Mark 10.17-23
The Gospel is simple. Jesus calls to us and says, 'Follow Me. I will lead you into life at its best.' Being religious is a counterfeit alternative to following Jesus. Why it exists is no mystery. Being religious is easier than following Jesus. Being religious boils down to some mental exercises about some doctrines that you need to agree with and then involving yourself in certain religious activities. Each person chooses his own level of religious devotion. Some are more into the doctrine thing than others. And then there are those who are more into the religious activities part. But they all assume that the level that they have chosen is good enough - at least for them. Following Jesus is a whole other matter. And that's what our unnamed friend in this morning's text discovered. He was ready to get a little bit more serious when it came to being religious, but discovered, instead, something about Jesus that he had not anticipated. Our friend approached Jesus, the Good Teacher. He didn't expect to encounter Jesus, the Demanding Master.
This aspect of Jesus' character - being demanding - is not commonly known. Take a survey of your friends and neighbors and ask them, 'What was Jesus like?' [It actually should be, 'What is Jesus like?', but that will only confuse your neighbors.] The answers that you will likely get include things like being a nice guy, being compassionate and that He liked kids. The term 'demanding' will not appear on most lists. But that is what He was - and is.
People miss this aspect of who Jesus is because they skip over the hard sayings. And they skip over those sayings because so many ministers skip over them too. Listen to a few:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
These never seem to make it into those colorful coffee table books with titles like, Family Bible Sayings, people give for Christmas. And so, people just don't realize how demanding - not to mention egotistical - Jesus really is. But that's exactly what our friend, the rich young ruler, discovered.
He comes to Jesus with the proper signs of respect. He runs up and kneels before Him and addresses Him with honor, 'Good Teacher'. He then asks the perfect question. 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' He is a great candidate for a new disciple, no? After a brief thrust and parry, Jesus gets down to brass tacks. Listen to what he says. '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.' Now, that's demanding.
It's important that you understand - that you feel - what Jesus just said. Put yourself into the picture. [That, by the way, is a good thing to do with many of the Gospel stories.] You are this rich young man. You come with the perfect question. In response Jesus tells you to sell all that you own and to give it away to the poor. Now, what would that mean in your life. First, there's the house. Sell it. And all the contents too: furniture, decorative items, fun stuff, 'necessities'. Everything. Then there are your cars, however many you own. Next, you take a trip to the bank. Checking account: zero it out. Savings account also. Do you have any CDs at the bank? They go too. Then there are any investments that you might have. And don't forget your pension. Whatever you own goes. Jesus says, 'Get rid of it all'. And now you have nothing. It's at this point that we tell ourselves, 'Well, He wouldn't do that. How would we care for our families and provide for their needs? We still have to live.' And yet, that is exactly what He did with our friend. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor...'
Kind of demanding, no? And when our friend turned away, when he decided to stay on the road to hell, Jesus didn't say, 'Wait a minute. I might have been a little hard on you.' No. He let him go. Jesus is not just some Good Teacher. He is a Demanding Master. And it needn't be money that He demands. He could demand anything. He could demand your health, your good reputation, your child, your spouse, your career. He could demand any other these - and more. And He has. This is where reading old Christian biographies, especially missionary biographies, comes in handy. Jesus has been very demanding through the centuries.
Does this mean that we should no longer think of Jesus as compassionate and caring? Absolutely not! Actually - and this is where it gets really interesting - Jesus is demanding precisely because He is compassionate and caring. To understand that all you need do is ask why. Why would Jesus demand something from us, something that is good? Well, why did He demand the possessions of our friend in the text? Stop and think about it. What were those possessions to him? They were an idol to him. I think that's clear when you understand what it was that the man did. In one hand he had the eternal life that he said he was seeking for. In the other hand were his possessions. Jesus said, 'Pick one.' His possessions were his idol. Jesus wanted to rescue him from his idolatry.
