An interviewer once asked Donald Trump, “What do you think about death? Do you worry about dying?” Trump said, “No. I’m fatalistic; I protect myself as well as anybody can. I prepare for things.” However, as Mr. Trump walked away, he hesitated momentarily. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell–but we go someplace.” Again, he paused, “Do you know? I cannot, for my life, figure out where.”
Like every other human being, God has put eternity in Donald Trump’s heart. Even though he can’t explain it, he knows it’s there. His near-death experience with the attempted assassination has sobered him and caused him to think more seriously about these questions.
Many people are like Mr. Trump, except they don’t have his billions of dollars! He’s lost, and he doesn’t know it. He’s lost in sin and doesn’t realize it because he’s having the time of his life. His money gives him the power to have things “his way.”
Whether we want to admit it or not, we like to think we control our lives. But in reality, either sin or the Lord controls us. We want to believe there’s a third way. But there isn’t. We’re either walking with the Lord or with the evil one! The Scriptures make it very clear that no one can serve two masters.
In Mark chapter 10, verses 17 to 31, we have the account of a rich man who came to Jesus with a question. This man is described as very wealthy, but something was missing; something wasn’t quite right, and he knew it.
As we examine this portion of Scripture, we’ll discover that this man was “Seeking Eternal Life.” Listen carefully as I read Mark 10:17-31.
When someone seeks eternal life, they must look in the right place. In this text, Jesus’ interaction with this man reveals several critical DIRECTIONS one must look to find eternal life.
The First DIRECTION is,
The Upward Look
Matthew records this was a young man. Luke tells us he was a ruler, most likely of a local synagogue. Mark tells us he came running to Jesus and knelt before him, and each of the Synoptic Gospels tells us he was wealthy. So, he’s often referred to as “the rich, young ruler.”
This incident occurs while Jesus is “in the way” or on the road. Remember, He is traveling to Jerusalem for Passover, and the way or road is probably crowded with travelers all heading in the same direction. Given the position and status of this young man, his actions are noteworthy. These details give us a sense of the young ruler’s sincerity. He wanted an answer to his question.
This young man was blessed in every conceivable way but still felt something lacking in his life. He wanted to know how to secure eternal life. It was the most important question he could ask, and it’s the most important question you and I can ask. He was so earnest that he came running to Jesus (not very dignified for a man of his position) and knelt before Him (a gesture of submission and humility). Something he’d heard about Jesus must’ve convinced him he could find an answer to his burning question.
What must you do when kneeling in front of someone and you want to address them? You must look up! That’s the upward look. It’s the first direction you and I must look in our quest for eternal life. Like this young ruler, we will never secure everlasting life unless we’re willing to look up – above ourselves, our possessions, our status, or whatever – to the face of Jesus.
But there’s more to the upward look than lifting our eyes. Our understanding must also be lifted, just like this man’s. He addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher.” Scholars tell us there’s no recorded instance of anyone ever addressing a rabbi as “good.” The very strangeness of his address amplifies his sincerity and leads to further instruction.
Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” The rabbis had a saying, “There is nothing else that is good but the law.” In their understanding, a man’s obedience to the law would lead to acceptance with God. This man, at least in his mind, obeyed the law conscientiously yet still sensed a lack of assurance of eternal life.
Jesus came to fulfill the law for us. Indirectly, He asks the young man, “Do you understand who I am?” This is a critical question in the upward look. “If you call me good and God alone is good, are you recognizing that I am God in the flesh?” As we’ll see, the young man’s response gives Jesus the answer to his question.
Notice that although the young ruler addresses Jesus with great respect, his focus is on himself. “By DOING what shall I inherit eternal life?” The “doing” is emphasized in the original text. His understanding was like many of his peers. The rabbis taught that eternal life could be secured by one particularly righteous act! He thought that Jesus could tell him what that act was.
Sadly, many people today think they can earn God’s approval by what they do or don’t do. R.C. Sproul told of how he asked church-going people why God should admit them to heaven. He kept track of their answers for several years, and 80% gave some works-based answers. “I’m a good person, I’ve never committed a crime, I don’t drink or smoke,” and on and on. They are as lost as this rich young ruler.
Just like this ruler, they must look upward and be confronted with the claims of Jesus’ deity. Jesus turns the young ruler’s gaze in another direction to facilitate that upward look.
The Next DIRECTION is,
The Inward Look
Jesus, knowing this young man’s life, responds to his question by asking him about the commandments. If indeed one believes it possible to obtain eternal life by “doing” something, that something must be to obey the commandments.
Jesus leads the young ruler quickly through the second table of commandments. These all deal with our human relationships. I can almost visualize the young man’s thoughts as he ran through that checklist. With little or no hesitation, he says, “Master, I’ve kept all these from my youth. What do I still lack?” I don’t believe these words were spoken arrogantly.
Here, we get a glimpse into the young man’s heart. Even in his sincerity, something told him that keeping the commandments was too easy to attain heaven. There must be something greater, something more demanding, so he came to Jesus to inquire about what that was.
The young ruler’s answer to Jesus’ question was plausible when viewed from a human perspective. In Philippians 3:6, the apostle Paul says he was “blameless according to the righteousness which was in the law.” But once God’s righteousness sheds its light on our human condition, our covering is about as sufficient as Adam and Eve’s fig leaves!
