Renouncing Posessions

INTRODUCTION

Last week we talked about scenarios in which we agree to doing something before we count the cost. Meaning we agree to do something before we realize what we’re going to have to pay or sacrifice in now that we’ve accepted it. An example of that is taking a new job or a promotion that has higher pay, without fully realizing you would now have to work 50 hour weeks and answering messages and calls throughout the night. It was something that initially sounded great and exciting, but once you realize what it costs, it might seem not worth it.

Now, have you ever been in a situation where you really want something, and you know what it costs, but the cost is a little too much and you don’t want to pay it in order to get that thing? We’ve all been in situations like that. Maybe you’ve set out to diet, lose some weight and get in better shape. But if you’re anything like me, you’re not willing to give up the cost of eating delicious pizza in order to make that happen. To you, the ends don’t justify the means, and you don’t want to pay the cost.

Here's why I'm bringing this situation up. There's a man in the Gospels who was told to give up all he had to follow Jesus, and his response shows where his heart truly is.

We're in Mark chapter 10, verses 17 through 31, so you can all turn there now. While you do that, I’ll refresh those of us who were here last week when we were in Luke 14 and Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship, meaning the cost to follow Him. He says in v. 26 Luke 14:26 ““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” and that is the verse that we focused on. We talked about how “hate” here does not mean emotionally, like we should dislike our entire family. But “hate” is used comparatively in the sense that our love is so great for God, that in comparison, it almost looks like we hate our own family.

Last week we left out the last verse of this section, and I’m going to read it for us now, and we are going to unpack it through our passage in Mark. It says Luke 14:33 “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Here’s what we all have to realize, that if that verse is true, none of us qualify, and yet Jesus says it anyway. So either the Christian life is impossible for everyone in this room, or something else is going on beneath the surface that actually is good news.

Here's the big idea I want you to walk out with today,

Jesus doesn't ask you to give up everything to make your life smaller. He asks you to give up everything because He is offering you Himself — and He is worth more than everything.

Renunciation, in the mouth of Jesus, was never about subtraction for its own sake. It was always about a trade. And whether that trade sounds like devastating loss or like the best deal you've ever been offered depends entirely on how much you think Jesus is actually worth.

The three points in your note are going to guide us through Mark 10 tonight

THE COST - what does Jesus actually require?

IS IT WORTH IT? can anyone actually pay that, and is it even a good trade?

HOW DO WE PAY IT? practically, personally, today - how does this happen in a real human life?

I. THE COST (Mark 10:17–22)

Look at how this man shows up. Verse 17: "as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him." That detail matters more than we usually give it credit for. This is a wealthy, respected community leader — Luke tells us he was a "ruler," Matthew tells us he was young, all three Gospels agree he was very rich. Men like this did not run through crowds on a public road. Kneeling in the dirt in front of a traveling rabbi, in front of a crowd of people headed to Jerusalem for Passover, was for a man of his class, borderline humiliating, but he did it anyway.

And his question is sincere: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is not a trap. This is not the Pharisees testing Jesus earlier in the Gospels. This is a man who feels he has done everything right by every external measure and still senses a hole in his chest.

Jesus' first response, in verse 18, can sound strange to us: "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." He's not denying His own goodness in this verse, Jesus never contradicts what the whole rest of Scripture says about His goodness. What He's doing is raising the question of who this man actually thinks he's kneeling in front of. He’s essentially saying, “You just called me good. Do you understand what that word means, and who you're saying it to?” It’s an invitation to look closer at Jesus Himself before the conversation goes any further, which as we'll see, is exactly what this whole passage is ultimately about.

Then Jesus lists commandments. Notice, He only lists the ones that deal with how we treat other people. Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't defraud, honor your father and mother. He deliberately leaves out anything to do with the man's relationship to God directly, there is no mention of loving God with all your heart, no mention of having no other gods.

QUESTION - Why do you think Jesus answers like this?

He’s trying to expose what the young ruler’s actual spiritual condition is. The commandments that he recites are external that this man probably worked very hard to avoid - but his heart remained enslaved to possessions.

And the man says, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." This man seems very genuine in this statement, like he is one that works hard to maintain his reputation. Now we know that this man has not perfectly obeyed all of these commandments, we can look to Matthew 5:21–22 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Also a few verses later he says Matthew 5:27–28 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This man in the story wants to remain in complete control of his life. He looks to his own actions as proof of how good he is.

Jesus responds to this man in v. 21 Mark 10:21 “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.””

When Jesus says you lack one thing, He is naming the very thing this man had built his entire identity and security around.

