True Treasure Costs

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Parallels are Matt. 19:16-30 & Luke 18:18-30
This incident was the only one where someone comes to Jesus for help and leaves worst off than when he came.

Mark 10:17
“ As Jesus started on his way. ” The man who ran up to Jesus is not identified by Mark (Luke calls him a ruler [ 18:18 ] ), meaning he was probably a member of some official council or court. Matthew says he was “ young ” ( 19:20 ) and Mark says he was rich ( 22-24 ).

He fell on his knees before Jesus and addressed him by the revered title of “ good teacher ” expressing high regard for Jesus.

He believes Jesus can answer this most important question.

His question — " What must I do to inherit eternal life? " — indicates that he was thinking in terms of Jewish works of righteousness. He wanted to do something to merit eternal life, whereas Jesus taught that eternal life ( the kingdom of God ) is a gift to be received ( v 15 ).

Mark 10:18
Jesus’ reply seems unnecessarily abrupt.

We must remember that he was calling attention to the man’s use of language. “ Jesus calls him to serious reflection. What does the idiom ‘ good ’ mean? It belongs to God who is good; and it should not be used unthinkingly or as a flippant gesture of praise. ”

“ Your wrong to call me good Master unless you acknowledge that I have come from God. “

Mark 10:19-20
The commandments are within everyone's power and the commandments are the standard by which everyone will be judged but man has never been able to keep them.

The commandments are a reality check that we realize we fall short of God’s standard and that we need Him to provide the Salvation we need for eternal life.

Jesus answered by giving the man a summary of the law ( v 19; Exod 20:12-17 ).

The prohibition of fraud is found only in Mark and seems to be a substitute for the commandment against coveting, fraud being a manifestation of coveting.

It was a Jewish belief, based on OT teaching, that the man who kept the law would live ( Deut 30:15-16 ). So Jesus began there.

The young man answered confidently. From boyhood he had kept all the commandments Jesus cited ( v 20 ).

This probably refers to the age of twelve, when every Jewish boy became bar miswah ( “ son of the covenant ” ) when in a Jewish boy’s life he became responsible to live by God’s commands.

Luke 2:42
The man was serious because to him keeping the law was a matter of extreme importance.

Paul thought the same thing in his pre-Christian days ( Philippians 3:6 ).

Mark 10:21
In acknowledgment of the young man’s sincerity, Jesus responded in love.

The one thing that prevented this young man from having eternal life was the security of his wealth. Jesus touched a sensitive place by commanding him to go, sell all he had, and give it away. Then “ Come, follow me. ”

For this man; his wealth and all it meant to him; position, status, comfort, and security prevented him from following Jesus.

The only way to ‘ life ’ is through the narrow gate of full surrender, not what we want, but only what God allows.

For this man his wealth was the hindrance, but there is no indication that in this occasion Jesus’ prescription for the young man was meant to be binding on all Christians.

What Jesus does tell us is that we must not be attached to material things. Jesus’ promise “ you will have treasure in heaven ” referring to eternal life; and since that is a gift of God and cannot be earned which is the greatest treasure you could ever obtain.

Mark 10:22
When he heard the word of Jesus, the young man’s “ face fell. ”

He was asked to give up what he valued most. To obey Jesus was too great a risk. The security of wealth kept him out of the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:23
The failure of the rich man to respond to the challenge led to one of Jesus’ most striking pronouncements. ( v 23 ).

Mark 10:24
The amazement of the disciples ( v 24 ) at Jesus’ words reflects their Jewish background, which placed great emphasis on the privileged position of the rich.

To be wealthy was sure evidence of having the blessing of God.

Mark 10:25
OR — “ It is easier to thread a needle with a great big camel than to get into the kingdom of God when you are bursting with riches. ”

Mark 10:26
Jesus saw how wealth could hinder one from putting his trust and dependence in God.

A prominent explanation identifies the “ eye of the needle ” with a gate leading into the city of Jerusalem before which camels had to kneel in order to get through. But the existence of any such gate is doubtful. It has “ no authority more trustworthy than the imaginative conjectures of modern guides to Jerusalem. ”

The camel was the largest animal the commonly seen and the eye of a needle was one of the smallest opening,so common sense told them, it was impossible.

“ for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God ” is indeed “ impossible. ” The proverb was not lost on the disciples. As their question “ Who then can be saved? ” shows, they fully understood it.

