You can have everything yet have nothing!

Mark 10:17-31

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever left home and had a funny feeling you have forgotten something? You don’t know what it was, but you just had this nagging feeling. A man said every time his family drove off for a vacation, his mom would say, “Honey, we’ve got to go back home, I think I left the iron turned on. I don’t want the house to burn down.” His dad would turn around and they would go back and check and the iron would be turned off. This continued for several trips. Finally on one trip, when she told her husband to turn around and go check, he didn’t say a word. He pulled the car over to the shoulder, got out and opened the trunk and handed her the iron.

Our passage today introduces us to a young man searching for something. He’s often called the Rich Young Ruler. Matthew tells us he was a young man; Luke describes him as a ruler, or what we would call an aristocrat. And Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us he was rich. He was a man who had two things, everything and nothing. He was wealthy and successful, but he turned away from Jesus with nothing. He was searching for something more in life.

Two thousand years ago, there was a young, wealthy, successful leader who came to Jesus looking for something.

Mark 10:17-31.

We don’t know this young man’s name. He did so many things right. He came at the right time. As I talked about last week, the best time to come to Jesus is when you are young. He came to the right person, Jesus. He came with the right energy—he was running. He came with the right attitude, he knelt before Jesus. He came with the right question: How can I have eternal life? What a contrast! THE YOUNG MAN came running, smiling, full of hope, but he walked away full of sorrow, dragging his feet with only his only hope in his wealth. As we examine this amazing encounter, let’s look at five episodes and five life lessons.

1. FALSE HOPE

So, what’s wrong with this picture? Why would Jesus tell someone to keep the commandments to find eternal life? We all know that nobody will ever make it into God’s Kingdom by obeying rules and regulations. What was Jesus doing?

Every Jew knew the Ten Commandments by heart. They knew them as well as any of us could count to from one to ten. The Ten Commandments were divided into two sections, or two tables. The first four commandments have to do with a relationship with God. We should have no other Gods, we shouldn’t make and worship idols, we should never take God’s name in vain, and we should remember the Sabbath Day. The second table contained six commandments about how we relate to one another. This is the table that Jesus quoted. But he intentionally omitted one of the Ten Commandments. You might not have caught it, because you may not have them all memorized. What if I said I am going to count to ten and I say, “One, two, four, five, six…?” You’re going to say, “Hey, you skipped the number three.”

Jesus left out one; did anyone catch which one He omitted? Let’s go through them. He didn’t give them in order, but let’s check them off. He said, “Do not murder.” Check. “Don’t commit adultery.” Check. “Don’t steal.” Check. “Don’t bear false witness or defraud” Check. “Honor your Father and your Mother.” Check. Which one did Jesus leave off intentionally? “Do not covet.” That means a desire to have more and more stuff. Jesus knew this was the rich young man’s problem. He smiled and said, “I have kept all these since I was a boy!” Jesus said, “There’s one thing you lack.” You see, the the rich young man already had a god in his life. His god was gold and his creed was greed. And there is only room for one God on the throne of your life.

LIFE LESSON: Jesus will probe your heart to expose any competing gods

Jesus wanted to point out that the young man had a problem with greed and covetousness, but He didn’t just come out and say it. He kept probing until the young man saw the problem himself.

I have a friend who recently went to the doctor not knowing he had appendicitis. He complained of hurting all over his torso. The doctor had him lie down and started probing. When he gently touched the area of the appendix, my friend said he almost flew off the table. That’s what Dr. Jesus does for us. He keeps probing to show us where we have other gods in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is working on you right now, gently probing. What is that thing, or that person, or that activity that has become more important to you than the true and living God?

2. TRUE HOPE

Jesus said there was only one thing the man was lacking. This one verse has caused more confusion and consternation that perhaps any verse in the Bible. Multitudes read it and thought, “I want to obey God. So, should I go and sell everything I have, give it to the poor, and a vow of poverty, and follow Jesus?”

Here’s the short answer. You don’t need to sell all your riches unless your riches have become the god of your life. This man is the only person to whom Jesus ever spoke those words. Nicodmeus was wealthy. Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy, but Jesus never told them to sell all their possessions because Jesus knew their possessions didn’t possess them.

LIFE LESSON: Jesus provides a personal solution to remove any competing gods

Jesus looked into the man’s heart and saw that money was his god. And the young man wanted more and more; that’s what it means to covet. So, Jesus was simply giving him a solution to get rid of that false God. And notice Jesus said, “You aren’t losing your treasure, by giving it to the poor, you are laying up treasures in heaven. You’re just transferring your wealth.”

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned there is only room for one God in our lives. He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24)

Jesus designs a different solution for each person. In Luke 10 a lawyer came to Jesus asking the same thing, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus didn’t say, “Sell all you have and give to the poor,” because He knew this man’s problem was pride. Jesus asked him what the greatest commandments were. The lawyer said, “Love the Lord your God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “That’s correct.” The lawyer was looking for a loophole. He said, “But who is my neighbor?” He wanted Jesus to say, “All your Jewish brothers and sisters.” But instead Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, a half-breed. Jesus saw this man’s god was pride, so he said, “Love your neighbor, even your Gentile neighbors.”

In John 4 Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman at a well. She asked for some living water. Jesus didn’t say, “Go sell all you have and give to the poor.” He didn’t say, “Love your neighbor.” That was her problem, she was loving too many of her neighbors! He said, “Go call your husband.” She said, “Ahem, I don’t have a husband.” Jesus said, “You said it sister. You’ve had five husbands and the one you’re living with now isn’t your husband.” Jesus was pointing out that she already had a god in her life, lust, and the unhealthy desire for acceptance by a man. She later became the village evangelist bringing people to meet Jesus.

