Mark
10:17-31
Key
verse 10:21
Today’s
passage is the last teaching out of 4 teachings after the second prediction of
his suffering and death. They are accepting little ones (9:38-50), one’s
relationship with his wife (10;1-12), Be like little children to enter the
kingdom of God (10:13-16), and today’s teaching on a young man with wealth. All
these stories have one common theme, the attitude toward God expressed in one’s
relationship with other people or things in the world. In these relationships, our true belief is revealed;
belief in one’s own justice and righteousness, and strong will to implement
that righteousness on others. Simply we reveal what we are, as one as a man of
authority and power to rule over others, to take advantage of the weak and
helpless, which leads to an attitude toward the Lord with pride and arrogance.
Against these, Jesus taught how he would serve others, the neighbor and the
Lord; the basic attitude was to yield; yielding to the Lord’s graciousness
in truth by total trust in Him. Yielding is to honor the Lord to the fullness
of His authority as the judge and as the one who holds the blessing.
1.
[17-19]
When and how did a man come to Jesus, and what did he ask? (17) What was Jesus’
comment on “Good teacher?” (18) What did it imply? What commandments did Jesus
mention in answer to the man’s question? (19; cf. Ex 20:12-17) Why?
A
rich young man came up to Jesus and asked him what he had to do to inherit the
kingdom of God. He was sincere and even serious in his search for the kingdom
of God, that he knelt down before Jesus and was begging for an answer from
Jesus.
His
attitude toward Jesus was somewhat different from others; He called Jesus a
good teacher and he gave full respect to Jesus as a good teacher. He knew and
understood that Jesus was not an ordinary teacher of the time but unique and
different, particularly in respect to his godly goodness. As far as a man could think of Jesus, this
young man, humanly speaking, gave Jesus the best honor.
But
Jesus questioned him why he called Jesus ‘good’ since there is no one good but God
alone. He saw Jesus was good. But did this man think that he himself was good
as well? Through this question Jesus nudged him to think beyond confidence in
his moral uprightness to the ultimate purpose of his life, that is to know the
goodness of God Almighty. Along this line, Jesus asked him if he kept the six
of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the full reflection of God’s
holiness and Jesus wanted him to see himself in the eyes of the LORD of
holiness for to see himself in the eyes of the Ten commandments is to see the
true reality before the Lord.
2.
[20-21]
What was the man’s answer? (20) What was Jesus’ response? (21a) What command
and promise did he give the man? (21c) What did he mean by this? Discuss the
one thing the man lacked. (21b)
20
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” He had made honest
efforts to keep these commandments. It is more than possible that at least, in
action, he did not deviate from the commandments. Nevertheless, he did not feel confident that
God accepted him or was with him, i.e., no confidence that his life was secured
in the kingdom of God. To this man, Jesus answered:
21 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.”
Jesus
accepted his sincerity in making such efforts and loved his honest effort to enter
the kingdom of God. But Jesus found one thing lack in him. Jesus did not specify
the one thing that he lacked. Instead, he told him what to do; sell everything and
give it to the poor. Why? Jesus continued, “and you will have treasure in heaven”.
His treasures were on earth. By all means, he would make efforts to keep and multiply
the things that he treasured so much. In other words, the foundation, or security
or comfort, or peace of his life was on what he had on earth. As long as his
heart was attached to the things on earth, he would not get away from worries,
concerns, and anxieties because the things on earth are fleeting. He would not
have any room in his heart to the Lord.
What
does it mean that he would have treasure in heaven? Does this mean that since
he did good things to others by what he had; God would count him worthy of his
blessing? Though we cannot exclude completely from the implication of such an idea, I
doubt that that was the primary purpose of Jesus’ teaching. Then what was the
primary concern of this teaching? Jesus told him what to do, next.
“Then come, follow me.”
This
was an imperative command. Jesus did not leave any room for an alternative
choice. The riches he had were the most stumbling block for him to set his eyes
of Jesus as the source of life. Following Jesus means to entrust one’s life on
Jesus.
37 "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not
worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their
life for my sake will find it. (Mat 10:35 NIV)
Matthew 8:20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Mat 8:20 NIV)
Following
Christ is to believe that Jesus has life and gives life to those who follow
him. To follow is to have total dependence on God’s grace and mercy, acknowledging
that he has no life within himself. Total dependence in him is a radical rejection
of all things that might offer as an alternative solution from him. An alternative solution or backup in case is dearly desired by those who wanted to make sure
his/her life would be absolutely secured if one fails. But Jesus or God does
not want such people. But in history, such examples are plenty. The most common
form of such trust in the Lord is syncretic beliefs. Northern Kingdom Israel and Southern kingdom Judah
never rejected their Lord; instead, they adopted pagan religions alongside their
faith in the Lord. The outcome of such belief resulted in the violation of the
Law of Covenant. God punished them and sent them to exile, even losing the
temple and the worship in it. Even now this, syncretic belief, is common among Christians.
Syncretic belief is the common way out of the demand for absolute faith or trust
in the Lord.
3.
[22-27]
What was the man’s response and why? (22) What did Jesus say to the disciples?
