The Contrasting Choice

Contrasting Choices: Let’s Loosen the Grip of what Endangers Eternity Mark 10:17–31 (NIV84) 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard 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 man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Friends, we all know this story of the rich man who came to Jesus excited by His message, but who left in despair, because what Jesus asked from him was more than what he was willing to give… Now I know that preachers often use this passage to address the dangers of wealth. As part of my preparation for this morning, I read an article about the false economy of human achievement. I also browsed another one talking about wealth and the sadness of success. Too often we give in to a very unbalanced socialist interpretation of this passage – as if the only thing it addresses is how difficult it is for rich people to go to heaven. This morning I hope to present you with a more balanced perspective. I’m suggesting that this passage is not so much about rich people as what it is about the kingdom of God and eternal life and ALL things that might bar us from entering it [including riches]. If we really want to understand what Mark is sharing with us, we need to go back and read Mark 10:13-15 (NIV84) 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth; anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” This should be the starting point of our conversation. Jesus reminds His disciples what is needed to live in God’s kingdom. They should receive the kingdom of God LIKE a little child. Why this way? Because the most prominent aspect of small children’s lives is that they are utterly reliant on their parents or guardians for their well-being. They can’t take care of themselves. Their survival depends on others. This is the reality of life for them. Therefore, total trust becomes a reality of every little child’s existence. Since they cannot take care of themselves, they depend on others to survive. Interesting isn’t it that those who took their little children to Jesus actually did exactly the right thing – the thing that their children needed – to be connected with God through Christ. Yes, they did for the children what the children couldn’t do for themselves. But the disciples didn’t like it one bit for they had a different frame of mind. They thought that to be in Jesus’ presence is grownup business, so they barred the children. It seems to me that the disciples either have forgotten what Jesus preached about children according to Mark 9 or just didn’t get it at all. I’m sure you remember it. There He took a little child and had her stand among them. Taking her in His arms, Jesus said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the one who sent Me.” Mark 9:37 (NIV84) Friends, little children come to adults not because they have assessed adults’ accomplishments or have an appreciation for grownups’ perceived importance; No, little children come purely because they believe that they will be received, loved and taken care of. Listen carefully. This is Jesus’ message: When we welcome Him into our lives, we actually enter or are acknowledged as part of Jesus’ kingdom. Listen carefully: Admission to God’s kingdom hinges on turning to Him from sin in the same spirit of humility that a little child presents when she shows simple faith in somebody she trusts. This is the reason why when the disciples argued about their importance; they were so far off the mark. So, with His example of the little children Jesus actually clarified to His disciples that the kind of attitudes they displayed, on its own, was already sufficient to keep them from finding and entering His kingdom. We could argue that Jesus wanted little children to come to Him because He loved them (which is, of course, true), but the truth in this context is actually because they exhibit the kind of attitude needed to approach God. Jesus didn’t mean that heaven is only for children, but that people need a childlike mindset of dependence on God. To feel secure, children need only a caring look and tender touch from someone who really cares. Thorough, logical understanding is not one of their needs. They believe people if they trust people. With this example, Jesus clarified that people should believe in Him with this kind of a childlike faith if they want to enter the kingdom. We do not need to know all the ambiguities of creation; it should be enough to know that God loves us and He provided forgiveness for our sin in Jesus. This doesn’t mean that we could be juvenile, immature, selfish, or spoiled, but that we should receive the kingdom with a child’s simplicity and trust. Jesus’ argument is also valid for discipleship. Mark refers explicitly to disciples: they cannot earn it or deserve it or make it, but can only accept it thankfully as God’s gift. Unless we can completely trust in God, we will never be His disciples or enter His kingdom. However, it seems that the disciples really struggled to come to grips with Jesus message. For instance, they were jealous of a man who drove out demons in Jesus’ name. So, they stopped him and boasted about it, expecting to be congratulated. But Jesus reprimanded them telling them that they gave in to selfish temptation when they stopped him. Soon after that Jesus explained that it would be better to lose some worldly possession, attitude, or action than to keep it and to go to hell because of it. This is the true or radical, even revolutionary discipleship that Jesus calls people to. Rid yourself from the things that bar you from entering eternity with God. Now, let me be clear: none of us will ever be absolutely sin-free until we enter heaven, but when we enter it is because God has washed our sins away with Jesus’ blood. What God wants is an approach, an attitude of the heart, that abandons sin and grabs hold of Jesus instead of one that holds on to sin and let go of grace. And still, it seems as if the disciples didn’t get it. So, Mark tells us another story to drive this point home – the story of the rich young man. Mark informs us that Jesus started His journey from Perea to Jerusalem. On the way, a man ran up to Jesus (Matthew called him a young man in 19:22; Luke referred to him as a ruler in 18:18). We also know that this was a relatively young man who was both wealthy (Mark 10:22; Luke 18:23) and of prominent social standing. If we consider his social standing his falling on his knees before Jesus reveals that he clearly had some admiration for Jesus. He even called Jesus “Good teacher” (and not only the usual “rabbi”), and he enthusiastically asked his urgent question: “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This rich young ruler wanted to be sure he would receive eternal life, so he asked what he could do to inherit it. He viewed eternal life as something that he could achieve. 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” While he had kept the commandments (or so he thought, Mark 10:20), he still had some concern about his eternal destiny. He believed Jesus would have the answer. What an answer he got! 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth. Friends, Jesus uses startling language to stress the importance of making the right choices in life. He demands self-control from his followers. This is what this young man heard. This is what we should listen to. It is not only about money. It is about letting go of the very things that bar us from choosing to fully trust God like a little child has to trust a parent or guardian. For him, it was his money. What is it for you? For you and me it might mean to give up a relationship, job, a position of importance, or addiction or practise that is against God’s will. Initially, this choice may seem just as painful as cutting off a hand, a foot or plucking out an eye [Mark 9:43, 45, and 47.] Jesus’ argument, however, is that entering God’s kingdom, living with God forever in eternity is worth any sacrifice. Yes, He is reminding His disciples then, and us today with this story about the rich young man that loyalty to God is worth any possible loss because of what we gain. The implication is that we must make sure that nothing would stand in the way of committing ourselves in faith to Jesus. The crux of the story is that we must be ruthless in removing whatever bars us from entering God’s kingdom from our lives now, to avoid being stuck with them for eternity outside God’s kingdom. Friends, through this story of the rich young ruler Jesus is saying to His disciples and us, “Make your choices from an eternal perspective.” Why am I saying that the message was also aimed at the disciples? Look with me at verse 23: 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard 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 man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Did you pick it up? Mark makes sure that we understand that Jesus sought out His disciples and that He looked them in the eye when He gave this answer. But the disciples still didn’t get it! They just felt sorry for themselves. They thought that all they sacrificed were in vain. Sometimes we can be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves because of the things we have given up or the sacrifices we have made to follow Christ and represent Him. Have you ever given something up, only to feel as if you came out on the short end of the stick eventually? Have you ever sacrificially helped someone or done something for God that you wouldn’t want to do again because of what it cost you? If you have experienced this, rest assured that you are not alone. Actually, you’re in good company. I think this is what the disciples felt like. Once again, why am I saying this? Because our passage reveals it! Mark shows us that the disciples felt that way after Jesus challenged the rich young man to sell his possessions and follow Him. When the man decided to keep his wealth and walk away from Jesus, and Jesus picked them out to drive His message home, the disciples felt wrongfully accused, and then Peter spoke up: “We have left everything to follow you!” (Mark 10:28). Peter and the other followers were feeling a little put-out because of all they perceived they’d given up to follow Christ! Yes, Peter, acting as spokesman for the Twelve, contrasted their choices with that the rich young man. In effect he is saying to Jesus: “He refused to give up what he had, we left everything to follow you! Why are You now picking on us! Remember we did what the rich young man was unwilling to do. We abandoned our former lives to follow You!” Friends, they might have felt this way, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that they got it wrong once again. What is wrong with this argument, you might wonder. After all, Peter is just stating the truth isn’t he? You see, this is the problem: They still focusing on what they have given up instead of what they have gained! What have they given up? Jobs, family, stability… What have they achieved? Entrance into the kingdom of God. Eternity in God’s presence. Can we really compare these things? This was Jesus’s response: 29 “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” I must confess l like Jesus’ way of calculating. He does not say 100 percent more, but a hundred times more! “One house is gone, but the doors of a hundred new homes are opened! One brother or sister in the flesh lost; but a thousand brothers and sisters in the spirit gained, whose love is deeper and whose kinship is more profound than those that we have lost.” You and I need to hear this morning that if we must give up something precious to us for the sake of eternity; e.g. a secure job, status, we will find that God offers a stable relationship with Himself now and forever that is infinitely more precious than what we gave up. If we must give up our family’s approval because God’s approval is more important to us, we should hear that we will gain the love of a new family – the family of God. Only after Jesus resurrection did the penny finally drop for the disciples. When you listen to Peter’s preaching in Acts and his letters, or Paul’s messages in his letters or John’s Gospel, his letters and Revelation it becomes clear that the disciples had begun to pay the price of following Jesus. Jesus said they would be rewarded. And they understood that reward – even if it included persecutions. This is something you and I need to learn as well: not to dwell on what we have to give up but to think about what we have gained, and to give thanks to God for it (even if it includes persecutions). Friends, this morning of the second Sunday after the resurrection 2019, we must humbly acknowledge that Jesus already paid the price for our entrance into His kingdom. This morning Jesus warmly invites us to grow in our knowledge of God’s amazing grace that even reaches us. No one else can make that introduction. No one else knows both this time-bound life and worlds beyond as well as He who is the grace of God incarnated. Just like with the rich young man our choices display whether we really know Jesus for who He really is, whether we really embrace Him for who He is and whether we really put our trust confidently in Him like little children because He is totally trustworthy. Friends, we do not know every minute detail there is to know about God to enter His eternity, but we need to know enough to step out in faith and be saved. We do not need to know Him face-to-face here and now, but we do need here and now to know Him through Jesus as our mediator. We do not have every question we have correctly answered, but we gain growing sensitivity and compassion for God’s trustworthiness, like a child attaching to a parent. “Who then can be saved?”, The disciples wanted to know. And the answer is: “They who put their complete trust in God!” “Impossible,” you say. But Jesus says, “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” – even saving the ‘unsavable’. Friend, I implore you: Accept this truth today and respond accordingly. There’s no reason for delaying entrance to God’s kingdom. And this is the promise: In eternity, all of us who know and serve Jesus Christ will join the Church Triumphant in Heaven, to be loved and lavished by Jesus and to love Him in return for eternity. Why then would we dwell of what we have to give up if this is what we gain? Amen.