointing out how inadequate
this man's understanding of His identity was...
3. The young man had no clue as to whom he was
talking... did not realize he was in the presence of God incarnate, God in the
flesh...didn't know that he had directed his question about eternal life to the
Eternal One...and from the man's response to what Jesus told him to do, can
safely surmise that he never came to an understanding of who Jesus was...and
because never understood that Jesus was God, was never willing to give Him the
ultimate priority in his life...
1. Lesson for us in that so obvious hardly needs
be stated... heart of Christianity is, always has been, and always will be the
identity of Jesus Christ...if it is true that Jesus is Who claimed to be, if it
is true that He is "the way, the truth, and the life"
and if it is true that "...no-one comes to the Father but by
Him" then eternal life is found in Him and only in Him...
2. Because this young man failed to understand
who Jesus was, He failed to find eternal life...
He failed to
understand his true identity
1. Had absolutely no concept that he was a
sinner in need of salvation...instead, viewed himself as person who was
perfectly capable of doing whatever it took to deserve eternal life...word "inherit"
in v.17 carries idea of getting something you deserve by virtue of who you
are...in effect said, "I'm certainly capable of doing whatever it
takes. Just tell me what to do."
2. His basic life philosophy was that if just
did right things, lived right kind of life, then would deserve eternal
live...was religion of works which totally disregarded his sinful nature... had
no concept of salvation by grace...not unlike many people in our day, he viewed
salvation in terms of works...felt if did enough good things, could earn
eternal life...
3. At first, Jesus responded to man on his own
terms...if effect said, "Okay, if you want to do something to earn
eternal life, obey the law."...then listed part of the ten
commandments which deals with our relationship with people...not adultery/
steal/false witness/defraud/honor father and mother...suspect Jesus chose those
particular commands because played to this young man's strengths...he was good
with people...knew how relate to and treat others...
4. So young man responded by saying, "Teacher,
I have kept all these things from my youth up."...other words
said, "Been there; done that."...but wasn't enough...whether
or not had really kept all those commandments not the point...know from his
response at end of this event was breaking first and most important commandment
about having no other gods before the true God because he couldn't part from
his possessions...but at this point, he really thought he was keeping all the
commandments...but he knew in his heart that it wasn't enough for eternal
life...
1. Way always is with religion of works...if
depending on your good works to get you to heaven, can never be absolutely
certain you've done enough good things to get there...and the alternative to
religion of works is religion of grace...
2. In contrast to depending on what we've done
or will do to gain salvation, grace calls us to depend on what God has done for
us in Christ for our salvation...at first glance may seem religion of grace not
as demanding as religion of works...but actually it is more demanding...that is
because salvation by grace through faith demands that we humble ourselves
before God, admit our inadequacies and failures, put aside our pride and spirit
of self-sufficiency, and accept from God the free, unmerited gift of eternal
life...
3. And that is precisely what this successful,
proud, self-sufficient young man was incapable of doing...because of that he
missed eternal life...
He failed to do what Jesus said to do
1. Look at v.21 for moment...significant phrase
there...Mark says "And looking at him, Jesus felt love for
him..."...and because Jesus loved him, He told the man the
truth...said, "You love things more than God...allowing possessions to
possess you... you can never have eternal life until I am more important to you
than your possessions..."
2. Not saying that prerequisite for becoming a
Christian is selling all you have, giving the money away, and living in
poverty...in Scripture many people became Christians without doing that...is
saying that can't become follower of Christ if anything in our lives
--possessions, position, power, people, prestige, or whatever-- is more
important to us than relationship with Christ...He demands nothing less than
the absolute priority of our hearts...
3. Jesus called for this man, as He calls for us,
to give Him first place in his life...the man refused to do it and because of
that refusal, he missed eternal life...
Verse 22 is one of saddest statements in Bible..."But
at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned
much property."...the phrase about the man's face falling is
particularly interesting...the word Mark uses is used elsewhere in Scripture to
describe the sky becoming overcast and a storm developing...his expression
changed from one of hopeful anticipation to great sadness...he's the only man
in the Bible of which it is said that he went away sad from the presence of
Jesus...he came in with great confidence and optimism but he went away broken
and sad...
Mark 10:23-29 – I can imagine eyes
of Jesus and disciples of Jesus following this dejected young man as he sadly
walked away...after he had disappeared from sight, Jesus turned His attention
to His disciples and drove home some very important lessons about
possessions...
When you read this passage may be tempted to think, "Well
that's one part of the Scripture which certainly doesn't apply to me. I'm certainly not wealthy!"...but if
you think that way, I would beg to differ with you for two reason...
·
First, every one of us in this room is wealthy in comparison
to most people in our world...we have enough food to eat...plenty of clothes to
wear...adequate shelter from the elements...and most of us have much more...and
what Jesus says in this paragraph most certainly can be applied and should be
applied to people like us...