(23) Why were they amazed at his word? (24a) What did Jesus say that was even
more amazing? (24b-26a) What did they say to each other? (26b) What was Jesus’
answer? (27) What did this teach them about salvation?
This
man responded to Jesus’ teaching in unbelief:
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had
great wealth.
Life
dependent on riches cripples the mind to the extent that when the riches are
not available or gone, he is totally helpless and powerless. Certainly, all of
us, without exception, move our minds and heart depending on what we have,
money, or materials on earth. Knowing the weakness in our dependency, Jesus told
us to pray that God may give us daily bread, and my lead us not into temptations.
Can we be completely free of such dependence on the things of the earth? Invariably or resoundingly, the answer is no,
esp. this is found to be true when we look into the depth of our heart as we
make a decision to do something, even godly thing. In this regard, the poor are
forced to practice faith more than the riches and they are better positioned to
learn such faith, total dependence on Jesus, the source of power, and life. On the
other hand, the rich begins with money and end with money in planning and
carrying out whatever seems to be good in his eyes. This is how the things of
the world are getting done for this is the operating principle of this world. In this regard, the mind of the rich is well attuned
to the ways and mechanics of the material world.
But
Jesus spoke about this in this way:
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard
it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were
amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter
the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Richness
was a sure sign of God’s blessing according to the Covenant of blessing from
the Lord (Lev 26:3-5; Deut 28:2-5). When Isaac followed the Lord, He gave Abraham
riches (Gen 26:12-13). Actually, all the
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became rich because the Lord blessed them.
Their richness came to serve as a distinctive sign of God’s blessing. The disciples
thought about the riches in these terms and never thought that one’s riches
would hamper him to enter the kingdom of God. Actually, when Jesus said that it
is impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, he was implying that richness
was a great hindrance for one to enter the kingdom of God. Why will it be a
great hindrance for one to see the kingdom of God?
a.
Rich
provide a sense of self-sufficiency and nurtures human pride and his righteousness.
Revelation 3:17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and
do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful,
poor, blind and naked. (Rev 3:17 NIV)
This
warning was given to the church in Laodicea, a very affluent city. Rich is powerful in corrupting the human mind. Near
the end of the Northern kingdom Israel, God sent Prophet Zechariah and warned
this to the leaders of Israel, who were very proud of their wellbeing in riches,
acquired at the expense of their sheep.
Zechariah 11:4 This is what the LORD my God says: "Shepherd
the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go
unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the LORD, I am rich!' Their own
shepherds do not spare them. (Zec 11:4 NIV)—
Prophet
Zechariah gave the word of the Lord against Israel leaders for they became
happy to get rich by selling his sheep, the nation Israel. They did this to
make their lives better, even violating the Law of Covenant. This was an
ill-gotten riches and they were condemned for what they did.
b.
The
poverty opens one’s eyes to see his/her own insufficiency for life, the fallen
state under the power of sin.
According
to the Covenant curses, God would impose his punishment until His people come
to realize their insufficiency or inability to keep up with the Law of Covenant.
God would impose his punishment in five stages (Lev 26), and on each advance to
the nest stage, he would increase the punishment exponentially to make his
point or to force His people to come back to his with repentance and full surrender
to the Lord. The primary purpose was to lead His people to accept their
helplessness in sin, that is to dismantle their self-reliance on their righteousness,
and to come back to Him by faith only.
c.
The
poverty helps one to come close to the humbleness that God was looking for.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus gave a ‘new and right understanding of
the law of Moses’ through his sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-6). This sermon was
headed by the beatitudes (5:3-12). This laid down the basic mindset that God’s
blessings would be imparted to. Among these first four blessings (5:3-6) are
related to a poverty associated humbleness. Luke is more explicit in this.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who
are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for
you will be satisfied. (Luke 6)
Simply
in the eyes of the Lord, those who are poor on earth is far closer to God’s
blessing for their hearts are humble and search for God’s mercy and blessing. This
was well proven in the history of the early church. In the first three
centuries, the majority of the believers were those who were at the bottom of society, such as slaves and laborers.
What
does this tell us? We must change radically our perspective on riches on earth.
We must never look at the rich with favor over the poor, particularly in our human
relationship as well as our relationship with a perspective for evangelism. In
and among them, the power and grace of God stand our more prominently and
obviously.
Does
this mean to disfavor the rich for the kingdom of God?
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other,
“Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is
impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
The
rich are in general the able ones. They have proven of their strength,
intellectual abilities, and human managerial skills. If all these qualities cannot
help them to be saved, then who else can be saved? The disciples’ effort to
enter the kingdom was even more stomped by the impossibility. In some aspects,
their surprise spoke of a sense of futility on their effort for the hope of the
kingdom of God. But Jesus answered them.
