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?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me
good? No one is good except God alone. 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.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all
these I have kept from my youth.” 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.” Disheartened
by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Mark 10: 17-22 (also Matt. 19:16ff, Luke 18: 18ff)
Still in Perea, and
continuing His journey south along the eastern border of the Jordan, Jesus encounters
a man who ‘runs’ up to him, then ‘kneels’ before Him and asks, “what must I do
to inherit eternal life?’ We know this
man as the ‘Rich Young Ruler,’ but Jesus knew him as someone he ‘loved.’
In Jesus’ time, the understanding
of eternal life was not only as we think of it today. When we hear the words we trace immediately to heaven – as we commonly associate having ‘eternal life’
with going to or being in heaven when we die. In the Synoptic Gospels and
Pauline Letters, eternal life is not only regarded
as a future experience, it also refers to the day of Final Judgment.
In this sense, eternal life is the reward itself, not just the place. The Gospel of John differs from the Synoptic’s in emphasizing eternal life
as a "present possession" (compare Mark 10:30, Matthew 18:8-9, and
John 5:24), rather than a future reward.
Either way, the question from this wealthy young ruler was meant
to be understood as this – 'how might I be assured of favor in your Kingdom, LORD?' Or, simpler put, 'how might I win?' And, Jesus, loving him - and looking through him and into his heart - taught a lesson we must learn.
Yes, this interchange teaches
us truth’s that are immediately important. It teaches that Jesus cares that we live according to His
commands, that he knows what's in our heart, and that He loves us. When the young man
responded to Jesus’ reiteration of the commands he said - ‘all these have I kept from my youth
up’ - yet... Jesus looked, and knowing him better than he knew himself, loved him anyway. His love was not contingent upon the young man's affirmative response - nor is it on ours. Jesus knows us better than that. He knows that even among we who think we’ve kept all the law, that we've broken it in ‘spirit’ time after time. Jesus loved this man. He didn't love him because he kept the law, nor even because he'd tried. And, certainly, He didn't love him just because he asked about eternal life. He loved him because he was someone God had placed on this
earth and for whom He, Jesus, was soon going to die. (cf. John 3:16)
Of course this begs the
question - does Jesus require that we give away our possessions in order to gain eternal life? Our answer is both yes and no. The
Bible teaches that ‘belief’- faith in Christ - is the only requirement of us, as we
are not saved by works but by His grace.
Still, belief is something formed and found in our individual heart, and Christ wants us to give to Him all our our heart. Looking into the heart (or soul) of this man,
Jesus saw his hypocrisy. His
kneeling at Jesus feet wasn’t to ask him a question, it was him simply saying, ‘look at
me.’ Well… Jesus did – and He loved him anyway.
As Jesus looks into our
hearts I wonder what He sees. Does
he see a desire for Him that is larger than possessions, fame or this present day? Do we really desire eternal life with
Him, or simply to be noticed?
It has been said that the Kingdom of God is as near as the heart - and
that our hearts never lie. This
young man went away in sorrow because ‘he had great possessions.’ His stuff kept the ‘real’ treasure hid from his view. In his heart he was sorry - much more than he knew.
What’s in your heart?
Pastor Sam
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