Introduction In Mark 10 we have seen a request for an interpretation about marriage, divorce and remarriage (vv.1-12). We witnessed a request for a benediction or blessing for children (vv.13-16). Now Mark relates another request, this time for information about eternal life (vv.17-22). Later another request will be made by an ambitious mother for thrones for her two sons (vv.32-45); and finally a request for illumination as a blind beggar seeks Jesus for sight and light (vv.46-52). The episode is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Matthew s Gospel the person who approaches Jesus is described as having great possessions (Matt.19:22) and includes the comment Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt.19:23). In Luke s Gospel the man is described as certain ruler (Luke 18:18). The New Testament paints a picture of someone who is rich, powerful, enthusiastic, humble, moral, and loved by Jesus! Sometimes people will ask me about the missing link. They are speaking of course of the missing link--in evolution. But the Bible does have something to say about a missing link; here in this passage. One thing you lack (v.21). The Christian Post Reporter Stephanie Samuel in a column dated December 17th (2010) wrote; The majority of Protestants and evangelicals believe that good people and people of other religions can go to heaven. The reporter cites author David Campbell s book American Grace, How Religion Divides and Unites Us--in a survey of 3000 Americans--that Americans though devout are very tolerant. Among those survey most believed that good people, despite their religious affiliation, can go to heaven. 83% of evangelical Protestants agreed that good people of other religions can go to heaven. 90% of black Protestants agreed that good people of other religions can go to heaven--when prodded further--more than half--54% of evangelical Protestants said yes, people of religions other than Christianity can to to heaven. 62% of black Protestants agreed with the statement! But is that true? The Most Important Question (v.17) Mark 10:17 22 (NKJV) 17Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Note three things: (1) the young man s enthusiasm--he comes running. It was undignified for a Jewish man to run in public. (2) the young man s humility--he kneels before Jesus. It is quite possible the young man had only kneeled a few times in his life--perhaps before the king or 1
before the High Priest. He was wealthy and perhaps employed many people. This man is used to being admired, respected and honored. Now he kneels before a Rabbi--known and hated by the religious leaders--a man marked for death by the religious establishment. (3) the young man s request-- Good Teacher or master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? It doesn t get any better than this for an evangelist. Finally someone who can help support the ministry! Do I begin with the four spiritual laws? God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life? Humans are sinful and separated from God; and therefore cannot know and experience God s plan for themselves. Jesus is the only provision for humanity s sin; we must individually receive Jesus as Lord and Savior--or do I go with the Navigators bridge to life--and say the Bible teaches that God loves all humans and wants them to know him; but that God and humans are separated by sin and this separation leads to death and judgment; but there is a solution--jesus died on the cross for our sins--he is the bridge between God and man; those who personally trust Jesus and receive Jesus can experience forgiveness and cross that bridge. Or to opt for Steps to Peace with God (BGA)--God s plan peace and life; (step two) humanity s problem sin and separation (step three remedy--the cross) step four receive Christ. Or the Romans road human need (Rom.3:23) sin s penalty (Rom. 6:23); God s provision (Rom.5:8); the person s response (Rom.10:9). All of these methods are good and have been used by God to bring thousands into the Kingdom of God. But Jesus is not interested in a false conversion. The difference between catching men and catching fish: you catch fish that are alive and they die, but you catch men that are dead and they are brought to life. Note carefully the man s words; what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? What indeed must a person do? Jesus was once asked what must I do to work the works of God (John 6:28) and he answered; This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent (John 6:29). The rich young ruler has everything money can buy! He already has wealth, power, position, prestige, admiration, a secure future. I suspect every one in the crowd and perhaps at least one of the disciples of Jesus would have gladly traded places with the young man in a heart-beat. We might add one more thing to the young man s resume--his respect for Jesus. He calls Jesus good teacher. The expression implies a certain moral righteousness and evident integrity. An observant Jew would not typically address a Rabbi with the adjective good. Jesus does not refuse the title but uses the man s inquiry as a test of his faith. Will the term of respect become a point of recognition? 2
What If I Am A Good Person? (v.18) 18So Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Most modern evangelists would criticize Jesus evangelizing technique. Why doesn t Jesus answer the young man s question? Why doesn t Jesus say--believe in Me? Say the sinner s prayer and get it over? But Jesus uses the term of respect to prompt a time of reflection. Why do you call Me good? Do you understand who I am? Do you understand the meaning of the word good? Do you remember what Jesus said to His own disciples in John 14:6-7; I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father except by Me. If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from henceforth you know Him, and have seen Him (John 14:6-7). Does Jesus make the claim that only God is good? Clearly that is true. Is Jesus good? The Bible s repeated testimony is the moral perfection of Jesus. Is Jesus God? Was this rich young ruler ready to confess that Jesus is God? Jesus with a single word destroys all hopes of personal goodness as the basis of salvation since no one is good except God. We might put it another way. If goodness is the basis of acceptance by God; how good do you have to be? Martin Luther was right; A man cannot do good before he is made good. C.H. Spurgeon wrote; You will as surely be lost if you trust to your good works, as if you had trusted your sins. What If I Am Respectable? (vv.19-20) 19You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother. Jesus points the young man to the Law. The law in part was given to awaken us to the fact that we are law breakers. The law produces in us the awareness and conviction that we are sinners. This young man was still laboring under the delusion that he could inherit the kingdom on some principle of doing--something he could do to inherit eternal life. The law tells us what to do. Now Jesus quotes five of the ten commandments. The commandments he quotes deals with how we are to conduct ourselves among ourselves. In a sense these commandments comprise and expand the command to love your neighbor as yourself. 3
But does the young man really love his neighbor as himself? In a moment Jesus will call upon the young man--to prove his claim. 20And he answered and said to Him, Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth. How many people have been saved by observing the Law? In Galatians 3:11 Paul writes; But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. (12) Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall lie by them. And in verse 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. How should we think about the young s man s response? Is he telling the truth? Does he at least think he is telling the truth? Is it possible that for the most part he was a good and decent and faithful guy? The man s response is clear, concise, commendable. He led an extraordinary life. There is no hint of conceit or pride in his response. His statement seems to be a matter of fact; to the best of his ability he had in fact honored and obeyed the commandments. What If I Am Loved By Jesus? (v.21) Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him... I am struck by the passage. I don t think this means that Jesus loved the man--in the broad-- generic theological--sense--that God so loved the world--and Jesus loves everybody. Peter seems to remember and Mark seems to write--this special insight--jesus looking at him, loved him. What If I Decide To Keep Something For Myself? (vv.21-22) 21Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. The young man is enthusiastic, humble, honorable, a solid citizen, a respectable Jew, and lovable! Put yourself in that man s place. Imagine you are before Jesus. He invites you on the greatest adventure ever offered! One thing you lack. There s something missing. What The Young Ruler Would Not Do Jesus tells the ruler to do five things; associated with the five following words; (1) Sell (2) Give (3) Come (4) Take (5) Follow; 4
Sell (not sow into my ministry); Give to the Poor (not the guy with 2 Jets five homes; and a multimillion dollar prayer tower); Come to Jesus--come to Christ--not religion--not a denomination--not even to Church. Take up your cross--the instrument of death--people who take up their cross have no future. Follow Jesus. What in the world does that mean? In John 12:26 Jesus says Follow Me after we believe in Him! We follow willingly as sheep (John 10:27); wholly as servants (John 12:26); patiently in affliction (1 Peter 2:21); whole-heartedly as one who is saved (Mark 10:52); promptly as a disciple (Luke 5:11,28); constantly as one who is loved (John 21:20); becoming like Jesus (Ephesians 5:1). The New Testament is a book that describes who we are to follow (Jesus) and why we are to follow (John 8:12); and how we are to follow--as believers, as children, as servants, as sheep, as soldiers, as workers, as cross-bearers, as worshippers, as saved ones, as friends, as those who suffer and are loved and seized and sanctified. Does Jesus require that we go our way; sell our possessions and give them to the poor in order to obtain eternal life? We are asking the wrong question! The real question we need to ask is What is hindering us from hearing Jesus, obeying Jesus, following Jesus? What is it that you are not willing to give up? Your sin? Is it some earthly friend? Is it some material possession? Is it some future dream? It is better to separate from anyone or anything than be cut off from Jesus--the