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,
but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
The
hope to enter the kingdom of God by human effort is zero. It is simply
impossible for all men are under the power of sin and death and no one can
overcome it. But it is possible with God for God made a door open for those who
put his trust in Him only. We constantly look for a way possible and more
assured way to succeed in life. The surety of success in life is not in one’s ability
to choose the best and secured way to succeed. It is in seeing all the possibility in the
Lord because He gives us all things to those who put his trust in Him. It has little
to do with our ability, our strength, and our intelligence but has to do with
our faith in Him. Even in a deadly sickness, it is possible to see the light of
life in Him. Even the worst criminals can have hope of life if he trusts the
Lord. This is what Jesus meant; “all things are possible with God.” Great men of God saw this possibility in the
Lord always, even in facing the power of death. Paul in his letter to the church
in Philippi said, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phi
4:13 NIV). Jesus rebuke a father whose son was possessed by a demon, "'If
you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who
believes." (Mar 9:23 NIV)
4.
[28-31]
What did Peter say? (28) Why? (cf. 21,25) What was Jesus’ promise for a person
who leaves everything to follow him? (29-30) Discuss this in view of Jesus’
suffering and glory. (cf. 8:31,34; 9:3,31) What was his warning? (31) What did
it mean? (cf. 23,28, 27)
Jesus
told the rich young man to give up all his assets for the poor and follow him. Out
of impossibilities of their own, Peter began to see themselves in what Jesus said
to this man. They, for the first time,
turned their hope not in themselves but in Jesus. And Peter spoke up:
28 “We have left everything to follow you!”
Peter’s
dependence on his own understanding was betrayed when he rebuked Jesus of his
plan to suffer and die (8:33). They had quite a number of things of their own
understanding, which were not of God at all. The most prominent thing was how
to restore the kingdom of God. Their counting on their ability and experience
was one (9:14-29). How one can be great is the next one (9:30-37). Their attitude
toward little children is the third one (10:13-16). As we noted here, in quite
a number of things, the disciples were greatly mistaken of the way of Jesus.
These things spoke how much they were wrong about the kingdom of God that was
directly connected to their inability to make their way to the Kingdom of God.
To accept the way of Jesus’ cross is to drop every single one of these wrongs.
No matter how many times would they make, they must go through and unearth all
the wrongs until they were fully conformed to the will of God. How many flaws did they have in their
understanding of life? Simply it was too numerous to count, for all them were
of the earth and of the flesh. This would be a life-long challenge. In this
aspect, Jesus’ death on the cross, and joining with Him in His death is
paramount in entering the kingdom of God. It is possible by faith only!
In this regard, Peter and the rest of Jesus’ disciple decision to follow was an
amazing decision and they were walking a direct path to life in the Kingdom
of God for Jesus is and shows the direct path to that Kingdom. Knowing this, Jesus
commended them with encouragement.
29 “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 30 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.
Many
argue how this saying can be actualized in our lives. There are quite a number
of different explanations, esp. on how one can receive a hundred times what
one lost for sake of the Lord in this present time.
Actually,
this is likely a reiteration of the Covenant blessing that God gave to His
chosen people Israel in Lev 26.
3 “ ‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey
my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will
yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue
until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you
will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.
9 “ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase
your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will still be
eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for
the new.
Deu
28 speaks more powerfully
3 You will be
blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb
will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the
calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough
will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when
you go out.
These
promises are given to Israel as a whole, i.e., collectively as a nation. When a
nation suffers because a nation as a whole failed to believe the Lord. When a
nation believes the Lord as a whole, the Lord blesses the nation as a whole.
The two divided kingdoms of Israel, northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom
Judah makes the best example of this. Northern kingdom Israel, from its beginning,
served idol and deviated from the law of worship though she never denounced YHWH
as their Lord. This resulted in on-going wars within factions, famines, and wars
with neighboring nations. Practically there was no rest for the people and the
nation suffered an early demise, long before her sister nation Judah. On the
other hand, Judah, though they were weak in military forces, suffered much
little and last longer than Israel. Even now it is true that many nations in
which the majority became Christians became much better off than non-Christian
nations.
This
is applicable to our congregation, and also our church as a whole.
This
does not mean that this promise of blessing is not applicable individually. Even during famine in Israel, God blessed a widow
at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-24) and a Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37) because
of their faith in the Lord. It is best exemplified in the life of Job, who
received much greater blessing after going through a treacherous time by faith.
When
one doubt God’s goodness and His power working even now for His chosen, all
things are doubtful and such people cannot anchor their hearts on anything. They
are like shifting sands. But for us, God’s
blessing is already in abundance even just at the time of God’s call for us, long
before we see visible gain in our riches in this world. Impatience brood doubts
and unbelief. But patience is the hallmark of our faith in the Lord and bears
God’s rich blessing without fail.
5.
Overall,
discuss how to enter the kingdom of God.
The
rich are more powerful, influential and able to do much more for the good. They
seem to have a greater prospect of entering the kingdom. But in God’s perspective,
not the rich but the poor and the humble have a better chance than the rich. The children who approach Jesus exemplify this. Whoever
is to enter the kingdom must receive it
by faith as a child would.
Salvation
is by God’s action alone (Eph 2:8–9) If salvation is of God and not of the
believer, then, is such sacrifice necessary? Yes, it certainly is, for whatever
is given away will be repaid many times over, while obedience to Jesus’ summons
will result in eternal life. It may not seem that way now, but we are to know
that many who are now first in importance and power will someday be last, while
those who lack wealth and standing today will someday have much greater
blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment