Mark 10:17-22

The rich, young ruler. This story is in Matthew, Mark and Luke! They were aware of what each other wrote; the Holy Spirit prompted them all to write their accounts.

Mark was not written chronologically, but thematically. So far, Jesus has said that to be his disciple you must be of low importance, a servant, like a child. Also you must not be a stumbling block; don't misrepresent him! You are to love your spouse, not bringing sin into marriage. You must also have an infant-like dependence on him! We don't deserve the Kingdom, contributing nothing of our own.

In today's text, we go from the lowest of the low (infants) receiving the Kingdom, to the highest of the high (the rich, young ruler) ultimately rejecting it.

v17... the man is asking what he must do to earn heaven. According to Jesus himself, there's nothing we can do; we bring nothing to the table.

v18... It's indeed possible to be "a good man" as we see in Acts 11:24 (Barnabas), so Jesus isn't making the point that a man can't be "good" by a certain definition. But God alone is infallible. This man has said he's lived a good life, but he's still a sinner like the rest of us.

We live in a world that's filled with difficulties and tragedy, and it can be easy to be bitter when people fail you. Jesus alone is truly, fully good! He's the light of the world.

Psalm 1 and 2... these Psalms broadly summarize all the other Psalms; you can find most of the content of the 148 Psalms in Psalms 1 and 2. Psalm 1 instructs us on how to live righteously... and we know there's only one perfectly righteous person: Jesus. Coming to him is the only way to avoid perishing! Your works will not help you.

v19... Jesus goes immediately to Scripture, to the Word of God-- not to church history or what church leaders say!

v20... This man says he's kept the Commandments since his youth; elsewhere we see Paul calling himself blameless under the Law. This is likely not bragging, but an honest account of a life earnestly lived in pursuit of the things of God.

v21... This man is not a believer, but this passage specifically says Jesus loves him! Our Lord loves people; he cares for us, desires good for us, even if we reject him! We must not accept sin, but we must still love the sinner.

...This is the only man in the Bible who is called to sell everything and become poor to follow Jesus. It's not intended to be normative; it's specific to this man's relationship to his money and possessions.

v22... the man realized he cared too much for his possessions to follow Jesus, and therefore in sadness, rejected him.

One quick thought to close...

It may be tempting to think that this man's decision is based on greed or a love of money, but we can understand why he'd believe that his riches may be a direct result of his righteous living. Psalm 112 says a generation of the upright will be blessed; wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness will endure forever. He thinks, of course God is blessing me, as I've been righteous! He must have been confused when Jesus told him he had to get rid of it all. So it's a little more nuanced than simply, "This man chose money over God".

That said, Jesus is God! And if he wants this man to sell all his possessions, that's the right thing to do. And he rejected the Lord Jesus, the blessing of all blessings, in favor of his earthly treasure. There is a real deceitfulness in riches... more on that next week!