Read
Read Mark 9:30
- 10:45
Verses chosen
for meditation: Mark 10:17-23 ESV:
17 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?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No
one is good except God alone. 19 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.’” 20 And he said to him,
“Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 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." 22 Disheartened by the
saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 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!”
Reflect
What do you
think was on the mind of the rich young man when he approached Jesus? Was he
really serious about eternal life?
Do you think
Jesus had intended for the rich young man to sell everything that he had and
give to the poor?
How do you
think Jesus viewed the rich young man?
Why do you
think it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God?
What lessons
can you learn from this account of the rich young man?
Relate
The rich young
man was in full recipient mode when he approached Jesus. He had expected to
hear from Jesus that he had done well. He had the whole routine down pat to the
point of kneeling down and addressing Jesus as good teacher. He was so used to
having everything and anything that he even viewed the keeping of laws and
commandments as another collectable item, like one of those trophies to be
displayed. Eternal life was, therefore, only a pretext, not the actual thing he
was looking for.
In that sense,
Jesus hit the spot when he said to the rich young man, "You lack one
thing." The remark alone was enough to embarrass someone like him. It must
have taken him by surprise. Besides not being the response that he was
expecting, he was summarily told by Jesus to be lacking. This was even before
he was told to sell everything. Having been born into privilege, he had no
appreciation of what lack is. In fact, lack was not to be found in his
vocabulary since it was a derogatory word for a man of his status.
Although when
Jesus said to the young man, "Sell all that you have and give to the
poor.", it could have been more a figure of speech than literal. Jesus was
able to read the rich young man like an open book. He knew that eternal life
was not what the rich young man was really after. It was just another prized
collectable to him. For someone who knew nothing about lack and nothing about
dependence on God, he was in character as the quintessential all - sufficient
man.
Even then,
Jesus loved him. He knew that the rich young man was lost. He was as lost as
the poor man on the street. Or much worse as he didn't know that he was lost. The
poor man would at least have known that. But Jesus has come for both the poor
as well as the rich. Love is the true equaliser. And so is the Cross.
That is why it
is harder for the rich and those who seem to have everything to enter the
kingdom of heaven. For to them, the idea of being rendered equal with the rest
is unthinkable. It would be a loss, a great discredit to them on this side of
heaven.
Let's then
compare this to Jesus' own situation in Philippians 2: 5 -8 NIV:
5 In your
relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even
death on a cross!
What do you see
from the comparison between the rich young man and Jesus?
There's also a
close parallel between Mark 10: 21 and Luke 9: 23 where Jesus said, “Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and
follow me."
In Mark 10: 21,
we learn that the rich young man was told to 'sell all that he had' and 'give
to the poor' and 'follow Jesus'. In Luke 9: 23, a disciple is likewise told to
'deny themself' and 'take up their cross' and 'follow Jesus'.
To 'deny
oneself' is to dethrone oneself from one's throne, the seat of command and
control. Similarly, to 'sell all that he had' would put the rich young man at a
disadvantageous and unfavourable position. It's as good as him stepping down
from the throne of his life.
To 'take up
one's cross', on the other hand, speaks of 'giving oneself to Christ', even if
it demands the giving of one's all. For it's in giving that one loves just as
Jesus gave his life for us, poor sinners, on the Cross.
So, as
disciples, that would paint the way that we follow Jesus. The rich young man
was in substance being introduced to Discipleship 101 by none other than the Man
himself – Jesus, the Disciple Maker.
Rest
Listen to
Reward by Josh Yeoh
Reward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-uGMWCWkAI
Naville Chia
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