Why this? He knows the one thing functioning as a substitute god in their life, and He puts His finger directly on it. For this man, it was riches. Now this isn’t a universal command that all Christians need to have no possessions to be true followers of Christ, that wouldn’t make sense. However, we do need to be prepared to give up everything and offer everything up in our life for Christ, because He is worth far more than anything we could own. We can look to the principle in this passage as universal for us as Christians - whatever you will not lay at Jesus' feet, that is the thing ruling you instead of Him.

And verse 22 gives us the result: "Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Notice, he doesn't argue with Jesus. He doesn't say this is unreasonable. He doesn't rebuke Jesus or storm off in anger. He understood exactly what was being asked, he believed Jesus had the authority to ask it, and he walked away anyway.

This is where Luke 14:33 lands with full weight: "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." This man wanted eternal life added onto his existing life. Jesus was offering him a trade, not an addition.

That's the cost. Not a portion, or percentage of our possessions, but all of our possessions are subject to Christ.

This raises a question and takes us into point 2 - If that's really the price, if Jesus means what He said in Luke 14:33 — then is this a deal worth taking?

II. IS IT WORTH IT? (Mark 10:23–27)

Watch what happens in the next part of this passage starting in v.23.

Mark 10:23–27 “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!” 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! 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.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.””

The disciples are amazed at his words. In their world, wealth was widely assumed to be a sign of God's blessing and favor. If the blessed and favored can barely get in, what hope does anyone else have?

Jesus explains further "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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." Notice the tenderness in that word "children" even as He says something devastating.

A camel through a needle's eye is something that is completely impossible. He's not describing a hard workout regimen for the spiritually ambitious. He's describing something that cannot be accomplished by the party attempting it.

Look to v. 26 again: "they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, 'Then who can be saved?'" That's the right question. If wealth, which looked like evidence of righteousness, actually functions as one of the hardest things to let go of, then what hope does anyone have, rich or poor?

This story may not hit home initially for you, because if we’re completely honest giving up all of our money isn’t a huge deal as young adults because we simply don’t have that much. You need to look beyond the illustration of money here, and think to yourselves, “what is in my life that I would walk away sorrowful over if Jesus asked me to give it up”. That could be a relationship, job, reputation, hobbies, etc.

The rich young ruler didn't fail because he wasn't sincere enough or moral enough. He failed because sincerity and morality were never going to be sufficient currency for this transaction. Total renunciation isn't a height you climb to with enough effort. It's a miracle, or it doesn't happen.

That's precisely what Jesus says next in verse 27 — "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.'"

Read that again. With man, impossible. He confirms the disciples' fear this really is impossible for you. And then, in the very same breath, He says the thing that turns this entire passage into the gospel - but not with God.

Now watch what happens next, because this is where the passage actually starts answering our question directly. Peter speaks up in verse 28: "See, we have left everything and followed you." This is Peter, in his own blunt way, asking exactly what we're asking: we actually did the thing you just said is impossible, so, was it worth it?

He answers plainly, in verses 29–30: "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, 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." And then verse 31 adds one more twist: "many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Sit with the beauty of that promise for a second. Jesus doesn't just say "you'll get it back in heaven, eventually, so hang on." He says now, in this present time, a hundredfold. Not identical things replaced, but better things. New brothers and sisters and mothers in the family of the church. A home wherever God's people are. Notice, too, He's honest about the cost still being real, he says "with persecutions." This was never a promise of an easy trade. But even counting the persecutions, the scale doesn't come close to balancing the other way. What you release for Christ's sake, He returns to you multiplied, reshaped, and secured, with eternal life besides.

But I want to push past even that promise, because if we stop at "you'll get more houses and family," we've still missed the real answer to "is it worth it?" I’m going to read part of Philippians 3, where Paul, a man who genuinely had reason to boast in his own religious résumé, more than the rich young ruler ever did, writes this: "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... I count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."

That word Paul uses, surpassing, is the whole answer. Paul isn't saying Christ is slightly better than what he gave up. He's saying there's no comparison scale sensitive enough to measure the difference. Everything he released, status, pedigree, religious accomplishment, didn't just come out losing the trade. It came out looking like garbage next to what he gained.

So is it worth it? Here's the fullest answer this passage and Paul together give us: yes, and not narrowly. Yes because Jesus multiplies back, in kind and in kingdom, everything surrendered for His sake. But far more than that, yes because Christ Himself, known and possessed, is of such surpassing worth that "worth it" almost undersells the trade. You are not being asked to give up treasure for nothing. You are being handed the chance to trade counterfeit treasure for the real thing.

