Mark 10:17-31
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Big Idea:
Big Idea:
You need Jesus for eternal life.
Intro:
Intro:
Hey Church Online! Thanks for joining us.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there. It’s not easy being a dad. And I think it’s worth taking a moment to give honor where it’s due, especially to the dads who trying their best to raise healthy families.
In fact, I’m glad we have holidays that remind us to do this. You might not agree. There are always those who love to say, “It’s just a hallmark holiday!” But you know what… chill with that. Because it’s not like our culture couldn’t use more opportunities to celebrate things that God celebrates:
Valentines Day is about love and relationships - God is love and call us into relationship. Why not celebrate that?
Mother’s Day is about honoring your mom - God’s down with that. It’s in the 10 Commandments.
And Father’s day is about honoring your dad, which is also in God’s law.
Additionally, the Bible says...
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
I think holidays - Hallmark or not - are opportunities to live this verse out. So, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. We give you honor because God says you deserve it. And we want to be a people who obey God’s word, amen?
Today, as we jump back into the Book of Mark, Jesus meets someone who was dedicated to obeying God’s word...
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?”
Remember, at this point in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem, because it’s time for Him to go to the cross. And as He does, He meets a man with one of the most important questions in the world, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And it’s still an important question we’re asking today...
Now, we may not phrase it the same way anymore, but everyone still longs for this answer… We wonder...
Is there life after death?
Do I come back as someone or something else after this life?
Even if you currently believe that it’s just this life and then BAM, game over… you still care about this question. Because part of you likely desires to extend this once chance you have to live - to eternity, if possible!
So, the fact is, most of us wonder how can I make sure my soul (the very essence of my life) doesn’t perish. How can I have eternal life?
…And apparently, this man believes Jesus has the answer.
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Okay, it sounds like Jesus is being super annoying here. You ever talk to those people that make simple questions or conversations difficult? And you’re like, “Oh my gosh… just answer this question!”
And though it feels like Jesus is saying, “[whiny] Why do you call me good…no one is good except God...”
“Yea, I know that! That’s not what I meant. You know what I meant! Answer the question.”
I promise you Jesus is not like that. What He’s actually doing is...
Acknowledging the importance of this question to both the question-asker and to all of us (Mark’s audience).
It’s like He’s saying, “This is an important question. It’s so important that I must make sure you’re ready to receive the answer. And to do that, it’ll help Me to define what you mean by good.
And Jesus says, “Because you call me Good Teacher, and only God is good, you rightly associate Me with God. I am God - God the Son, 2nd Person of the Trinity. Therefore, the answer I’m about to give you is God’s answer. It’s absolute truth. So, whether you like it or not, know that IT’S THE AUTHORITATIVE ANSWER ON HOW TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE.
Jesus begins with...
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.’ ”
He gives 6 of the 10 commandments (do not defraud is likely another expression of do not covet). And the man says...
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
I told you. This guy is dedicated to obeying God. Now, it’s easy to think he’s a little arrogant, but the context doesn’t give us that...
Think about it... when he met Jesus, it says he “ran up, knelt before him, and addressed him in an honorable way - Good Teacher.” This was a respectful and humble man.
Additionally, it wasn’t UNCOMMON for faithful Jews to believe this about themselves. The apostle Paul said of himself...
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
This faithful man was simply saying, “Teacher, I’ve done all of these. Following God’s law is my life. It’s who I am and what I do!”
…And Jesus doesn’t jam him up about it. He doesn’t say, “Come on bro… be honest, I saw what you did last week at the temple potluck. The sign said take one Challah roll and you took two.” No, instead it says...
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him… (v. 21).
The original language gives us the picture that Jesus looked at this young man and instantly became a fan. He saw something special. He had potential. He was like, “I love this guy!”
Both Matthew and Luke (the other gospel writers) tell this same story. And considering their versions, plus what we have here, I believe what Jesus saw was a rich, young ruler who was extremely committed.
He kept the commandments because he had moral discipline.
Maybe he gained his wealth (even at a young age) because he let God’s wisdom direct his decision-making, which will often lead to God’s blessings.
Maybe he’s the type of guy who always showed up at the right places, at the right time, for the right reasons. Isn’t that what he’s doing right now - He showed up where Jesus was.
There’s something special about those kinds of people. And if we could pause and take a quick opportunity to apply God’s Word to our lives… let me ask: Are you this kind of person?
Do you have the discipline and diligence to obey God’s word?
Do you let God’s wisdom guide your decision-making?
Do you show up?
There’s something special about showing up. Being present is powerful. God loves when people choose to show up. They’re usually the ones He uses to change the world.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
In other words, “When you show up, God hooks you up (blesses you).” [Serve Sunday & Church BBQ?]
That being said… showing up and doing the right thing doesn’t lead to eternal life. And I think this special, motivated, rich young ruler sensed that… because here he is… DOING… everything RIGHT, but something seemed WRONG. And he wonders, “Am I headed in the right direction? Am I doing enough?”
