In this
blog, I want to look at a man who probably asked himself if Jesus really meant
what He told him to do. When this
man asked Jesus a question and got an answer from Him, I’m sure He walked away
thinking “Really? You want me to do WHAT? You cannot mean that. You don’t know what kind of situation
I’m in…”
Often times,
we try to reason out our way of why we shouldn’t be obligated by what Jesus
commanded or taught. We decide
that our current way of living is more important… we determine that “Surely
Jesus didn’t mean that to apply to ME.”
Read this
passage.
Mark 10:17-27
Now as He was going out on the road, one
came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I
do that I may inherit eternal life?"
So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call
Me good? No one [is] good but One, [that is], God. You know the commandments:
'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false
witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' "
And he answered and said to Him,
"Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and
said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the
cross, and follow Me."
But he was sad at this word, and went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to His
disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom
of God!"
And the disciples were astonished at His
words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it
is for those who trust in riches 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."
And they were greatly astonished, saying
among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"
But Jesus looked at them and said,
"With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for with God all things
are possible."
This ruler
ran to Jesus, knelt to Him and asked what needed to be done to get eternal
life. In his greeting to Jesus
calling Him a Good Teacher, he was implying that He was God since most in that
day would never call anyone ‘good’ except God. Jesus reiterates to him what He just said, confirming to the
man that if he called Jesus that, then he is implying that He is God.
Then Jesus
lists out commandments in the Word that He knows the man has already kept -- commandments
that dealt with how this man treated other people. The man proudly explained that he had kept all the
commandments that Jesus listed.
Then the Son
of God looked at this man and the Bible says that He loved the man. And it was
the love of Jesus that compelled Him to tell the man what he lacked.
"One thing you lack: Go your way, sell
whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
This man who
was convinced he had it all together, convinced he had kept all the
commandments from his childhood, was lacking something. He lacked the heart wholly devoted to
the Lord. The two greatest commandments are to love God, and love people. The ruler had kept the commandments to
love people but He was guilty of idolatry. His riches, his possessions were great and they had become
idols in his heart.
Jesus
exposed the area that this man was holding onto. Jesus tried to show this man that there was a better
way. If the ruler sold his
possessions and gave to the poor, he would have treasure in Heaven – treasure
that would never rust or corrupt or get stolen. Jesus showed him the better way and then gave him an
invitation to take up his cross, to die to himself, and to follow Jesus.
The great
invitation. But an invitation that required obedience to see the manifestation
of the promise.
Instead of
accepting the invitation, accepting the promise, the man walked away and walked
away sad.
But he was sad at this word, and went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
He had been
exposed. The man wanted to
maintain his possessions and live for now than live for the kingdom
coming. The same man who came
running up to Jesus requesting the secret to eternal life went walking away
sad.
Then Jesus
and his disciples had an exchange.
Jesus stated how difficult it was for rich men to enter the kingdom of
God. This shocked the disciples. They were horrified. If rich people couldn’t enter the
kingdom – who could?? It was a common perception that rich people were blessed
and wealthy because God was pleased with them. Jesus answered the disciples that with God, all things are
possible.
Today, there
is still a common misconception that riches and money is a sign of God’s
pleasure. There is a wrong belief
that God wants you rich. I would
like to challenge that belief. I
believe that God wants your heart, and if your heart gets attached to riches,
He would rather have you give it all away so He can have your heart. He would
rather us not become entangled with the cares and deceitfulness of riches
(Matthew 13:22).
I am not
saying that God is telling all of us to go and sell all of our possessions and
give to the poor. There are places
in the Word where God tells us what to do in regards to our money if we are
rich. But He could be telling you
to go and sell and give. He could
be telling me. If He has told
people to do this amazing act of abandonment, He could tell people to
again. Don’t let the idea offend
your mind. If it does, He may be offending your mind to reveal a heart issue.
Jesus will
tell each of us what we are lacking if we ask. We could be lacking in our wholeheartedness because we have
idols in our lives. Or we could be lacking in another area. I promise you this though…if
you ask, He will reveal it to you and invite you into obedience that would
bring a better reward. But be careful if you ask. Only ask if you are prepared
to walk out the command, the invitation that He gives to you.
But if you
ask, obey, and follow, you will never regret it.
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