Which brings us to the most practical, most personal question of the morning. If Christ really is worth that much, and He is, then how does someone actually get there? How does a person move from admiring that truth on paper to living it in an actual, ordinary life this week?

III. HOW DO WE PAY IT? (Mark 10:28–31, and the cross behind it)

Here's the problem we still haven't solved. We've established the cost, renounce all. We've established it's worth it, Christ's worth surpasses everything we'd surrender. But we already saw, in the camel and the needle, that this is impossible with man. So even a completely convinced heart runs into the same wall the rich young ruler ran into: I believe it's worth it, and I still can't make myself do it. Conviction alone doesn't produce the renunciation. Something has to actually pay for it.

And here's the good news: something already has.

Turn to 2 Corinthians 8:9. Paul writes this about Jesus: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

Read that as the hinge it actually is. Jesus was not asked by anyone to renounce everything. He was not a rich young ruler stumbling into an uncomfortable conversation. He had everything, the unbroken glory of heaven, the worship of angels, equality with the Father from before the world began, and He renounced it willingly, for people who had not yet done a single thing to deserve it. Romans 5:8 puts the timing plainly: "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Not after we cleaned up. Not once we'd proven our devotion. While we were still holding tightly to everything that made us God's enemies.

That is the actual payment behind Luke 14:33. Jesus does not ask you to renounce all you have as a transaction you complete to earn His approval. He asks it as the response of someone who has already been given everything, at Christ's own expense. He gave up His riches, including His own life, so that spiritually bankrupt people like us could be made rich in Him. The demand and the gift trace back to the same cross.

So how do we actually pay it? Not by trying harder to want it less. Paul gives us the pattern in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Notice the order there. It isn't "I renounced everything, and then Christ moved in." It's "Christ gave Himself for me, and that is what puts to death my grip on everything else." Renunciation isn't the entry fee for knowing Christ. It's the natural response of actually being loved by Him.

So practically, how does this work for you, this week, in your actual life?

It does not work by trying harder to be less attached to your possessions. That's just the rich young ruler's strategy with a different vocabulary, self-generated renunciation, willpower. It will fail the same way his did.

It works like this, you look, honestly, at the one thing Jesus would name if you were on your knees before him like the rich young ruler was. The thing you'd walk away sorrowful over, and instead of trying to white-knuckle your way into letting it go, you ask yourself a much more basic question: do I actually believe Jesus is worth more than this? Not "should I believe it", do you? Look at the cross. Look at what He already gave up for you before you gave up anything for Him. Let that be the thing that makes the trade look obviously, overwhelmingly worth it, rather than trying to convince yourself to hate the thing you're releasing.

Renunciation that starts with gritted teeth is trying to manufacture what only grace can produce. Renunciation that starts by beholding Christ, the way Jesus first beheld the ruler in love, becomes possible, even joyful, the way it was for Peter, the way it has been for every believer since who has found Christ to be worth more than what they let go of to follow Him.

CONCLUSION

Let's bring this all the way home.

We started with one verse controlling everything: "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." Words that expose every one of us, because every one of us has something we haven't fully released to Jesus yet.

We saw the cost in the rich young ruler, a sincere, moral, earnest man who ran to Jesus, knelt before Him, and still walked away sorrowful, because the one thing Jesus named was the one thing he would not give.

We asked, honestly, is it worth it, and we discovered that on our own strength, it isn't even a trade we're capable of making. A camel cannot fit through the eye of a needle, and neither can we squeeze our way into total surrender by trying harder. But Jesus gave us the hinge on which this whole message turns: with man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.

And we saw how it's actually paid, not by our willpower, but by Christ's. He who was rich became poor, so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. Every renunciation He asks of us is downstream of the renunciation He already made for us at the cross.

He already showed you He believes you're worth more than everything He had. He proved it on a cross. The only question left is whether you'll believe the same thing about Him.

There's a quote from the poet John Keble that captures, better than I can, what's waiting on the other side of that trade for anyone who makes it:

"When the shore is won at last, who will count the billows past?"

Every wave you had to cross to get there, every cost, every sorrow, every hard "no" you had to say to something you loved, it will not be remembered as loss once you're standing on that shore. It will look, finally, like the smallest price for the greatest gift you were ever given.

So, what will you not renounce? Whatever it is, Jesus already knows. And He's still looking at you the way He looked at that man in Mark 10, not with anger, but with love. He's not trying to take something from you. He's trying to give you everything.