If you have a competing god ruling your life, Jesus will give you a unique word to replace that god with the true and Living God.

3. THE CHOICE: “He went away sad, because he had great wealth”

Mark is the only one who gives us the tiny detail that Jesus looked at the young man and loved him. We know that God loves the world. We know that Jesus loves everyone. But don’t forget that Jesus loves individuals. He looks at you and loves you. He looks at me and loves me. Jesus really did want Ben to make the right choice.

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler

Heinrich Hofmann

1889

There’s a painting by the German artist Heinrich Hoffman. In this frozen scene, Hoffman captured the divine drama of the moment. The Rich Young Ruler is seen wearing his fancy clothes and hat. Jesus is inviting him to give his money to the poor people in the background and then to follow Him. The Rich Young Ruler looks down as he ponders the most important decision he would ever make. Give away all his money and follow Jesus? But he has so much! And in that moment he sadly shakes his head and says, “No. The price is too high.” And he walked away. Not all stories end, “and they lived happily ever after.” He was a man with only two things: everything & nothing.

LIFE LESSON: Jesus offers eternal life, but He won’t force you to follow Him

This was an amazing invitation. Some scholars suggest Jesus was inviting the man to become the 13th disciple. Why thirteen? Jesus knew He had a bad one in the bunch. Jesus called Him to follow Him, and I believe Jesus really wanted him to say, “Yes, Lord!”

Someone wrote, “The saddest words of tongue or pen, are these four words, ‘What might have been.’” Just think, if the man had gladly transferred his wealth to heaven and followed Jesus, we might be reading his Gospel account rather than Mark’s. But because he rejected Jesus, his identity is lost to history.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. But there is one area of the universe where He has voluntarily restricted His omnipotence; it’s in the area of your will. God won’t FORCE you to accept his gift of eternal life.

4. THE Problem: “A camel could squeeze through a needle’s eye easier than a rich person could get into heaven”

Have you heard the one about the camel? Stop me if you’ve heard it. Jesus employed hyperbole and humor to teach a powerful point. Jewish humor was based upon impossible, ridiculous images. Jesus used the largest animal in Israel, a camel, and the smallest manmade opening and talked about the impossibility of trying to get a camel through that. Ha, that’s a good one!

Some people have tried to explain this joke away by saying, “The eye of a needle was a small door made for people, and a camel COULD squeeze through, but it was really difficult.” The only thing wrong with that is that it’s wrong. The New Testament scholar Dr. Hugh Nibley writes: “The needle in Matthew and Mark is a raphis, while in Luke it is a belone. Both refer to needles used for sewing. There is absolutely no evidence that there was a gate called the eye of a needle. The ‘gate idea’ was probably invented by some unknown nineteenth-century minister for the comfort of his wealthy congregation.”

So what was the point of the camel joke? Jesus was pointing out that it is impossible for wealthy people to enter God’s kingdom. One of the reasons is because people with wealth tend to trust their own wealth.

Life lesson: It’s impossible for a rich person (or a poor one) to enter God’s kingdom

The point Jesus is making is that it is impossible for anyone to gain salvation through his or her own merit. The young man trusted his wealth. What are you trusting today? Is there a competing God in your life?

We all must come to Jesus the same way. The richest man in the world needs to come to Jesus the same way a dirty homeless man would come to Jesus. He would have to acknowledge his complete and utter need and come as a guilty sinner and receive the gift of life from Jesus. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be a rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief; doctor, lawyer, Native American tribal leader. There’s only one way—and that’s Jesus. That leads to our final observation:

5. THE GOOD NEWS: “All things are possible with God”

The disciples were under the impression that rich people were blessed by God, so after they heard the camel joke they turned to Jesus in amazement. They asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answered with a profound truth: With men it is impossible [salvation]; but all things are possible with God.”

God specializes in miracles. When Moses had an ocean in front of him and an army chasing him, he faced an impossible situation, but God specializes in the impossible—and He made a twelve-lane expressway in the middle of the ocean. When little David faced a nine-foot monster with only a slingshot, victory was impossible by human standards. But the God of the impossible directed the stone to strike Goliath right between the eyes, then David used Goliath’s own sword to decapitate his fallen foe. He showed everyone there he was someone who knew how to get ahead! When Gabriel visited a teenager named Mary he announced she would give birth to a son who would be the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Mary said, “How can this be, since I’m a virgin?” Gabriel said, “Nothing is impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37) It’s impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, but it’s a miracle when God takes a person through the door of salvation.

LIFE LESSON: Eternal life can’t be earned or bought; it’s a gift from God

The young many walked away not finding what he was looking for! Have you found life? You won’t find life in morality or religion, you’ll only find it in Jesus. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life IN Christ Jesus our Lord.”

CONCLUSION

The first step to coming to Jesus is the admission that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.

There is only one way you can approach God and that is with humility and the admission that you are lost without His forgiveness.

Theoretically, there are three ways to get to heaven. I said, “Theoretically.” Number 1, you can die before you reach the age of accountability. But if you can understand what I’m saying, chances are you’ve passed that window. Two, you can live a perfect life: Never once commit a sin of thought, attitude, or action. Anybody qualify? Third, you can fall on your knees and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to make you a new person.

The young man had so much, but he ended up with nothing but the god of wealth in his life. There may be someone here today who as a competing god ruling your life. You may think you have everything you want or need. But if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have anything. Jesus is looking at you today and He loves you. He looks into your heart and says, “Get rid of all those idols, and follow me. I can give you a life that is really worth living.” Will you trust Him?