Lord of Life and the Lord of Glory. No. There is only one way to be saved. We are saved by grace through faith. It is the gift of God. We are saved by placing our trust and confidence in Jesus Christ. In order to be saved we must admit guilt. We must understand that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We have fallen short of God s holy requirements. Thank God it is easy to be saved. Jesus by His death has removed the great obstacle (your sin). But make no mistake about it; it is not easy to live life as Christian--and it is impossible apart from God s grace and God s mercy and God s love and the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is a battle to be fought (1 Tim.6:12); a trust to be kept (2 Cor.5:18); a talent to invest (Matt. 25:14); an enemy to overcome (1 Peter 5:8-9); a watch to maintain (Mark 13:37); a ministry to fulfill (John 12:14) and a prize to win (Phil. 3:14)! Ivor Powell writes; Many years ago, I heard Dr. Frank Boreham, that very great author and preacher say, If you possess something you cannot live without, give it away. Do you want physical wealth or spiritual wealth? Like all things wealth can be measured by sacrifice and price. What are you willing to pay? 22But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 5
What happened to this young man? Did he obey Jesus? Did he sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, return take up his cross and follow Jesus? Some would argue he did just that. Others interpret his sorrow as a sign of rejecting the advice of Jesus. The word sad appears only here and in Matthew 16:3; and in the morning, it will be (foul weather) today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. The word is stygnazo--used to describe the gloom in the sky foul weather ; Vincent says that it means to have a gloomy, lowering look --and other translators render sad as face fell (NASB; NIV). We are left with the impression that he did not sell his possessions. Selling our possessions does not result in eternal life. In the case of this young man--the refusal to sell his possessions was an admission that he did not love his neighbor as himself. The young man had broken God s commandment and therefore needed to be saved. Was he willing dethrone wealth in order to enthrone Jesus? Unless a person crowns Jesus Lord of All we have every reason to believe He is not Lord at all! But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. He...went away. Have you ever read anything so sad? The rich young ruler was in the end a sad slave--to his possessions. Billy Graham said, There is nothing wrong with people possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess people. What did the young man see? A life without money? In a day of illusions And other conclusions, Upon their delusions They base their conclusions. J. Wilbur Chapman remarked; I learned from William Booth that the greatness of man s power is his measure of surrender. The young man was enthusiastic, humble, respectful, and moral, and loved by Jesus. But he was unwilling or unable to surrender to Jesus. Conclusion At the Cathedral of Lubeck Germany is this inscription; Ye call Me Master and obey Me not; Ye call Me Light and see Me not; Ye call Me Way and walk Me not; Ye call Me Life and desire Me not; Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not; Ye call Me Fair and love Me not; 6
Ye call Me Eternal and seek Me not; Ye call Me Gracious and trust Me not. If you want to be rich, Give; If you want to be poor, Grab; If you want abundance, Scatter. Do you want eternal life? Since God is the source of eternal life you must go to Him. Since the resurrected Jesus is the Channel of Life you must place your trust in Him. Since the Holy Spirit is the giver of life you must receive Him. Since faith is the path to life you must put your faith in Him. Since fruit is the evidence of this life you must live your life for Him. Since eternity is the length of this life you must live your life with Him. If we could merit our own salvation than Jesus would not have need to die. Believing Christ died, that s history. Believing Christ died for you, that s salvation. No message to unbelievers has any real value that does not include the three R s Ruined by sin, Redemption by Christ, Regeneration by the Holy Spirit. John Newton the author of Amazing Grace wrote; Salvation is wholly of grace, not only undeserved but undesired by us until God is pleased to awaken us to a sense of our need of it, And then we find everything prepared that our wants require or our wishes conceive; yea, that He has done exceedingly beyond what we could either ask or think. Salvation is wholly of the Lord and bears those signatures of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which distinguish all His works from the puny imitations of men. It is every way worthy of Himself, a great, a free, a full, a sure salvation. It is great whether we consider the objects (miserable, hell-deserving sinners), the end (the restoration of such alienated creatures to His image and favor, to immortal life and happiness) or the means (the incarnation, humiliation, sufferings and death of His beloved Son). It is free, without exception of persons or cases, without any conditions or qualifications, but such as He, Himself, performs in them and bestows upon them. 7