Definitions are important here, as elsewhere. What's an idol? It's a phony god that tries to fill a role that it cannot. An idol is what gives someone a good reason to get up each morning and gets him through a hard day. It's something that a person is willing to sacrifice for, that gives him a sense of being safe, that is loved first. These, and more, are roles that only Jesus can fill. Anything else that tries to fill these roles is an idol. Our friend looked to his stuff, and what it could get for him, to provide what only Jesus can provide. And so, Jesus says to him, 'You cannot inherit eternal life if you keep that idol. It's Me or it. Choose.' And he did.
Now there are some things that we need to remember. First, we all have idols. We may know about a few of them, but the fact of the matter is that we are unaware of just about all of them. There are things that we look to when we should be looking to Jesus instead. Second, idols never satisfy. How could they? Even when they seem to work, they don't. It's just not immediately obvious. Idols always fail. And so, because He is compassionate and caring, Jesus makes demands. He wants us freed from our worthless idols. Sometimes Jesus' demands come in the form of a gentle request. But there are times when it's an ultimatum, like with our friend.
Jesus is demanding in our text, very demanding. And yet, He shows that He really wants this man to flourish. Though demanding, Jesus is so very 'for' this guy. And He shows this in what He said. Listen again. '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.' Did you hear the promise that Jesus offers? This is what makes it all work. '... and you will have treasure in heaven...'
Heaven has fallen on hard times. We've been told that we need to be practical and deal with this life. And heaven is boring anyway, right? But the Bible is clear. It presents the hope of enjoying the rewards of heaven as a major motivation for following Jesus faithfully. If our hearts are not striving for heaven we become easy pickings for Satan. Our hopes will either be rooted there or they will be rooted here. To the extent that they are rooted here, Satan will have us. Hopes rooted here can be kidnapped by Satan. And we will pay the ransom to get them back. Hopes rooted in heaven are beyond his grasp. Jesus calls this man to give away all his earthly treasures so that he can enjoy heavenly ones. What He takes away here He promises to replace there and that with interest. But that means nothing if heaven is some vague spirit place with clouds and harps. So, listen to this from Psalm 16. 'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.' What do you suppose these 'pleasures' are? I remember reading this once and thinking that it sounds so earthy, so robust, so real. What are the pleasures of your life here? Can the pleasures of your life there be less? Remember it's pictured as a wedding banquet where everyone is having a great time.
Now, if Jesus had demanded something else of the man, His promise would have been different. So, if Jesus' demand had been about the loss of a relationship, He would have said something like, 'Give to Me the joy of this relationship, and, in heaven, I will return it to you but in a way that is deeper and more satisfying than you can imagine.' If His demand were about that sense of accomplishment that a career can give, then Jesus would have said, 'Quit your job and follow Me, and in heaven I will satisfy that desire many times over.' Whatever He takes away, He promises to replace, but in a way that will amaze.
Let me step back and explain something here. There are several reasons why I've told you all of this. Let me tell you one of them. I want to help you understand what Jesus is doing with your life. He has been demanding, and you have felt it. I know that I have. He has just taken some things from you. He didn't ask, as He did in the case of our friend. He just took it. It hurt. And you wondered about that. Or instead of taking something away, He just refused to give it to you. You never had it to enjoy. And you wonder why. I want you to understand why. It's because He is compassionate and caring. That's why He is so demanding. He is dealing with things like idols. He wants you to flourish and that will only happen if He is your treasure. It will only happen if He is the one who fills all those roles in your life. It is because He is compassionate and caring that He is sometimes very demanding.
Understand what Jesus is doing, and accept it as an expression of His compassion and caring. If you do, you will be able to rejoice in the Lord and fulfill your calling as His disciple. But if you don't understand what Jesus is doing, or, worse, if you refuse to accept it as a gift from Him, then you will become disappointed, discouraged and even bitter. And I would spare you that. So, understand who Jesus is. He is demanding! But He is that way because He loves you.
