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Mark 10:17-27
(Sermon for the week of October 15th)
Gospel
Mark 10:17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down
before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him,
"Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not
commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false
witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,"Teacher, all of these I have observed
from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him
"You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give
to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come,
follow me."At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is
for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
"The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to
them in reply,"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom
of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "
Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said,"For human
beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
SERMON:
A man ran up to Jesus...this man had material wealth because
Mark mentions it in verse 22 that he had many possessions.
The most common sermon you will hear is the one that concentrates
on "The Rich Young Ruler" who came to Jesus and asked Jesus
how to enter heaven. We have a different insight into these
verses, one that cannot be overlooked. There is more to this
week's reading than I will say here, but next time we read
this story in the Gospel's, I will mention more insights.
First, the man approaches Jesus and says these words:
"GOOD TEACHER..."
Teacher? Right from the start, this man has no clue who Jesus
is...but a teacher? Teacher or Messiah...pick one! For either
Jesus is the Son of God or He is a man, but I say to you that
Jesus has proven Himself FROM BIRTH not to be just a human man...
He is something much more...the MESSIAH living in a tent of
flesh like us...every Christian must learn the Word of God and
draw a final conclusion. Is Jesus a Good and Wise Teacher or
is He the Son of God? Before arriving at a final conclusion...
have you really given this a fair amount of reflection and study,
and have you given yourself enough time to learn like you have
in other areas of your life? Do you read the Word of God to
learn if Jesus is the Son of God and devote just HALF of the
time you give to other activities like SURFING THE WEB or
watching TV? IF you can't read the Word of God enough to draw a
conclusion then you are thinking like this rich young ruler...
many of us have in our life...and it is time to recognize it and
act on it by arriving to an intelligent answer inspired by the
Breath of God. Give it a try.
Is Jesus a Good Teacher or The Son of God? Answering that Jesus
is the Son of God and the teacher of teachers is a great answer!
How many in their hearts think that Jesus is just a teacher and
NOT the Son of God?Are there a few out there who just can't
believe that Jesus is the Son of God and create a comfort zone
to make Jesus just a teacher and at that a teacher of men who
was just a man? OH YES!
Questions to answer:
Did Jesus rise from the grave on the third day? YES OR NO?
Was Jesus born of the Virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit
and not conceived by a human father? YES OR NO?
IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE? YES OR NO?
Did Jesus fulfill over 300 prophecies of the Old Testament which
would make the odds of any man fulfilling these prophecies
impossible? I'll answer that one now...
A wonderfully inspired man named Mr. Stoner calculated the
probability of one man fulfilling only a handful of the over
300 Messianic prophecies in a study. In 1944, he published his
research results in Science Speaks: Scientific Proof of the
Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible. Stoner concluded that the
probability of one person fulfilling just eight of the specific
prophecies was one chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000
(one followed by 17 zeros). How about one person fulfilling
just 48 of the over 300 prophecies? Stoner calculated these
odds at one chance in 10 to the power of 157 -- way beyond
statistical impossibility! So the answer is that NO man could
fulfill the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah!
Second, why call Jesus GOOD? So, let's look at this...You
can't recognize that Jesus is the Son of God...the Messiah...
but you know that Jesus is good? Give me a break! NO MAN IS GOOD...
ONLY GOD IS GOOD!
What does "good" mean? Heavenly? Spiritual? Godly? Perfect?
Trying your best? Is it defined by what YOU think is good or
what GOD thinks is good? What you think is good is nothing close
to what God sees as good.
This type of human thinking is the very reason why Jesus had
to offer Himself as a final sacrafice for mankind...so that
God the Father will see us as Good! The idea of what "good" is
was never, is never, and will never be for us to decide and
judge...THE ONLY "GOOD" IS GOD! TO KNOEW GOOD IS TO KNOW GOD AND
WE KNOW GOD THROUGH HIS SON JESUS! Notice that Jesus makes
this statement first and looks past this man's blindness as to
who he is talking to. Jesus tells the man right away
"Why do YOU call me GOOD?" Yes, this statement by the rich man
would bother the Creator who is the Son of God, Jesus...
would it not? I think so...
Third, Jesus engages and answers the man's question...however...
Jesus answers this question with authority, as a command, and
with a promise! Let me point out another small detail...the man
seeks to INHERIT eternal life. He does not ask how to get eternal
life, what must he do for eternal life but instead asks how to
INHERIT...as if it was passed down like a material possession!
To inherit means to: To receive (property or a title, for example)
from an ancestor by legal succession or will. Or, to receive by
bequest or as a legacy. Or, to receive or take over from a
predecessor: To gain (something) as one's right or portion.
Sounds like the thinking of a man with riches! His question is
flawed from the beginning...
How would you ask Jesus this question?
Jesus begins his answer with a stfew of the commandments and
mentions five commandments of the second table. Jesus then throws
in one commandment that was never part of the original
commandments..."You shall not defraud".
A rich man...a business man...would defraud...and could engage
in that quite frequently! But, it was not one of the original
commandments...do you see why this is an answer from someone
claiming authority? Wouldn't those hearing this be quick to say...
"Wait, Jesus, we now have 11 commandments"? Jesus is subsituting
the 10th commandment of wishing (coveting) of anothers property
for one that a rich man would more likely engage in...defrauding
others!
The man answers Jesus that he has kept all these since his youth
(v.20)REALLY? Jesus knows the truth...I personally find it hard
to believe...but I will take this man on his word. Jesus gives
him one thing to do and that one thing comes with a promise of
eternal life.
Jesus commands the man: "Sell your possessions, give the money
to the poor and follow me!"
The rich man becomes shocked and begins grieving...AND RUNS AWAY!
Why did he run away? So that the years of his life on this planet
with his material possessions will last till his death? This man
thinks that there must be another way that doesn't involve giving
away his material possessions? For goodness sakes, someone...this
someone being the actual Messiah...gives this one man the luckiest
chance of his soul..."give away your material wealth,
have ETERNAL LIFE and undefined TREASURE IN HEAVEN!
Another question:
If the rich man did as instructed, would he be granted
eternal life?...YES...FOR JESUS DID NOT, CAN NOT, and WILL NEVER
LIE!His Word is THE WORD! This rich man was given a chance that
none of us will have, sell our belongings, give the money to the
poor, follow Jesus and this man ran from it!
Can the rich be saved? Do they even think about being saved?
Do you? Which is more important to the rich: their wealth or God?
This life is deceiving...to be successful in the eyes of men you
must have material wealth which is very likely to take you away
from God, and if you are poor...it is a lot easier to find faith
and live by faith as the world looks down on you (for a short time)
Are riches a blessing or curse? You may have all the wealth in
this world, but when faced with the only Begotten Son of God...
what will happen? Will you run away crying? With God all things
are possible and that goes for the poor and for the rich...I want
eternal life...do you?
God Bless you and your families this week!
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