Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 10:17-27 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

17As Jesus was setting out on a journey, one man ran up to him and knelt in front of him.

He asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?

No one is good except one—God.

19You know the commandments.

‘You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony.

You shall not defraud.

Honor your father and mother.’

”

20The man replied, “Teacher, I have kept all these since I was a child.”

21Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack.

Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

22When he heard this, he looked sad and went away grieving, because he had great wealth.

23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

24The disciples were amazed at his words.

But Jesus told them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”

27Jesus looked at them and said, “For people, it is impossible, but not for God, because all things are possible for God.”

What must I Do?

I.

There I was, contemplating my project.

It seemed simple enough—perhaps I should say, straight-forward enough.

Projects often aren’t simple, but take the steps one by one and things aren’t that difficult.

Of course, get deep enough into the project and you often find that there is more to do and more complexity than initially thought.

The project I was contemplating was my first experience with a porch or deck.

What I thought I was going to do was merely replace a few rotten boards.

Reality, however, was that everything about the porch needed to be replaced.

I quickly had to learn how to build the whole thing, rather than just replace a little bit.

Of course, I didn’t have all the necessary tools, which meant that I had the privilege of looking for some new toys—I mean, tools.

Often when doing a project you start with some preconceptions.

Perhaps you think it won’t be too difficult or take too much of your time.

But often there is more than initially expected—sometimes a lot more.

Maybe a few questions are in order so you don’t run into things you weren’t prepared for.

You look for someone who is more well-informed on the subject than yourself so you can get some advice.

If possible, you look for an expert.

Perhaps that’s what the rich young man thought.

He went to find Jesus because he believed he was looking to the experts.

Jesus was a kind of self-help service in the eyes of this man.

Jesus was clearly a wise man, a great teacher.

In asking his question he showed that kind of deference.

He fell to his knees before the man who was considered to be a great Rabbi to ask for some advice from the experts for his conundrum.

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17, EHV).

The question showed the sincerity of the man; it showed that he was enthusiastic.

His question was posed politely; it seemed like an eager student wanting to learn from a great teacher.

The question also showed he was deeply religious.

The burning question in his mind was the most important thing a person can ever want to learn.

Look carefully at his question.

What jumps out at you, especially as you have grown to learn more and more about Christianity?

He was looking for eternal life.

He even used the word “inherit.”

Did he recognize that eternal life was a gift?

If he did, why did he use that two-letter word: “do”?

Apparently, though he was seeking information about the right concept in life—the most important concept—he was looking in the wrong place.

He was looking to himself.

Looking to oneself to obtain eternal life means that a person is looking to the Moral Law.

That puts the burden squarely on oneself.

That’s exactly what this rich young man was doing.

He looked to himself and the way he had followed the law.

He was sincere.

He was well-respected.

He was loved by people.

He thought he was loved by God because of the exemplary way he had tried to conduct himself.

Perhaps he didn’t remember the proverb: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the road to death” (Proverbs 14:12, EHV).

He came to Rabbi Jesus for the final touch to his already-exemplary life.

When he fell on his knees at Jesus’ feet he addressed the revered Rabbi as “Good teacher.”

“Why do you call me good?

No one is good except one—God” (Mark 10:18, EHV).

Before even going on with the rest of his answer, Jesus tried to get the young man to learn something.

The young man should have recognized that he was speaking with God himself with the first words he spoke to Jesus.

These words, however, seemed to go in one ear and right out the other.

The young man ignored this part of Jesus’ response completely.

His response followed on the other thing Jesus said: “You know the commandments.

‘You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony.

You shall not defraud.

Honor your father and mother’” (Mark 10:19, EHV).

The man responded: “Teacher, I have kept all these since I was a child” (Mark 10:20, EHV).

Are you like the rich young man?

Wealth, or lack of it, really has nothing to do with my question.

We like to receive some sort of affirmation for our lifestyle and how we live our lives as Christians.

We might even make certain choices in life or in the church specifically trying to get this affirmation.

Donations of time or money to help the poor.

Maybe a mission project somewhere.

Perhaps the things we choose to help out with around the congregation.

If these are undertaken just to look good in the eyes of others, then our reasons are much like the rich man.

Christian bookstores fuel these attitudes with Christian self-help books.

You will find all kinds of methods you can follow and things you can do to help make your life better before God.

Most of these books aren’t teaching you to respond to God’s love, but are filled with legalism.

They are trying to tell you how your actions can get you closer to God.

They are filled with Law motivation; in reality, they are teaching that it is your obedience that will make you eligible for forgiveness.

II.

When Jesus recited several Commandments to the rich young man, he touched only on commandments that deal with our relationship with fellow human beings.

Did the young man really keep these things perfectly—as God demands?

Little to no introspection seemed to happen.