The Gospel is simple. Jesus calls to us and says, 'Follow Me. I will lead you into life at its best.' Being religious is a counterfeit alternative to following Jesus. Why it exists is no mystery. Being religious is easier than following Jesus. Being religious boils down to some mental exercises about some doctrines that you need to agree with and then involving yourself in certain religious activities. Each person chooses his own level of religious devotion. Some are more into the doctrine thing than others. And then there are those who are more into the religious activities part. But they all assume that the level that they have chosen is good enough - at least for them. Following Jesus is a whole other matter. And that's what our unnamed friend in this morning's text discovered. He was ready to get a little bit more serious when it came to being religious, but discovered, instead, something about Jesus that he had not anticipated. Our friend approached Jesus, the Good Teacher. He didn't expect to encounter Jesus, the Demanding Master.
This aspect of Jesus' character - being demanding - is not commonly known. Take a survey of your friends and neighbors and ask them, 'What was Jesus like?' [It actually should be, 'What is Jesus like?', but that will only confuse your neighbors.] The answers that you will likely get include things like being a nice guy, being compassionate and that He liked kids. The term 'demanding' will not appear on most lists. But that is what He was - and is.
People miss this aspect of who Jesus is because they skip over the hard sayings. And they skip over those sayings because so many ministers skip over them too. Listen to a few:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
These never seem to make it into those colorful coffee table books with titles like, Family Bible Sayings, people give for Christmas. And so, people just don't realize how demanding - not to mention egotistical - Jesus really is. But that's exactly what our friend, the rich young ruler, discovered.
He comes to Jesus with the proper signs of respect. He runs up and kneels before Him and addresses Him with honor, 'Good Teacher'. He then asks the perfect question. 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' He is a great candidate for a new disciple, no? After a brief thrust and parry, Jesus gets down to brass tacks. Listen to what he says. '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.' Now, that's demanding.
It's important that you understand - that you feel - what Jesus just said. Put yourself into the picture. [That, by the way, is a good thing to do with many of the Gospel stories.] You are this rich young man. You come with the perfect question. In response Jesus tells you to sell all that you own and to give it away to the poor. Now, what would that mean in your life. First, there's the house. Sell it. And all the contents too: furniture, decorative items, fun stuff, 'necessities'. Everything. Then there are your cars, however many you own. Next, you take a trip to the bank. Checking account: zero it out. Savings account also. Do you have any CDs at the bank? They go too. Then there are any investments that you might have. And don't forget your pension. Whatever you own goes. Jesus says, 'Get rid of it all'. And now you have nothing. It's at this point that we tell ourselves, 'Well, He wouldn't do that. How would we care for our families and provide for their needs? We still have to live.' And yet, that is exactly what He did with our friend. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor...'
Kind of demanding, no? And when our friend turned away, when he decided to stay on the road to hell, Jesus didn't say, 'Wait a minute. I might have been a little hard on you.' No. He let him go. Jesus is not just some Good Teacher. He is a Demanding Master. And it needn't be money that He demands. He could demand anything. He could demand your health, your good reputation, your child, your spouse, your career. He could demand any other these - and more. And He has. This is where reading old Christian biographies, especially missionary biographies, comes in handy. Jesus has been very demanding through the centuries.
Does this mean that we should no longer think of Jesus as compassionate and caring? Absolutely not! Actually - and this is where it gets really interesting - Jesus is demanding precisely because He is compassionate and caring. To understand that all you need do is ask why. Why would Jesus demand something from us, something that is good? Well, why did He demand the possessions of our friend in the text? Stop and think about it. What were those possessions to him? They were an idol to him. I think that's clear when you understand what it was that the man did. In one hand he had the eternal life that he said he was seeking for. In the other hand were his possessions. Jesus said, 'Pick one.' His possessions were his idol. Jesus wanted to rescue him from his idolatry.
Definitions are important here, as elsewhere. What's an idol? It's a phony god that tries to fill a role that it cannot. An idol is what gives someone a good reason to get up each morning and gets him through a hard day. It's something that a person is willing to sacrifice for, that gives him a sense of being safe, that is loved first. These, and more, are roles that only Jesus can fill. Anything else that tries to fill these roles is an idol. Our friend looked to his stuff, and what it could get for him, to provide what only Jesus can provide. And so, Jesus says to him, 'You cannot inherit eternal life if you keep that idol. It's Me or it. Choose.' And he did.
Now there are some things that we need to remember. First, we all have idols. We may know about a few of them, but the fact of the matter is that we are unaware of just about all of them. There are things that we look to when we should be looking to Jesus instead. Second, idols never satisfy. How could they? Even when they seem to work, they don't. It's just not immediately obvious. Idols always fail. And so, because He is compassionate and caring, Jesus makes demands. He wants us freed from our worthless idols. Sometimes Jesus' demands come in the form of a gentle request. But there are times when it's an ultimatum, like with our friend.
Jesus is demanding in our text, very demanding. And yet, He shows that He really wants this man to flourish. Though demanding, Jesus is so very 'for' this guy. And He shows this in what He said. Listen again. '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.' Did you hear the promise that Jesus offers? This is what makes it all work. '... and you will have treasure in heaven...'
Heaven has fallen on hard times. We've been told that we need to be practical and deal with this life. And heaven is boring anyway, right? But the Bible is clear. It presents the hope of enjoying the rewards of heaven as a major motivation for following Jesus faithfully. If our hearts are not striving for heaven we become easy pickings for Satan. Our hopes will either be rooted there or they will be rooted here. To the extent that they are rooted here, Satan will have us. Hopes rooted here can be kidnapped by Satan. And we will pay the ransom to get them back. Hopes rooted in heaven are beyond his grasp. Jesus calls this man to give away all his earthly treasures so that he can enjoy heavenly ones. What He takes away here He promises to replace there and that with interest. But that means nothing if heaven is some vague spirit place with clouds and harps. So, listen to this from Psalm 16. 'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.' What do you suppose these 'pleasures' are? I remember reading this once and thinking that it sounds so earthy, so robust, so real. What are the pleasures of your life here? Can the pleasures of your life there be less? Remember it's pictured as a wedding banquet where everyone is having a great time.
Now, if Jesus had demanded something else of the man, His promise would have been different. So, if Jesus' demand had been about the loss of a relationship, He would have said something like, 'Give to Me the joy of this relationship, and, in heaven, I will return it to you but in a way that is deeper and more satisfying than you can imagine.' If His demand were about that sense of accomplishment that a career can give, then Jesus would have said, 'Quit your job and follow Me, and in heaven I will satisfy that desire many times over.' Whatever He takes away, He promises to replace, but in a way that will amaze.
Let me step back and explain something here. There are several reasons why I've told you all of this. Let me tell you one of them. I want to help you understand what Jesus is doing with your life. He has been demanding, and you have felt it. I know that I have. He has just taken some things from you. He didn't ask, as He did in the case of our friend. He just took it. It hurt. And you wondered about that. Or instead of taking something away, He just refused to give it to you. You never had it to enjoy. And you wonder why. I want you to understand why. It's because He is compassionate and caring. That's why He is so demanding. He is dealing with things like idols. He wants you to flourish and that will only happen if He is your treasure. It will only happen if He is the one who fills all those roles in your life. It is because He is compassionate and caring that He is sometimes very demanding.
Understand what Jesus is doing, and accept it as an expression of His compassion and caring. If you do, you will be able to rejoice in the Lord and fulfill your calling as His disciple. But if you don't understand what Jesus is doing, or, worse, if you refuse to accept it as a gift from Him, then you will become disappointed, discouraged and even bitter. And I would spare you that. So, understand who Jesus is. He is demanding! But He is that way because He loves you.
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