The Richest Poor Man

Introduction

When I first got into sales as a younger man, my first sales job was for Ag-Pro, the John Deere dealer. My first customer was a man named Ricky.

It was my first or second day on the job, I didn’t know a thing…. and you could tell!

It was obvious I was young, inexperienced, and didn’t know what I was doing.

Well, in walks Ricky to the dealership, and I approach him to talk to him.

He tells me very plainly, “I want that John Deere 2025R with the backhoe/trailer tractor package, and we can go ahead and do the paperwork on it.”

So, in my naïveté, I began going through the script I had prepared, and talked about the different classes of tractors, his attachments, implements, tire options, etc.

After about 45 minutes of me walking around the lot, yapping, we finally sat down, did the paperwork on the tractor he came in wanting and got the sale done. My first sale! A whole package! I was the man!!

And then all the air in my balloon was let out when Ricky turned to me and said, “You know, I came in knowing what I wanted, ready to sign on the dotted line and you almost lost me a couple times with that whole pitch, you almost lost me trying to sell me on something I came in ready to buy.”

Needless to say, this was a big lesson for me in my sales career. However, I am concerned that the church has taken this same approach to evangelism and the lost in America…

“When someone comes in seeking something, just give ‘em whatever they are looking for! No need to sidetrack them with the details about sin, or hell, or what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus. Just get them to sign the dotted line, walk the aisle, add their name to the numbers.” Yes, this may work in sales/business.

BUT the Kingdom of God is not a business, or a sales pitch… In our passage today, we see how Jesus handled a “ready to buy” customer who was trying to purchase some eternal life.

Read Mark 10:17-31

I. The Seeker’s Request

Mark 10:17 ESV

17 And as he 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?”

As Christ is on His way to Jerusalem, which is where He will spend the remainder of His ministry, He is stopped by a man in a dramatic scene.

The Right Approach -

This man had the right approach, especially considering his identity.

It is clear from the text that he is desperate… he is running (not something nobility does.), he is even kneeling… this is especially rare.

What does this show? He understood who he was. He is humble in his approach, understands that he is beneath The Lord…

The Right Appraisal -

“Good teacher…” This man understood who Jesus is! He had a head knowledge of who Christ is.

Doesn’t have to be told who Jesus is, he already knows. Jesus is even going to say, “Why do you call me good, none is good except God.”

Yet, this reiterates the fact that this man is recognizing Jesus as being on the same level as God the Father.

He is checking all the boxes so far…

The Right Ask -

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” - Boom, there it is. He is asking about how to be saved!

There doesn’t even need to be a presentation of Heaven and Hell, or the fact that there’s life beyond this physical one…

This man is the perfect candidate for evangelism! This guy is just like Ricky!! Now, how many churches/people would have said “Okay, just repeat this prayer and sign your name on this card, and you’ll never have to think about it again, and go back to doing whatever you were doing before because you’re in, buddy!”

But, is that what Jesus does? No, Christ’s response may actually surprise us.

II. The Savior’s Response

Mark 10:18–25 ESV

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. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Look at Christ’s response (v. 19)

We don’t expect this, but Christ repeats the Law to Him. “You know the commandments… or the “ἐντολή”

This is reference to the Law or the Torah… This is curious to us as New Testament Christians that Christ would bring up the Law here.

He doesn’t have to show this man that he is not perfect, the man is aware of that, He doesn’t have to show the man that he needs eternal life, he is aware of that.

So, then, why does Christ bring up the Law?? This is the key to understanding this entire interaction.

Christ brings up the Law to prove to this man that he has misunderstood the Law.

When we say the “Law” we are referring to Torah, or the Old Testament. Specifically, however, we are referring to the books written by Moses.

We call it the Law because that is the word used to denote this in the New Testament…. however, in our day, the word “law” has taken on a different meaning than the NT word.

In our day, when you hear “law”, you think of criminals, rules, police, a list of rules that if you do not follow, you’ll be punished.

And while there were certainly punishments for not keeping the Torah of God, this is not what the Torah was.

