Mark 10:17-31 Hubba, Hubba, Hubba, Money, Money, Money… Who Do You Trust?
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 10:17-31, page 846 in the pew Bibles.
It seems like every Sunday for the past month I have said the same thing as we get started in our study of Mark, “I’m glad you came back after that last one…” The truth is, the Lord has really been working on me through these texts and these studies, and you get to witness it. I only pray that He is working on you as well through it.
Our passage for this morning picks up right where we left off last week where Jesus had proclaimed to His disciples and all those around to, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
It’s right after this that we pick up the account in ark 10:17-31, page 846 in the pew Bibles.
17 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?” 18 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.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “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.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 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!” 24 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! 25 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.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 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, 30 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. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Let’s pray.
So Jesus and His disciples were in the region called Perea, east of the Jordan River, and after spending time there and teaching the people they were just beginning the next leg of their journey to Jerusalem and to the cross.
No sooner than they had started out then a rich young ruler ran up to Jesus and bowed down at His feet.
It’s in Luke’s account of this event that we learn that this rich young man was a ruler of some kind, a member of the aristocrats somehow. Some speculate that this young man was Mark himself for various interesting reasons that don’t really add to the value of our discussion today.
Either way, this young man ran up to Jesus, and knelt at His feet, both actions unbefitting a member of the ruling class, and asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
I’m sure that this young man had heard Jesus’ teaching prior to this event, maybe he was even there in the back when Jesus taught about the little children.
Jesus’ response is curious, He says to this young man, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
This is an affirmation from Jesus that He is in fact God, He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t say, “Don’t call me good,” or, “Only God is good and I’m not Him.” He simply asked, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” He doesn’t condemn or correct the man, it almost as if He is saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. Are you calling me God?” And the young man would have been right if he said yes. Christ’s goodness is founded in His oneness with the Father.
So then, Jesus moves on to the young man’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus recites the second table of the Ten Commandments in verse 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.’
I say, the second table, as the first table includes the first four commandments: “You shall have no other God’s before me, You shall not make any graven images to bow down to, you shall not take the Lord’s Name in vain, and keep the Sabbath holy.”
Jesus asked about the Commandments because they are God’s standard for judgment, God’s mirror that mankind can look into and see our unrighteousness and need for forgiveness. No one but Jesus has ever fulfilled all of the Ten Commandments, even though this rich young man claims to have nailed at least six.
But what do you notice about these six commandments listed by Jesus? Anything look out of place? Where is the Tenth Commandment, “you shall not covet?” it was replaced with, “do not defraud.”
Since the young man said that he had kept all these from his youth, we can only assume that he accumulated his wealth honestly and not by cheating anybody like a tax collector. But what is the significance of replacing coveting with defrauding? Is Jesus changing the Law? By no means! He said Himself that not the least stroke of the pen in Law would pass away.
Defrauding someone, cheating them out of their possessions, is the fruit of coveting.
20 And [the young man] said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “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.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Jesus looked at this young man and saw through his error and his confusion, He saw through his self-righteousness, and saw his heart. He saw his simple, direct, childlike seed of faith, and loved him.
And in seeing this young man’s heart he saw His real problem. “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.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
The word, “disheartened,” is the same word translated, “shocked, and, appalled.” He went away sad and greatly distressed because he had great possessions. More accurately, great possessions had him.
The young man was faced with a choice, give up your possessions, leave that all behind and follow Jesus, or, keep it all and remain on the outside of God’s kingdom, without eternal life. In that moment the rich young man, in essence, sold his soul. What a sad story.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6-10,
6 …Godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Verse 10 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money is a root of ALL KINDS of evil.
Who can regard riches as an advantage when they stand in the way of salvation? The rich young man held with closed fists that which should be held with open hands.
23 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!” 24 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! 25 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.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Squeezing a camel through the eye of a needle is a ridiculous endeavor, it’s impossible, no matter how small the camel!
But why is it easier than for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God?
It’s a question of who you worship. Jesus asked the rich young man to exchange his gods. In his self-righteousness he didn’t realize that money was his god. He was nice enough on the outside, I’m sure everybody in town thought he was a good guy, but he was an idol worshipper, he bowed before his wealth and worshipped that which was created instead of the Creator.
But the answer for that young man was the same as it is for us, and that is: the grace of God. Getting that camel through the eye of a needle is easier than getting any sinner into God’s eternal kingdom, whether rich or poor.
Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
So is wealth the problem? Should we all just give up all we have to the poor in order to follow Jesus? Was Jesus command to the rich young man a command for all believers for all time?
Some have taken it to be so, as if poverty in and of itself is somehow a virtue. But that was not what Jesus was teaching here. Jesus was exposing idolatry in the heart of this young man, not teaching that having possessions itself was idolatry.
But the disciples didn’t really get what He was saying…
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 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, 30 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. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
If after reading that and thinking that, “Hey, this kinda sounds like I’m due a hundred houses…” I would encourage you to go back and see the camel…
Jesus explains here the upside down economy of His church. Society tells us that the rich and powerful come first, that it is much better to be rich in this life, forget about the life to come. Big house, fancy car, powerful position, respected career, that’s what’s important. A lot has changed but not much has changed over the last two thousand years.
Rich or poor, privileged or oppressed, we all come to Jesus in the same way, in desperate need of His grace. And we have all been entrusted certain things as stewards, caretakers of things that are not ours whether it’s talent or treasure, and we must hold those things with open hands not clenched fists.
Idolatry was the young man’s problem and Jesus exposed it for all to see. But instead of repenting of his idolatry, he was shocked and appalled and went away sorrowful. Let’s take a lesson from that, do not refuse God’s grace, confess your sins to Jesus and repent, turn from them to follow Him.
Being wealthy is not a sin, trusting in your wealth instead of trusting in our Redeemer is.
1 Timothy 6:17-19,
17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Amen.
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