As Jesus looked at him and listened to his quick response, His heart was moved with compassion; He loved him. Then Jesus answered the crucial question, “What do I yet lack?” He takes the young man to the tenth commandment, given in the negative, “Thou shalt not covet.” As He so often taught about His kingdom, He revealed the positive aspect of the command. The opposite of covetousness is generosity; it loves your neighbor as you love yourself!
Jesus said, “Here’s what you lack. Sell all you have, distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; then, come, follow me.”
The young man was shocked and appalled. He turned away with great sorrow because he was wealthy. Despite his best attempts at keeping the commandments, he had violated the first commandment (no other gods before me) and the tenth commandment. Scripture is clear; those who would gain God’s approval by keeping the law must keep it perfectly. No human being has ever been able to do that.
Let’s not make the mistake of concluding that Jesus is teaching salvation by works. No, No. If this man had obeyed Jesus’ instruction, it would’ve had to come from a changed heart! It would’ve come from his new understanding that Jesus was God in the flesh and that, as God, He had the authority to command obedience from those who claim to be His followers.
The young man heard Jesus’ words and turned away, greatly agitated. He knew what he had to do but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He placed more value on his wealth than on eternal life. Jesus understood that this young man’s identity was his wealth. He was unwilling to exchange it for the identity of being a Christ-follower.
Earlier, Jesus questioned why the young man had called him good. Did he see Jesus as God? The answer is evident by his refusal to surrender to Jesus. If you and I refuse to surrender to Jesus, our Good Master, we, too, reject Him as God the Son.
Every genuine follower of Jesus must come to a crisis point similar to this rich young man. It may not be your wealth Jesus asks for; maybe you don’t have much. It may be your reputation, a relationship, your education, a career, or a dream you have for the future. In my experience, it has been relationships, employment, and hobbies. God designed each of these tests to reveal the true desires of my heart. The tests showed the things on which I placed the highest value.
Jesus wants you and me to take that inward look and see if there is anything we prize more highly than eternal life with Him. If and when we find it, Jesus will ask for it. Acknowledging the difficulty of those choices leads us to the next direction we must look.
The Next DIRECTION is,
The Outward Look
As the young ruler turned sorrowfully away, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, “With what difficulty do those who have riches 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 into the kingdom of God.” He urged them to look outward, observe what had just happened, and learn from it.
Not, it’s the turn of the disciples to be shocked! Wealth was a symbol of divine favor, of God’s blessing. If what Jesus said was true, who could then be saved? The idiom of a camel going through the eye of a surgical or sewing needle gives the sense of impossibility. But Jesus pointed them onward, upward, and inward by reminding them of what was impossible by man’s achievement. God would work by His divine grace.
Why did Jesus express this reality in such stark terms? Why is it impossible, or nearly so, for the wealthy to enter the kingdom? First, no one can enter God’s kingdom based on their good works. Nor can we have the desire to seek God above all else, apart from His grace. However, riches are a notable impediment because of two tendencies: they reinforce the false concept of self-sufficiency and promote a spirit of independence.
In contrast, Jesus said those who enter the kingdom must be poor in spirit; that is, they must have an accurate view of their spiritual bankruptcy. They must understand they have nothing without God and His mercy. They must become like little children.
Secondly, Jesus taught humility, a vital characteristic of those entering the kingdom. A spirit of humility is the opposite of the spirit of independence. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve God and riches.”
As the Twelve listened to what Jesus said, Peter asked a question. Jesus used Peter’s question as an opportunity to introduce the final direction we must look as we seek eternal life.
The Final DIRECTION is,
The Onward Look
Mark’s Gospel records Peter saying, “See, we have left everything to follow you.” Luke’s record adds, “What then will we have?” Peter was looking ahead to the promised reward and taking an onward look. He and others had already left everything behind to follow Jesus.
Jesus offers comforting, reassuring words. He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold 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.”
Here is the answer to the young man’s question…eternal life! It strikes me that this entire account is bracketed by the importance of this matter – eternal life.
Again, we are not to conclude that leaving family, possessions, etc., will procure God’s favor for us. No ascetic ever entered the kingdom of God on the merits of his self-denial. Instead, our willingness to accept Jesus as both Savior and Lord motivates us to dedicate all to Him. It is our understanding that this life is not all there is to human existence.
Mark’s record of this conversation says that these blessings will be accompanied by persecution. But to those who take the onward look, to those who see the goal of eternal life, persecution is not enough to sway them from their path.
If you and I are looking for eternal life, we can only find it by following the directions Jesus outlined in this account. First, we must look upward: “Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” In Him alone is salvation by grace through faith.
There is also the inward look: Am I willing to examine my heart and motivations? Am I willing to evaluate my life in light of Jesus’ call to me? Am I willing to lay everything on the altar to be His disciple? Are you willing to consider these questions, too?
Have I taken the outward look, acknowledging the impossibility of self-effort saving anyone? And finally, do I have the onward look? Am I willing to forgo the temporary pleasures of sin and suffer affliction with the people of God? Do I consider bearing reproach for the sake of Christ of more excellent value than worldly possessions? Do you?
As you reflect on these questions, I ask, “Have you found eternal life, or are you still looking for it?” If you have eternal life, praise God. If you don’t, you will find it only in Jesus Christ.
To some of you, my teaching last week on The Voice of Hope may have seemed harsh, even uncaring. I assure you, that wasn’t my intention. The subject of divorce and remarriage is a difficult one, but one on which, I believe, the Scriptures speak clearly.
Like all others, these sins can be forgiven; however, they call for repentance and hard choices. Following Jesus is not easy. He calls us to radical discipleship. We’ll see that in our teaching for today.