The Torah was given on Sinai, when God made a covenant with the people of Israel. Israel was not a nation, or government, they were just families and tribes.

So, God made a covenant with His people on Sinai, making them a united nation (eventually kingdom), and He gave the Torah (or Law) as a guideline or instruction manual for His covenant with His people.

In it, He does give commands, but not a rulebook - rather its a “promise-book” that was not supposed to just give them rules to follow, but was to transform their hearts.

Deuteronomy 6:5 “5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This is the entire Torah here, as Jesus affirms in Matthew 22:37 “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

The Torah is an invitation to right relationship with God by the transformation of their heart. The problem is, they couldn’t do that on their own, their prophets couldn’t do it, priests couldn’t do it, kings couldn’t do it…

So, there had to be one man to come and fulfill the Torah, and do what no one did before Him…

Back to our text: Jesus brings up the Torah, and this man says “Yes I have DONE all those things.”

What this man is doing is proving that he has misunderstood the Law (the whole nation has.) He is viewing it as the rulebook, the checklist - “Yes, I’ve done a, b, and c. Therefore, I’ve earned my ticket into Heaven, right?”

This is what the Law is right? A rulebook for us to follow… so we can love our sin, and debauchery, and be hypocrites. We can lust in our hearts, and still love our passions… BUT if we follow the rules, we technically get into the Kingdom. - This is the understanding of the Pharisees and the Jews / This is why they hate Jesus because He is challenging this.

So Christ exposes this error, by saying “Mark 10:21 “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.”

Jesus loved this man, and because He loved this man He had to tell him the truth! We don’t love people that we are willing to lie to. “Well I love them, or I treasure our relationship too much to offend them with the truth.” True love says, “I love you so much that I’m willing to sacrifice you liking me to tell you the truth.”

Jesus knew that this statement would wreck this man’s entire ideology. What is Jesus saying?

Jesus is saying, “You think that God has commanded you to live out a list of rules, and those rules will save you. I am telling you that God has commanded you to love Him, and His love will save you.”

The rich man selling all he has to give to the poor doesn’t “earn salvation”, rather it is a test of the reflection of his heart. God has always commanded His people to be willing to sacrifice all that you have to follow me.

All the way back to Abraham, God demands Isaac as a sacrifice. Is Abraham earning salvation? Of course not, he is simply proving the love he has for God in his heart by being willing to give Isaac as his sacrifice.

Christ was calling this man to do the very same thing. What is the result? He walks away sad, because he was not willing to truly treasure Christ above everything else in his life.

Conclusion

Here is the bottom-line, our generation is plagued by the same mentality… what the rich young man, and the pharisees, and so on did with the Torah, our generatio has done with the Gospel of Christ.

We make salvation a checklist of things to do: “Okay, so if I say these magic words, then get baptized, then make sure I am a member of a church… THEN I’ve secured my ticket into Heaven, and I can get back to doing all the fun stuff I actually want to do, and living how I want.”

This is what the rich young ruler was guilty of, this is what prevented him from walking with Christ.

The invitation of Christ is a hard call, it is a simple one, but it is hard. Luke 14:26 “26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus does not promote easy-believism, in fact, He takes clear steps to counter and confront it.

Christ came, lived a perfect life, kept all the commands, fulfilled all righteousness, proclaimed the Gospel, and was crucified on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. He rose again on the third day, victorious over death, hell, and the grave.

He did this for “those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28

To truly belong to Christ means being willing to forsake everything else. Christ promises those that are willing to forsake everything else that “Mark 10:29–31 “29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

My question to you is this: Do you love Jesus Christ above everything else? Or is your salvation a matter of “checking the boxes”?

Can I lovingly tell you the truth: “If the love of Christ is not dwelling in your heart, I would seriously consider whether or not I am truly saved.”

Being saved isn’t about saying the right words, or doing the right formula…. it is about belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Invitation:

My simple question to you is this: Do you love Jesus? I invite those who are unsure of their salvation to come forward and call on Him today!

My second question is, “Are you living like it?” I want to invite the Christian, who loves The Lord, to come and commit to living out the confession they have made.