Mark 10:27
His answer makes clear that salvation is totally the work of God. Apart from the grace of God, it is impossible for any man especially a rich man — to enter God’s kingdom.

It’s impossible for a rich man to be saved. It’s impossible for a poor man to be saved. It takes a miracle for any man to be saved.

Humanly speaking, no one can be saved by his own efforts; but what we can never do for ourselves, God does for us.

Wealth makes it hard to admit we need to depend on God, but many who lack wealth have the same problem, it is the self-sufficiency and independence that wants to rule us.

Mark 10:28
Peter’s response relates to what Mark had just reported: the failure of the rich man to give up what he had and to follow Jesus. By contrast they, the disciples, had given up everything to follow him.

Matthew’s account has Peter’s additional words: “ What then will there be for us? ” ( 19:27 ). The disciples ( Peter ) were still thinking in terms of material rather than spiritual values.

Mark 10:29-30
Instead of rebuking Peter, Jesus makes a threefold promise “ I tell you the truth ” ( v 29; 10:15 ).

No one who forsakes home, loved ones, or lands for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s will fail...
(1) to receive back in his life a hundred fold what he has lost;
(2) to suffer persecutions (only Mark includes this);
(3) to have eternal life in the age to come.

The hundred fold return in this life ( v 30 ) is to be understood in the context of the new community into which the believer in Jesus enters.

There he finds a copious relationships, often closer and more spiritually meaningful than blood ties. “ God takes nothing away from a man without giving to him in new and greater form. ”

You gain strength, hospitality, networking, support and a community of brothers and sisters in Christ. So what do you lose? Compare what you gain.

Jesus also being realistic about the Christian life says “ there will be persecutions. “

It is through trials and persecutions that the new relationships as members of the Christian community develop and flourish.

The promise is for a full, though admittedly difficult, life. Jesus promises eternal life in “ the age to come. ”

Everything that happens in the present is an meaningless to the far richer and complete fulfillment in the future when there will no longer be any persecutions.

Mark 10:31
This is something that society does not want to hear today, we all try to be the first, the best, the mostest.

Are you jockeying, struggling, planning, conniving, attempting to ge ahead financially, relationally, in ministry, spiritually, or the world, it is a loosing endeavor, the first will be last.

Just think about the man at the pool at Bethesda where a blind man could not get into the pool for healing and was last when Jesus came to him and asked “ Do you want to be made whole? “

This saying of Jesus also appears in other contexts ( Matt 20:16; Luke 13:30 ).

Jesus probably said it more than once; and lends itself to more than one application. Here it refers to the future when God will evaluate the lives of men and when human values will be reversed.

At that time those who have rank and position now will not have them, and those who do not have them now will have them.

“ we have left everything to follow you ” ( v 28 ). They / we must not envision their discipleship in terms of rewards.

Discipleship entails suffering and service; it must be entered in terms of love and commitment to Jesus, not because of what one hopes to get out of it either in this life or in the life to come.

Recap

About 490 verses deal with faith.

About 500 verses deal with prayer.

About 2000 verses deal with money, 288 in the Gospels alone.

Jesus say that only God is good so does that mean we can never call any human good?

When Jesus answers the man He implies that title is appropriate for him.

In v 21 Jesus says “ follow me “, if receiving eternal life means he had to follow Jesus, then Jesus has the paramount position that belongs to God alone.

When we speak of someone being good we are using human standards in comparing them to someone else, we bypass God’s goodness to make uis feel better.

God and only God is good in the absolute sense.

To give up everything is telling we cannot obtain eternal life by what we have, or our owe dependence, our resources to establish good standing with God.

The man is disappointed that he did not get the answer he wanted, not realizing Jesus gave he something better.

Do we realize the promises that are in Scripture are worth more that anything we can accumulate in the world.

In the possession of wealth and the desire for wealth is there a difference in temptations?

Are there any other things you need to give up to walk closer to the Lord?

In your wealth do you feel self-sufficient?

We need to know in our heart that we need to be utterly reliant on God alone.

Are there blessings that you received that far exceeded anything you gave up?

Jesus came as Lord of all but also as the servant to all.

How do we treat others?

Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven I pray we do not get caught up in the game of trying to out do each other, that our possession take precedent over all else. I pray we look to you for our daily needs and that we know that all is from, by and through You. Thank You Lord.
Amen

TGIF