The Lord's Day Evening
May 15, 2005
Mark 10:17-31
“The One That Got Away!”
Dr. Derek W. H. Thomas
Now turn with me again to the Gospel of Mark. As we have been steadily working our way through Mark's Gospel, we come this evening to chapter ten, and beginning at the seventeenth verse, we’ll be reading down to the end of verse thirty-one.
This is the story of the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus, a story that is repeated in both Luke's Gospel and in Matthew's Gospel, as well as here in the Gospel of Mark.
Before we read the passage together, let's come before God in prayer.
Gracious God and ever blessed Father, as we bow now in Your presence, as we look to You again for Your mercy, we ask that You would open up Your word; that you would write it upon our hearts; that You would cause, by Your Spirit, Your words to come home, as it is meant to do, as only You can do it. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
This is God's inerrant word:
“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?’ 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.
“And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished and said to Him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.’ Peter began to say to Him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed You.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundred fold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first.’”
Amen. And may God add His blessing to the reading of His holy and inerrant word.
There are several things about this story of the rich young ruler that command our attention. The full description of the man is somewhat unusual in gospel records; his urgent inquiry after the way of salvation, not for someone else, but for himself; the fact that this story gives us a glimpse into the evangelistic strategy of Jesus; the curious result that this man got away from Jesus. He's a man worthy of some attention. A clean-cut youth, courteous, reverential; he comes kneeling before Jesus and calls Him ‘Good master’; with a deep personal interest in religion; a clean-living young man, we might way. A Southerner, to be sure!
He even comes to Jesus in the open, not like Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. Haven't we all longed for something like this? I've been a believer for almost 35 years now, and I don't think that I've ever had anything like this in those 35 years. I've certainly had opportunities where I have prised away with some difficulty, trying to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves; trying to surreptitiously raise a conversation so that somehow, some way, you can get the gospel into that conversation; but here is a man who comes running to Jesus, asking the question of all questions: ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’
Now, often our experience is altogether different from this. Often we encounter apathy, or polite disinterest, or perhaps indifference certainly, as to the real heart of the matter. What does Jesus do? Can we apply the ‘WWJD’ formula here? What would Jesus do? What does Jesus do? Surely Jesus has something to teach us about evangelism; surely Jesus has something to teach us about the way to catch a fish. And what does Jesus do? He tests him. He tests his sincerity, He tests his opinion about himself, shows him his deception, shows him that his priorities are not quite what they seem to be. Jesus will not accept this man on face value.
This man is so impressive. I can't but imagine that Jesus was thrilled to see him coming–a young man with so much potential, just the kind of person you want in the church. A young man with money, a young man with prospects, and a future–especially if you've got a building program! The kind of man you’d want to put on the cover of a Christian magazine with the title, Young, Successful Business Man Talks About Jesus. Make something of this man…you’d be tempted, perhaps, to lower your standards, just to make sure that this man becomes one of us…enters the kingdom, joins the church, subscribes to the pathway of discipleship.
Now, what does Jesus do? Take him to the commandments, the Ten Commandments, of all things!…making it not easy for this young man to enter the kingdom of God, but making it hard and difficult for this man to enter the kingdom of God. No ‘Just answer these questions’ here; No ‘Sign this bit of paper’ here; no ‘Just repeat after me the sinner's prayer’ here. What's going on here?
I. First of all, I want you to see that Jesus takes this man to the commandments of God.
He takes him to the commandments of God; He takes him to Sinai. It's interesting that Jesus would cite the commandments, isn't it? Is Jesus suggesting that the way to salvation, the way to enter the kingdom of God, the way to inherit eternal life is to obey the commandments? Weren't we trying to tell our young people a few minutes ago that you can't do that? Well, yes, that does seem to be what Jesus is saying here. It's what Adam and Eve had been told in the Garden of Eden. They were placed in the Garden of Eden under a probationary setting, told that they could eat of all the trees of the garden except for one tree: ‘Do this and you will live.’ That's what they were told. But they did not. And they ate of the forbidden fruit, and they fell; and they were driven out of the garden, and with them, us, also, because in Adam all died. And that incident set into motion the entire story of redemption. The seed of the woman who would come, who would crush the head of Satan: the Messiah, the Savior. This is why Jesus is here! This is why the second person of the Trinity is incarnate and standing before this rich young ruler.
Is Jesus suggesting that this way is still open, and if you obey the commandments, if you do the Ten Commandments, then entry into the kingdom of God is possible? That the gates into the garden will be unlocked, and the flaming swords of the cherubim will be quenched, and the way to the Tree of Life will be opened up to you? Is that what Jesus is saying? If you can obey the commandments? Yes…yes; that is what Jesus is saying. If you can obey the commandments and you can obey them perfectly, you may enter the kingdom of heaven.
But the point is he cannot, no more than you can, and no more than I can. He thinks he can; he thinks he has already done so. “All these I have kept from my youth up,” he says. No sins of youth here; no regrets of misspent days in college here. This man is in earnest. He really is a goody-two-shoes.
If you examine the answers Jesus gives to various people in the Gospels, we’ll see that He chooses to answer people's questions differently. He's saying something very particular to this young man. This young man, you see, isn't ready to hear the gospel. That might surprise you. You might even think that that is incorrect. I’ll stand my ground: this man isn't ready to hear the gospel. He's not ready to hear the words, ‘Just trust in Me right now. Why don't you kneel and pray these words and repeat after Me just now.’ He's not ready for that. He's not ready to be reassured that if he only does one little thing, he will be converted; he will enter the kingdom of heaven, and all will be well, and he must never doubt it ever again.
I was saying to you this evening that this passage, this strange passage in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, is saying ‘You may not be ready to believe in the gospel, because you need what theologians call ‘low work.’ You need to be convicted of your need of the gospel. This man has absolutely no sense that he needs the gospel. This man thinks that he's perfect already. He's kept the commandments of God.
Do you remember that passage in Romans 8? It's in the section where Paul is dealing with the Holy Spirit, and he's dealing with the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers; and he wants to say that the Spirit has come as a Spirit that convinces us of our adoption, of our sonship that enables us to cry, ‘Abba, Father!’; that witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God. And in the fifteenth verse of the eighth chapter of Romans, Paul said, “You have not received again the spirit of bondage.” Now this word again may not be in your translations, but it is there in the Greek, and it should be there. What Paul is suggesting, it seems to me, is that at one time they had received the spirit as a spirit that brought them into bondage, a spirit that had convicted them of their need and of their inability to save themselves.
You know, in the old Scottish Presbyterian church, when you are coming into membership in the church, the elders would ask you this question: “Have you been to Sinai? Have you been to Sinai? Have you stood at the base of that mountain that smokes and threatens, and says to you that you are a poor wretched sinner, and condemns you? Because until you've been to Sinai, you cannot come to Zion.” That's why Jesus takes this man to the law. He takes him to the law in order to expose to him the wretchedness of his heart and of his need of the gospel that will take Jesus to Calvary and to the cross; because I want to tell you this evening that if you think you’re blameless, there is no possibility for you to obtain salvation. If you think you are blameless, you cannot obtain salvation. I want to say that to you.
I overheard at a funeral recently…it was at a graveside…We had just laid to rest in a coffin a dear friend, and I overheard somebody saying, “He did his best; what more can we do?” They were standing beside this coffin, and that's what this person said: “He did his best; what more can we do?” Well, I'm here to tell you tonight that our best will not do. This man's best would not do.
This man's obedience, however far it went, was not enough, because he had no idea of how sinful he was. He had no idea of the arrogance of his heart. He had no idea of the holiness of God. He had no idea of the consequences of what he was saying, and that's why Jesus will say to him, “Sell everything,” as a specific commandment to this young man, not as a general rule for everybody, but for this young man, because this young man loved his riches more than he loved God. He takes him to the Law because He wants to expose his insincerity. He's only pretending at religion. He doesn't mean what he says. “Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor.”
Jesus isn't saying that poverty is the way into the kingdom of God any more than riches is the way into the kingdom of God. He does say that those who have riches will find it very difficult to enter the kingdom of God: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus will say. And Jesus is saying something specific that this particular man needs to hear. This man in particular: he is to appreciate his sin, and the Law must be applied where it's going to hurt the most. He loved his riches. He loved his wealth, and it was a test; and it was a test that he was going to fail. And he was going to fail this test catastrophically. He would not pass this test.
Jesus showed him that he wasn't truly desirous to know the answer to the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He took him to the commandments of God. He took him to the commandments of God, so that this young man might say, “What e’er that idol be, let me pluck it from my breast and worship only Thee.”
II. But in the second place, He takes him to the character of God.
He takes him to the commandments of God, but He takes him to the character of God. That's why He begins…that's why Jesus begins by doing something that on first acquaintance appears just a little fussy. You know, he comes to Jesus, and he says, “Good Master,” and Jesus says, “Why do you call Me good?” And you want to say, ‘Jesus, You’re having a bad day!’ But of course, you can't say that. So why is Jesus saying that? Why is Jesus picking on this adjective, “Good Master”; why is Jesus insisting that there is no one good except God, because, in one sense, that isn't even true? (Because goodness can be found apart from God, in the things that God has made.)
And you see what Jesus is doing. He's focusing this young man's attention on the character and nature of Almighty God. He's bringing the conversation–and this is the core of evangelism; watch Jesus and learn from Jesus here–He takes him to the character of God. The gospel is not first of all about us! It's not about my well-being, it's not about my comfort, it's not about my ease. It's about God, first of all. It begins with God, and the character of God, and the holiness of God, and the righteousness of God, and the integrity of God.
Do you remember when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, in John 4? And you remember when Jesus says to her…you know, she begins to ask the question about worship, and some commentators see it as a sort of deviation in the entire dialog–you know: ‘Do you worship on this mountain or that mountain?’ she says, because of a particular context in the land of Samaria at the time. And you remember what Jesus said: “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,”–because for Jesus that was the heart of it. It wasn't a deviation at all. Now, she might have meant it as a deviation, but Jesus doesn't see it as a deviation. He wanted to speak to her about the character of God and the worship of God.
And this young man needs to know something about himself, and he needs to know something about God. Who is this God? This God of heaven and earth? This God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? This God who created the universe? This God who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world? What kind of God is He? And until this young man comes to say with David, “Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight,”–until he comes there, to that point, to that confession, he cannot be saved. This man, you see, had a view of God that was far too small, too accommodating to sin; too unprincipled as to the demands of entry. He was saying, in effect, you see, that this salvation thing, this entry into the kingdom of God, it's an easy thing! ‘It's just one tiny little thing that I need to do, because I've kept the commandments; now, tell me what else I need to do. I'm really very close, you see, to the kingdom of God, and all I need to know is to take this one small little step, and I will be there; and all I need to know is which way and how much. That's all it is.’
I remember…John Blanchard was in Northern Ireland; he was in Ballymoney in County Antrim, probably about twenty years ago. And as he was coming out of a church, the minister of the church who had invited John Blanchard to speak at the church said to him about a man who was standing next to him, “This man is very religious, but he's not a Christian.” (Well, you know, they say that sort of thing in Northern Ireland! They don't beat about the bush there!)
And John Blanchard begins to talk to him, and the man says to John Blanchard, he says, “You know, I know the gospel. I've heard the gospel. I was raised in this church. I've been coming here since I was a little boy. All I need to do is to take one small step, and I shall be a Christian.”
And John Blanchard said to him, “You’re not telling me the truth.” And the man is taken aback, and he repeats the whole story about how he's been coming to this church and he knows the gospel, and all he needs is one little thing, one tiny little step, and he will be a Christian. And John Blanchard says to him again, “You’re not telling me the truth.” “What do you mean?” the man says. And Blanchard said to him, “You need something more than a little step. What you need is a big miracle. What you need is the sovereign intervention of Almighty God in your life.”
And, you see, that's what Jesus is saying to this rich young man. He is trying to bring this rich young man to an end of himself. You notice the very form of the question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And the answer is, “There is nothing you can do!” but simply stretch out empty hands and say, “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.”
So Jesus takes him to the commands of God, and He takes him to the character of God, and He takes him to the call of God. The call of God: “Follow Me!” He says in verse 21. “Follow Me!” Yes, Jesus wants this man to be a disciple. That's the desire of Jesus’ heart.
Do you notice the reaction of the disciples in verse 26? ‘Who then can be saved? Master, if You’re saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (and particularly a rich man like this man, who loved his riches more than he loves God), who then can be saved? It's all very well for You to say, ‘Follow Me,’ but on these terms, who can follow You? You make it so hard. You make it so difficult! You make it impossible!’ And that's right, Jesus says. “With man it is impossible, but with God…with God, all things are possible.”
You see, what this man didn't understand was that he needed to see salvation as something that wasn't to be achieved by any contribution of his own. If he was going to be saved, if he was going to enter the kingdom of God, if he was going to inherit eternal life, than God must do it. God must do it. He must stretch out those hands, and say, “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.”
“Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and come, follow Me.” That was the call of Jesus, and this man couldn't do it. This man couldn't do it, because he loved his riches more than he loved God.
To some of you, it will come in a different form. Jesus will come to you and He will say to you, ‘Go and tell your friends, ‘I'm not coming to that party,’ and follow Me.’ Or, Jesus will come to you and He will say to you, ‘Go and tell your girlfriend (or your boyfriend), I'm saving my body for marriage,’ and follow Me.’ Or, Jesus will come to you and He will say to you, ‘Get out of that business that's compromising your life, and follow Me.’
And this young man couldn't do it. His face fell (in verse 22); literally, in the Greek, it says ‘it grew dark.’ Do you notice something extraordinary here? How resolute Jesus is? He loves this young man. He loves this young man! Even though there's no evidence that he was ever saved, He loves this young man. His heart goes out to this young man, a young man with all of his life before him, that's now going to be wasted. Don't you want to say to Jesus, ‘Call him back again! Bend the rules just a little! Make it…don't be so demanding! Make an exception, this once. The church needs young men like this.’
This man came to Jesus and went away sad. He went away sad.
You know, that's the only hopeful thing about this story, that at least he had the wit to go away sad, because he sensed that he had come close to something really big. He sensed that something of immense importance had just taken place, and he had missed it. He’d said No to it. He had said No to something really, really big.
I beg you tonight, whoever you are, don't make the same mistake as this young man. Don't make the same mistake as this young man. When Jesus calls you, whatever the demand, whatever sacrifice He asks you to make, of whatever He says, ‘You need to get rid of that to demonstrate your sincerity that you really want Me.” Don't make the same mistake as this young man did–that you come to Jesus, and you go away sad. I beg you, don't make that mistake. When Jesus calls you, my friend, you’d better say Yes and run to Him, and leave everything behind. And you say to Him, ‘I want You, and I want salvation, and I don't care what it costs me!’–because you may gain the whole world and lose your soul.
Let's pray together.
Our Father in heaven, as we bow in Your presence before the solemnity of this passage, we pray for those who might be in this building tonight who are not Christians; whose hearts have not been regenerated; who have never closed with Your offer of mercy in the gospel; we pray that by the power of Your Spirit You will call them irresistibly to Christ, even now. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Please stand; receive the Lord's benediction.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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