And though Jesus was a huge fan of this guy, he also loved him enough to tell him the truth…He said, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (v. 21)
To better understand Jesus’ response, we need consider Jesus’ answer to another important question...
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
In other words, God’s Law (and specifically the 10 commandments) can be accurately summarized into two statements:
Love God with all your heart (which summarize the first four commandments).
Love people in the same way (which summarize the last six).
And earlier, Jesus asked the young ruler about his keeping of the last six commandments - the ones involving “loving your neighbor.” And he was crushing it! But now... Jesus’ request reveals something crucial to inheriting eternal life… the sense is, Jesus is asking Him, “Will you love God with all your heart?”
You see… it’s not that Jesus wants him to sell all of his stuff because it’s wrong to have possessions. He’s helping the man see where his heart is truly at because that’s key to inheriting eternal life.
And to this… Mark says...
Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
What happened? You’d think this would’ve been easy for such a committed man. A man Jesus loved and saw great potential in… What happened?
The Scriptures give us the answer. He refused to follow Jesus (love God with all his heart) because he had great possessions. Jesus goes on to say...
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.”
While I can assure you this is not about wealth being evil or disqualifying, it is being truthful about the power wealth (and possessions) can have over our hearts. Theologian AW Tozer speaks to this principle in his book, The Pursuit of God.
He says that God created man with a throne on his heart. God was the rightful King of that throne. And when God sits there, He generously showers blessings upon that person, which can include wealth. Don’t get it twisted - while I am fully against what some call the prosperity gospel (the teaching that God promises you’re going to be rich) - I fully believe that God desires us to enjoy this life and will bless us according to His infinite wisdom, which sometimes results in Christians being wealthy. Wealth and possessions are not inherently evil.
But when sin entered the world, we choose to kick God off that throne. And instead, we seat ourselves or even “stuff we like” (money/possessions) on that throne. And maybe we’ll give God space in our life, when it’s convenient, personally beneficial, or maybe an emergency where we NEED Him. And that’s when wealth and possessions becomes a hinderance to entering the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, this is not about condemning the rich or never having nice things… it’s about examining your heart. And the easiest way to discover who or what sits on the throne of your heart is to determine what you’re willing to give up.
Can I have your permission to be a little bit mean? Like, in the way Jesus challenged the young man… Can I ask you...
Would you give up your comfortable lives to love God with all your heart?
Would you give up your hobbies (like running, sports, beer, partying, different types of pleasure) to love God with all your heart?
Would you give up your precious free-time to love God with all you heart?
Would you give up your phone to love God with all your heart?
Jesus asked this man to give up his money to love God with all of his heart. And the reason why he walked away is because “his great possessions” sat on the throne of his heart. And he wasn’t willing to give them up because they were “king” in his life.
Here’s a truth for us to take home:
What we won’t give up reveals who or what is king of our hearts.
And if it’s not clear: The only thing we shouldn’t give up is the One Person who belongs on the throne: King Jesus.
That sounds simple, but it’s not… because we are broken by sin. That’s why Jesus says it’s difficult for EVERYONE to enter the Kingdom of God... even if we have no wealth. Sin is everyone’s problem. And from birth, sin has been our master. And it’s always trying to place and keep something other than God on the throne of our heart, which makes it impossible for us to love God with our heart.
That’s why Jesus says...
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
A camel was the largest local animal. And it’s literally impossible for a camel to fit thru the eye of a needle. In the same way, because of our sin, it is impossible for anyone to be saved or inherit the Kingdom of God, which is why the disciples ask...
And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
But then Jesus replies...
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
And the last part of the verse is the key to answering the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” You see, although it is impossible for man to save himself, we have hope because God came to do the impossible for us.
That’s the reason Jesus came. He was going to the Cross to pay for our sins so we could have eternal life - a task only God could accomplish. And it’s why Jesus told the rich man, “If you want eternal life, follow me. Because I’m about to do the impossible FOR YOU on the Cross!”
You’re not going to inherit eternal life by being “good” or doing “good” things. Maintaining that kind of perfection-based lifestyle is impossible. You’ll never live up to God’s standard. It’s impossible to keep God’s law, especially with sin, the devil, and the world fighting against us.
Don’t believe me? Let’s put it to the test:
Have you ever stole anything?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever murdered? Oh wait… remember Jesus expanded this commandment...
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Oh snap...
Of course, just like the rich young ruler, we’d all fall short of God’s command to love Him with all of our heart. We’ve all chose - and continue to choose - to love other things or people more than God.
God is so holy and His standard is so perfect, inheriting eternal life by being good is impossible. It’s too much to continuously carry the weight of perfect living. That’s probably one reason the rich young ruler came to Jesus. His self-righteous living was becoming too much of a burden - it was too heavy to carry. And he was starting to crack under the pressure. And he comes to Jesus asking, “Have I done enough yet? Please tell me it’s enough!!!”
