The Young man that ran to Jesus.
The Young man that ran to Jesus.
I. The Young Man’s Desire
I. The Young Man’s Desire
We do not know why this man was in a hurry. He ran. He flung himself at Jesus’ feet. Evidently, he had been greatly moved by something that Jesus had said or done. “Good Master!” he began. The word he used was didaskalos, “Teacher,” or to use our modern title “Doctor.” The parallel Hebrew term would be “Rabbi.”
Luke, in recording this incident, calls the young man by the word archōn, “a first one,” that is, a man of prominence. The word was used to describe the ruler of a synagogue or an outstanding Pharisee (Matt. 9:18; Luke 14:1; 18:18). It seems also to have been used to designate a member of the Sanhedrin, a
We do not know why this man was in a hurry. He ran. He flung himself at Jesus’ feet. Evidently, he had been greatly moved by something that Jesus had said or done. “Good Master!” he began. The word he used was didaskalos, “Teacher,” or to use our modern title “Doctor.” The parallel Hebrew term would be “Rabbi.”
A. He Was an Eager Young Man
He has all the enthusiasm of youth, because verse 17 says, “He came running.”
He has all the enthusiasm of youth, because verse 17 says, “He came running.”
B. He Was a Humble Young Man
But not only was he eager; he was a humble young man. The Bible says that he came kneeling.
He Was a Courageous Young Man
D. He Was a Discerning Young Man
He came to Jesus and he said, “Good Master.” (Mark 10:17) Now he recognized two things: that is, the authority of Jesus, when he said, “Master,” and the goodness of Jesus, when he called Him “good.” He was a very discerning young man. He knew men. He knew human nature, and he saw in Jesus Christ something that he had not seen in anyone else
And he knew that Jesus Christ alone had the answer to eternal life. And so he comes and kneels before Jesus Christ, and with discernment, he calls Him “Good Master.” And again, I have to say, “Well and good for him,” because he’s not like so many today who have not discerned the goodness in Jesus Christ, who today are cynics
This man was not a cynic. He had discernment. He looked at Jesus and he said, “Good Master
He says, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?
II. The young mans deception.
Now, don’t ever think for one little moment that Jesus is claiming not to be good. Jesus is showing that He is God. You see, anyone who is not God is not good, and anyone who is good is God, in the pure sense of the word goodness
Jesus stopped the man in his tracks. “What do you mean when you call Me ‘good,’?” Jesus asked. In effect, He asked, “Are you talking about relative goodness? Goodness as compared with other ‘good’ men? Or are you talking about absolute goodness, the kind of goodness that is found only in God Himself?” In other words, was this young man prepared to stake everything on the absolute goodness of the Lord Jesus, a goodness that recognized Him to be totally apart from all ordinary men and made Him equal with God? If it came, however, to the question of practical human goodness, then the place to go was the law
These were the comparatively simple commandments to keep—at least outwardly. Paul, in his unconverted days, imagined that he had kept all of these commandments. Not until he came to the tenth commandment—“Thou shalt not covet” (i.e., entertain no lust, have no evil desire) did he realize his utter inability to live a holy life (Rom. 7:7
It was no longer “Good Master!” but simply “Master!” Evidently, he was not prepared to own Jesus as God. He also claimed ever since coming of age to have kept conscientiously the commandments that Jesus cited. The Lord now proved to him that he had not kept them at all. But first Mark adds an observation.
