Proper 23B (Pentecost 20) Rev. Darrell Debowey Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, IL October 14, 2012 Mark 10:17-22: 17 And as [Jesus] was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, 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. Just What Is Treasure In Heaven? THE TEXT: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The text for today s message is our Gospel reading from Mark, the 10th chapter. INTRODUCTION: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said (Matt. 6:19-21): Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And in today s Gospel reading, Mark writes, 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. Today, I would like you to contemplate this question with me Page 1
JUST WHAT IS TREASURE IN HEAVEN? I. The kingdom of heaven is the greatest treasure. In our Gospel reading from Mark, a rich man comes to Jesus with an important question: Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus response may seem odd, but like a skilled surgeon, He works quickly to get to the root of the rich man s problem. Why do you call me good? Jesus asks. 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. To someone trained by the Pharisees, the only good thing on earth was the Law. And thus, those who kept the Law were themselves good. However, Jesus knows that the purpose of the Law is not to make you good, but to show you that you cannot be good in God s sight. The purpose of the Law is to show us that we are sinners who need a Savior. So, Jesus uses the Second Table of the Law Commandments 4 through 10 to show the rich man his true condition, that he needs more than the Law to inherit eternal life. Yet, the rich man firmly believes he has kept God s Commandments from his youth. Obviously, he believes he hasn t murdered or committed adultery; that he has never stolen or lied about someone; that he hasn t defrauded anyone (another way of saying, You shall not covet ), and that he has honored his parents. So, certainly the rich man must think that he is good before God. Yet, he knows he s missing something, otherwise he wouldn t come to Jesus with the question, What must I do to inherit eternal life? The Law is doing its job, but he doesn t realize it. Jesus loves him and wants to open his eyes and show him what he s lacking. 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. Page 2
With the simple request, Jesus effectively uses the Law to reveal where the rich man has put his heart in his possessions. Jesus wasn t showing the rich man how he could inherit eternal life He was using this request to diagnosis of what was wrong. Jesus showed the rich man that what he treasured more than other people more that Jesus was his earthly possessions. The Law has fulfilled the purpose for which God has given it to show the man that he is a sinner through his lack of love and trust love for his neighbor and trust in God alone. But there is a sad ending here: instead of repenting and asking for mercy, the rich man goes away disheartened and very sad. He would rather be rich in earthly treasures that rot and rust, and poor in heavenly ones that endure for eternity. If the rich man would have repented and turned to Christ Jesus for mercy, he wouldn t have gone away sad, for he would have discovered what he lacked the greatest treasure of all the kingdom of God. The answer to the question, What is treasure in heaven? is a three-fold answer. The account of the rich man shows us that Jesus is the greatest heavenly treasure, for He is the kingdom of God. But believers are also treasure in heaven it is through Jesus that you discover how much God values you, you are heavenly treasure to God. And finally, the account of the rich man also shows us that heavenly treasure is anyone in need, for to be in need is to be truly Christ-like. II. Jesus is the rich man who gave up everything for you. The rich man was unwilling to give up his earthly belongings to help the poor, for these were the things that he treasured more than God and more than his neighbor his possessions came between him and following Christ. Now, for the rich man it was his possessions, but for all Page 3
of us there is something we treasure more than God, more than Jesus, and unless we give it up, we can t fully follow Christ. It might be family or friends, hobbies or occupations; it might be our desire for leisure time or entertainment, it might be working on the house, or sleeping in on Sunday. In every sinner s life, there is something that comes between him or her and following Christ fully. The Law shows us what we lack it shows us that though we might think we are rich, we are poor, miserable sinners. Which is why we need Jesus. You see, Jesus is the rich man who gave up everything. He gave up the glory and splendor of heaven He gave up the throne of God to become not just a man, but a man born in poverty, destined to suffer and die a shameful death on the cross for you. He did this to repay your debt of sin. He won for you the forgiveness of sins and opened for you the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the treasure the rich man lacked, for Jesus would have made him rich in the forgiveness of sins. If the rich man had treasured Jesus through faith, his heart no longer would have been set on his possessions. He would have been free, free to love others as God in Christ Jesus loved him. III. God treasures you. Which brings me to the second answer to the question, What is treasure in heaven? Believers in Christ are also treasure in heaven. The very life, death and resurrection of Christ shows how much God treasures you For God so loved the world even before you came to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. God treasured you with a love that moved Him to give His only-begotten Son into death for you. Thus, the Scriptures are filled with messages of how much God treasures you, His Church: Page 4
St. Peter writes (1Pet. 2:9), But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God s] own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And St. Paul writes in Ephesians (5:25-27, 29-30): Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. And in Colossians, Paul writes (Col. 1:21-22): And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him And the Book of Revelation shows how our risen and ascended Lord continues to battle for His Church, the people that He considers His treasure prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. IV. Your neighbor in need is also your treasure. And knowing how much God treasures you in Christ takes us to the third part of the answer to the question, What is treasure in heaven? Because Christ is in you as your heavenly treasure and because you know He cares for and treasures you, you now have the eyes of Christ to see your neighbor especially your neighbor in need as heavenly treasure. Remember what Jesus said to those at His right hand in His description of Judgment Day in Matthew chapter 25 (37-40)? Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger Page 5
and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. The rich man was reluctant to part with his possessions and help the poor because his heart rested in his earthly treasures. But there was another rich man whose heart was touched by Jesus. His name was Zacchaeus. You might remember him as the short but rich tax collector, who climbed a tree so he could see Jesus. Jesus went to his house to eat that day, and that day, the heart of Zacchaeus changed. Upon discovering the true treasure that is Jesus, Zacchaeus promised to give half of his belongings to the poor, and if he had defrauded anyone, he promised to restore what he had taken fourfold. Knowing that Christ treasured him, a sinner, and then believing in Christ as his heavenly treasure, changed Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who treasured his wealth and privilege, but after his heart rested on true heavenly treasure, he became a man who treasured his neighbor. CONCLUSION: In baptism and faith, God has brought you into His kingdom you are rich beyond even your own understanding. You know the treasure that is Christ Jesus and you know that God treasures you. In the riches of God s heavenly blessings, He has blessed you with more than you need, so that your heart may be set not only Christ, the true heavenly treasure, but also on your neighbor. As God has treasured you in Christ, may you always see the treasure that is Christ in you and the treasure that is Christ in your neighbor. In Jesus Name. Amen. Page 6