You ever noticed the longer you keep a streak, the harder it becomes to keep? I have a pretty good YouVersion Bible App streak. It’s a couple years worth of logging onto my Bible app every day. But I also have the Youth Retreat coming up… where you can’t have your phone! And I’m starting to feel the pressure.
What if - in the busyness of everything - I forget to go to the office and open up YouVersion to keep my streak alive?
Recovering addicts know this weight too. It’s been “X” amount of days since I last did something bad. That’s great… but the streak also adds pressure.
This weekend, we aren’t just celebrating Father’s Day, we’re celebrating Juneteenth. It’s a day commemorating the freeing of slaves. You know the problem with slavery in America couldn’t be solved with...
Let’s get a streak to see how many days the masters won’t be mean to their slaves...
Or, let’s see how long we can do nice things and give slaves better working conditions...
Being good or doing good doesn’t solve the problem!
The solution was FREEDOM!
And that’s what Jesus offers the rich young ruler, who was a doing his best to be a good person by doing good things. He was telling him, “Give up that burden, follow me, and I’ll set you free!” That’s what eternal life is… it’s being FREE to live for JESUS!
And at this point, I think it began to click for Peter… which is why he asked...
Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
He’s like, “Lord, isn’t that what we’re doing?”
And Jesus was like, “Absolutely!” He says, “Truly, I say to you...” (v. 29) which is sometimes called the “Amen formula” by Bible scholars… and it means what Jesus is about to say, you can take to the bank...
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
Whew! That sounds like good stuff there. Yes, it requires us to give up things, but it’ll be worth it. What Jesus teaches is, “When you give up the junk and let the King back on the throne of your heart, everything works the way I designed it. I, Jesus, sit on the throne and I pour out my blessings upon you, both now and for eternity. It’s a life that can’t even be shaken by persecutions.”
It’s different. A little upside-down. Sounds a little backwards, but that’s only because sin has messed us up so bad that we think good is evil and evil is good. That’s what Jesus means when He says...
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
If we will surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, we’ll inherit eternal life. It requires sacrifice, but it’s worth it.
Response:
Response:
So, as we close, a common Father’s Day message usually includes, “Therefore men, man up! Do better.” And while I believe that as godly men we should “man up” and “do better,” that’s not the gospel. And that’s not the point of our passage.
“Doing better” isn’t going to make us right with God, or change our marriages, family, community, or world. That mentality only produces more rich young rulers - burdened men, who won’t give up earthly passions, and walk away from Jesus.
No, on this Father’s Day, the message is, “Men, love God with all your heart.” Be that kind of man. Be a man who loves Jesus more than anything. Who will follow Jesus anywhere.
Jesus doesn’t need you to be perfect. He’s simply calling you to walk in the same direction He’s walking. Is today the day you finally take a step towards Jesus?
And obviously, this applies to everyone. We all need to be willing to do whatever it takes to follow King Jesus and allow Him to sit on the throne of our hearts...
Maybe today God is calling you to give up something you really like… because if you’re honest… you’ve made it king and all too often it causes us to walk away from Jesus.
Let me end with this… verse 22 says...
Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Couple things...
Just because the young man walked away on that day, doesn’t mean he walked away forever. We are not told the destiny of the rich young ruler.
The word “disheartened” doesn’t mean “disqualified.” It can refer to a tension that began in his heart. In that moment, he began to wrestle with the truth that Jesus spoke into his life.
Therefore, I don’t think it’d be inappropriate to believe that this young, committed, godly, ruler- who Jesus loved - eventually came to trust Christ as Lord and Savior.
He just needed time to wrestle his great possessions off the throne of his heart.
And I share this possibility to give some of you hope this morning. Right now, some of you aren’t ready to surrender to Jesus. While I wish you wouldn’t wait a second more to enter into eternal life, I trust God’s work in your heart more than my ability to persuade you in this moment.
And if you aren’t ready to make decision to give up everything to follow Jesus today, that doesn’t mean you’re disqualified. Just pay attention to that tension you feel in your heart. That’s the Holy Spirit working on you. He sees the potential in you. He’s fallen in love with you. He’s a fan. And if you’ll let Him, He’ll help you take that junk off the throne, so you can inherit eternal life thru Jesus Christ.
Today, as you leave, go home and think about what we’ve talked about today. Read it again. Listen to the sermon again online. Let God wrestle with your heart. Btw, God always wins.
Let’s pray...
God, today I hear your word. I hear you inviting me into eternal life. I’ve done so much wrong. I’ve chosen things over loving You. And yet, you still look at me, and love me. Thank you for being a God of grace, mercy, and goodness. Today, I confess my sins. I admit I can’t live perfectly as your law demands. I need you to save me. Jesus, will you come rescue me today. I need your help. Change my heart. Change my life. In Jesus name, amen.
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