Hard Sayings: Sell What You Have

Text: Mark 10:17-31

Theme: The story of the rich young ruler teaches us that those individuals who have cluttered hearts cannot come to Jesus, who demands our hearts be singularly his.

Date: 01/23/2022 File name: Hard_Sayings_08.wpd ID Number:

This story is recorded in three of the four Gospels, so there is much we can learn about the man who runs up to Jesus.

First, he is a young man. He has his whole life ahead of him – he is just starting out in life. He probably has a new bride who is thrilled to be married to a handsome, ambitious young man. Perhaps he and his wife were expecting their first child. In some measure we must congratulate him that, at such a young age, he is concerned about eternal matters.

Second, he is well respected and is a leader in his community. Luke’s gospel tells us that he was a Ruler. That means that he was probably a leader in his local synagogue. Synagogues always had least to overseeing officials; one is called The Minister or The Attendant and was responsible for the synagogue building and the furniture but most importantly for the care of the case containing the Torah. The other is called The Ruler and is responsible for the general oversight of all congregational matters – including worship. Both were important jobs and those who held them were exemplary man and pillars in their community. This young man is a leader in his community and his house of worship.

Third, this man was rich. All three Gospel accounts affirm that this man was an individual of great wealth – most likely inherited. He had property, he had lands, he had a great estate with many servants.

Lastly, this man is religious, but struggling with deep spiritual discontent. His question,”What must I do to inherit eternal life?” is an earnest question that reveals that his spiritual life is unsatisfying. Above all else, he wants peace of mind and never ending blessings in the future. He comes to Jesus, and asks a serious question. It’s a question more people need to be asking these days; Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? After all is said and done, Jesus tells him, You lake one thing; go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. We all know the story. It’s a sad story; Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This is another of our Lord’s hard sayings. Over the centuries most pastors and scholars have diminished the force of the text by saying, “This is how Jesus tested one man’s devotion, but he did not ask all his hearers to give away their property in the same way.” There is some truth to that, but the advise that Jesus gives to this rich man is by no means isolated. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his listeners, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

This young man reveals the Tragedy of a Cluttered heart.

I. THE CLUTTERED HEART CAN DESIRE GOD

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17, ESV)

1. a man comes running up to Jesus

a. in Matthew’s account of the story we discover that the man is young, and in Luke’s Gospel we’re told that he’s a ruler, meaning he’s from the aristocratic elite of Israel

1) put it all together, and this is the story of a rich, young ruler coming to Jesus, with the most important question of life

b. he truly desired the things of God

1) we see that in his question

2) we see that in the fact that he sought Jesus out

2. he was open to what Jesus had to say, and he really wanted it

a. now, the problem is that he did not consider the implications of what he wanted

1) but his desire was there

A. DESIRE FOR GOD IS NOT ENOUGH

1. there are many people today who desire God, and who desire to go to heaven when they die ... they want to be spiritual ... they want to know how to know God

a. but they are not willing to count the cost in terms of their personal commitment to Christ in this life

1) they want to live as they please in this world, and go to heaven when they die

2) they want to, as the American idiom says, have their cake and eat it to

b. Jesus speaks of men’s failure to consider the cost of following Him in Luke’s gospel

Luke 14:27-32 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." NASB95

2. the old adage is true, You can’t have your cake and eat it too

a. there is a cost to becoming a Christian

b. the price is His Lordship

3. the man was confronted with the choice between himself and God; between fulfillment in this life and fulfillment in the life to come

a. he never questioned the truthfulness of what Jesus said

1) he did not equivocate or argue ... he just walked away

b. what Jesus was offering him was going to cost him his pride and his possessions, he decided that the price was too high — even for eternal life

II. THE CLUTTERED HEART CAN BE MORALLY RIGHT

“And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” (Luke 10:18-20, ESV)

1. this young man came to Jesus and he asked the right question ... What must I do to inherit eternal life?

a. Jesus responds, “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (Mark 10:19, NASB95)

2. the young man’s reply is that he has done so since he was a young boy

"And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (Mark 10:20, NASB95)

a. he was a morally upright person

b. he was not saved, but he was “good” as men define goodness

ILLUS. Most of us were, more than likely “good” before we were saved, but we were a lost good person. That’s one of the truths of the parable of the Prodigal Son. Both sons were prodigal. The younger son was lost in his unrighteous behavior and the older son was lost in his righteous behavior. But both were lost.

3. there are many people in our community in this situation today

a. in our culture, there are many who live good, clean lives

1) they are honest

2) they treat others fairly and with respect

3) they are faithful to their spouses

4) they give their employers an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage

5) they do not lie

6) they do not steal

7) some of them even go to church

b. they pretty much live exemplary lives by the world’s standards

c. they are clean, and upright; they are morally and ethically good

4. but being morally right does not earn a man a place in heaven any more than a desire to go there

ILLUS. Give all your money away to charitable causes. Sell your house and belongings and move to India and spend the remainder of your life ministering to the outcasts of that society, but if you don’t come to Christ, all those things do not move you one inch closer to God’s eternal kingdom.

A. RIGHT BEHAVIOR IS NOT ENOUGH IF YOUR HEART IS CLUTTERED WITH STUFF

1. just as desire is not enough, so right behavior is not enough

a. none of us, no matter how morally and ethically right we are, are perfect

b. we’ve all been plagued with the curse of sin

c. we are all sinners by nature and choice

2. however much we seek to do righteously, all our righteousness adds up to way less righteousness than we need to inherit eternal life

a. unless our righteousness is as perfect as the righteousness of Christ, it is not enough

b. unless we keep God’s law as perfectly as Christ kept it, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God

1) we fall short of the glory of God

3. good behavior is not enough, because it is never good enough

III. CLUTTERED HEARTS CANNOT RESPOND TO GOD

1. here is the sad conclusion to the matter — cluttered hearts cannot respond to God

"Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property." (Mark 10:21-22, NASB95)

a. the rich, young ruler went away sorrowful

1) Jesus essentially tells this man, “I want you to imagine life without your great wealth”

2) he couldn’t do it ... his heart was grieved because he had many possessions and great wealth

b. he had a desire for God – he wanted to inherit the Kingdom of God and eternal life

c. he was morally upright – he had kept the commandments of God from his youth

2. but he was unable to respond to God because his heart was cluttered by his possessions

a. he was like a child in many ways – open, teachable – but he could not be responsive and trustful

b. his possessions had cluttered his heart and he was bound by them

1) they shackled him, and his enslavement to them prohibited him from being able to respond in obedience to the command of Jesus

2) when he counted the cost, the cost was too high, because he had an allegiance to other things

A. BONDAGE TO ‘STUFF’ CLUTTERS HEARTS

1. Jesus goes on to describe the extent of the bondage which our possessions can have on us

"And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23, NASB95)

2. His disciples are amazed

a. so Jesus repeats His statement again

"The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard 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 man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:24-25, NASB95)

3. now the disciples are even more amazed — they are exceedingly astonished

"They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” (Mark 10:26, NASB95)

a. the common perception of that era believed that wealth was a sign of the blessing of God

1) the more things change the more they stay the same, true?

b. yet, Jesus asserts that wealth, instead of being a blessing, can in fact, be a curse

1) Jesus does not say that riches in themselves are either good or bad

2) Jesus never said that money was in-and-of-itself the problem

c. but money, wealth, and material possessions, all can become problems whenever one’s heart becomes set on them instead of the things of God

4. Jesus illustrates the spiritual hindrance that money and possessions can be by telling one of the most well-known proverbial sayings in the Bible –

v. 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.”

a. great wealth is often a hindrance to experiencing eternal wealth

b. now we need to be honest; other things can clutter a person’s heart keeping them out of the kingdom of God

1) great learning and knowledge can clutter the heart

2) devotion to family can clutter the heart

3) pride and a pull-yourself-up-by-you-own-bootstraps attitude can clutter your heart

4) religiosity can clutter your heart

c. Jesus comes to each of us and says, “I want you to imagine life without your _____” and you fill in the blank

5. Jesus says that getting into the Kingdom by your own effort is impossible

"Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, ... ” (Mark 10:27, NASB95)

a. Jesus is using hyperbole

1) He’s referring to a literal needle’s eye – the kind used for sewing

b. obviously, the thought of a camel fitting through that needle’s eye erases all shadow of a doubt as to the possibility of it taking place

6. but Jesus gives us the good news

"Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27, NASB95)

a. what is impossible with men is possible for God

1) God is the God of the impossible

2) in God, the possibilities are limitless

b. God can change the heart of a rich man so that his desire is not set upon the riches, but upon the Lord

c. the danger of riches is that riches can possess the heart

1) that is what draws the strong warning of Jesus

2) Jesus is concerned with anything that makes our hearts unresponsive to God

d. folks – I will tell you something that is true, but something that a lot of Christians will not like ...

1) if you want to know how thoroughly the gospel has permeated a man’s heart, look at what he does with his pocket book

This passage ends with a promise, It is a promise for all of those who take Jesus' command seriously. His disciples went on to ask Him how this applied to their lives. Peter says, in verse 28, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Jesus replies that everyone who has forsaken something for His sake shall not suffer lack, but will receive a hundred-fold blessing in this life, and eternal life in the age to come. What Jesus is saying is that we can trust Him. He will take care of us. The real issue is the matter of our heart. Is our heart right toward God?

I think we’re all aware how, slowly, over time our lives can become “re-cluttered”. So, too, can our hearts.