Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 15

15. Teaching the powerful!

 

Welcome back to our series, AGOG – A Glimpse of God. We are on Day 15 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

(Mark 10:17-22) 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: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour 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.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

This story is in the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Luke describes him as a wealthy ruler (Luke 18:18-27). Matthew describes him as a young man (Matthew 19:16-26). In Mark’s account, he is simply a man (Mark 10:17-22). Put altogether that makes him a rich young ruler. He runs up to Jesus and falls on his knees before him. He wants eternal life, wants it now! When he calls Jesus a good teacher, Jesus responds “No one is good—except God alone.” This young man was also thinking that he was good, and that to have eternal life, he had to continue to be good. Hence his question, he wanted to make sure of it! Now Jesus could have been correcting the young man, but more likely Jesus was asking: “Do you know what you are saying and how close to the truth about me you are?”

Jesus goes on to list some of the 10 commandments. The young man assured Jesus that he had kept each of them faithfully in his pursuit of eternal life, yet was lacking that he was assured of eternal life. But a problem was that the law had to be kept perfectly and he had not! He had not fulfilled the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods but me!” He had also broken the greatest commandment “Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Jesus looked on this man with love and said to him, that in order to follow Him, that this young man lacked one thing. He would have to give up everything in order to follow Jesus.

That was a step too far, as he wanted his riches and eternal life but Jesus said he couldn’t have both. The rich young ruler left disconsolate. He remains the only man who left Jesus’ presence sorrowful, and that due to putting his trust in his riches and wealth alone. Now riches are not necessarily wrong but they do make trusting fully in God very difficult (Mark 10:23). The rich young ruler had hoped to have his riches as well as eternal life – but the price to have that eternal life, was too much for him to pay.

The disciples then asked the obvious question “If not this man, then who can be saved?” Jesus replied that it was impossible for any person to gain eternal life in their own power! But with God, it is possible, because this eternal life is a gift offered not a gift earned! As my followers, you will gain eternal life and you will become members of a new family! Persecutions will come, if you follow me, says Jesus – but it will all be worth it! I promise! If you want to be great in my kingdom, seek only me as your Saviour – put me first over all! All too much for that rich young ruler! Is it too much for you in the 21st century?

Again, I ask, who do you say Jesus is? But further, what are you going to do with this Jesus and let Him do to you? Are you trying to gain salvation through your good and charitable acts, rather than depending fully on Jesus Christ? It is not too late! Today can be the day of your salvation!

Come back tomorrow for Day 16 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together at that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! We will see together, somebody rejecting Jesus because the price of following Him was too high a price to pay! See you soon at Partakers!

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