Thursday, April 28, 2021
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his
knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do
to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is
good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you
shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false
testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. Teacher, he
declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy. Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing
you lack,” he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. At this the man’s face
fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Mark 10:17-22
Above All
There
was a rich young ruler. He probably had influence, leadership, money of course,
good looks, and success. But he wanted something more. He must have felt
that something was still missing in his life. He had heard about a relationship with
Jesus leading to eternal life and he asked Jesus about it one day - Good
teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus
responded by telling him that he already knew what the commandments say - You
shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall
not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.
The man responds saying that he has done these things since he was a boy. Jesus
then tells him that he lacks one thing – to sell all his worldly possessions
and give them to the poor and follow Him. When the rich young ruler heard these
words, he went away sad. And Jesus was sad too.
What
did Jesus mean by his words to this young man? Did He mean that the only way we
can ever hope to get into heaven is if we sell everything we own and give it to
the poor? Then live out of a tent and do the Lord’s work? No. that is not it at
all, unless we love all our worldly possessions more than we love Jesus. See,
this story is about love. This young man might have thought that he could buy
his way into heaven. Or perhaps he thought that he could get into heaven because
he was powerful, dynamic, and well liked. But Jesus knew that the young man
loved his things, and he loved his life exactly the way it was. Jesus knew that
he loved all this more than he loved Him, and he wouldn’t be willing to
sacrifice or give up anything for anyone else – not for the poor and not for
Jesus. Does this mean he was not sincere in asking? Not necessarily. We ask God
many questions and don’t necessarily like the answer we get, even when know He
gives the only right answer.
This young
ruler did not realize that his treasure on earth is really worth nothing in an
eternal perspective. None of it would get him into heaven and his love for it
all would keep him out of heaven, because he loved it all more than he loved Jesus.
Jesus wants first place in our lives. He wants us to love Him most of all. If
we love something so much that we are not willing to give it up if He wants us
to, then our love is out of order and we need to take a close look at things.
Jesus
was sad over the young ruler’s choice. He loved Him like He loves you and me. Jesus looked at him and loved him. So why
didn’t Jesus give Him a second chance or chase him down or try to persuade him
to change his mind? Because Jesus lets us make that choice. The young ruler
knew. He had known and kept the commandments since he was a little boy, so it
is not as it he had never heard of Jesus. He made the choice. Jesus cannot
share the throne of our hearts. There is only room for one and it must be Him. This
story is a good reminder for us to examine what we love, and what place we give
it in our lives.
This successful
young man seemed to be doing all the right things, but he could not give up his
affection for wealth in order to follow Jesus. And then Jesus said that it’s
easier for “a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to
enter the kingdom of God” (v.25). Thankfully, there is nothing we can have or
do to make us worthy enough to get into heaven. In our own efforts, power, wealth,
or influence, we cannot make it in. It is only by the shed blood of Jesus, His
sacrifice on the cross that makes us worthy enough. His sacrifice did it for us
and our believing and receiving is the only ticket we need.