·
Second, don't have to have a lot of things to be
controlled by a materialistic mindset...the desire for possessions we don't
have can be just as enslaving as having possessions which control us...
In this passage Jesus teaches some very surprising things
about possessions...
An abundance
of possessions is not necessarily a blessing
1. When you look closely at what Jesus says in
this passage and other passages about possessions, have to conclude that Jesus
taught wealth/having possessions is a handicap...how strange that sounds to
us...all of our lives we're taught that success, self-worth, value is measured
by how much you accumulate...the more you have the more powerful, influential,
prestigious you are...we describe the rich as being over-privileged...but Jesus
took just the opposite approach...He said those who have possessions are the
under-privileged!
2. While Jesus never condemned wealth, He did
say that it is harder for the wealthy to be sensitive to will of God and needs
of others...says that twice in this passage...listen carefully to His words...
·
v.23 - "How hard it will be for those who are
wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"
·
Then, to reinforce that said in v.25 - "It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
That second statement is
particularly interesting...while a few commentators have suggested there was a
gate in the city wall called "eye of the needle" and that
Jesus was speaking literally about camel struggling get through that gate, most
commentators [and I agree] see that saying as a proverb describing something
that was very difficult...while Jesus not saying it is impossible for person
with possessions be saved [in v. 27 points out that "all things are
possible with God"], does say that it is very difficult...
3. Why is that so?...why is it hard for those
who have possessions to be right with God?...because is very easy for us to
allow the things we possess or desire to possess to end up possessing
us...instead of controlling them, they control us...we fret over them...worry
over them...elevate them to place of God in our lives...and in the process we
lose sight of the fact that possession are temporary and they will never meet
deepest needs of our lives...
Possessions
are not necessarily a sign of God's approval
1. The disciples were shocked that Jesus would
even suggest something so seemingly absurd as wealth/possessions being a
handicap...Mark tells us in v.24 that the disciples "were
amazed" at Jesus statement about the difficulty of those having
possessions entering the kingdom of God...then he tells us in v.26 that "they
were even more astonished" at Jesus' statement about the eye of a
needle...
2. Why?...why were they so shocked at what Jesus
said about possessions?...because they had bought into an ancient heresy which
has afflicted people from the earliest days of humanity...and that heresy is
that material prosperity is a sign of God's blessings on a person's life...the
more a person has, the more that person must be loved, accepted, approved by
God...to their way of thinking, it was inconceivable that possessions,
especially an abundance of possessions, could be a barrier to participation in
God's kingdom...
3. There's a lesson here Christians who live in
the materialistic culture of our day must not miss...just because you may have
accumulated a sizable amount of possessions does not necessarily mean that God
is placing His stamp of approval on your life...and conversely, just because
you may have meager possessions does not mean God is judging or punishing
you...
We are never poorer when we put Christ ahead of
possessions
1. In v.28 Peter makes rather self-serving, but
true, statement... he immediately saw difference between rich young ruler who
chose possessions over following Jesus and the disciples who had left their
homes and businesses behind to follow Him... said, "...we have left
everything and followed You."
2. And in response Jesus said, in effect, "Yes
you have and I want you to know there is a reward for you in doing that."
...want you look carefully at Jesus' statement in vv.29-31 because very
important that we not misinterpret what Jesus is saying here...want you see
several significant things about this statement...
·
First, notice the motive in v.29..."...for My
sake and for the gospel's sake..."...we don't subject our
possessions to Christ for the purpose of getting more...R.J. LeTourneau, the
well known Christian industrialist, used to say, "If you give
because it pays, it won't pay."...if we put Christ ahead of
possessions just to get a reward, the reward will never come...
·
Second, notice the reward Jesus promised in v.30... "...houses
and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms..."...these
were the very things the disciples had left to follow Jesus...Jesus was saying,
whatever you lost you gain many times over...as one writer put it, "One
house gone; but a hundred doors are open!
One brother in the flesh lost; but a thousand brothers in the spirit,
whose love is deeper and whose kinship is profounder." [Hughes,
p.66]...saying no-one who commits his/her all to Jesus is ever the poorer in
those things in this life or the life to come which really matter...
·
Third, notice the phrase "along with
persecutions" at end of v.30...just a reminder that committing
one's life to Christ is no guarantee of life of ease in this world...as matter
of fact, in some ways makes life more difficult and demanding...but it's worth
it, Jesus says, because it is the way to eternal life...
Want conclude by telling you about two people---
--one is Nathan
Rothschild...member of one of wealthiest families in Europe...on his deathbed
made this statement, "Poor, unhappy me! A victim of nervousness and fancied
terrors. And all because of my
money."
--the other is young girl who
lived in Korean orphanage...had nothing in way of material
possessions...someone gave her a Bible...in Bible she underlined a single verse
which was her favorite...it said, "As sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing
everything." [Brian's Lines, Sept/Oct 1994, pp.8-9]
One lived in midst of great wealth, but was really
poor...the other lived in midst of great poverty, but was really wealthy...
