A Poor Investment By A Wealthy Man
Mark 10:17-23
Scott Eyre is a former MLB pitcher. He played for the White Sox, Blue jays, Cubs, Giants and the Phillies. Eyre made a substantial amount of money during his years as a MLB pitcher, he was a wealthy man. But he made a decision that would have an enormous impact on his life. He invested a substantial amount of his fortune in the Stanford Financial Group. Unbeknownst to Eyre (and many others as well) Allen Stanford was running a huge “Ponzi Scheme” and Stanford Group was a fraud. As a result Eyre lost his fortune and in February of 2009 was in such dire straits financially had to ask the Phillies for an advance on his salary just to get by. What he had thought was a wise decision turned out to be a very poor investment.
Today I would like to look at another wealthy man who made a much worse investment. The man I would like to consider is often called “The Rich Young Ruler” We are told that he was very wealthy “he had great possessions” . This man came to Jesus and learned the way of salvation. Jesus gave him an invitation to “follow Him and be a disciple” Early on it seemed that the man was ready to do what it takes to attain eternal life.
Jesus then reveals a hard truth, Jesus said “go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me”. - This man, who seemingly had it all, had an opportunity to invest in eternal riches but he chose not to. After hearing the Words of Jesus this wealthy man “went away grieved: for he had great possessions”
You may be here today, and though you do not possess great material wealth, there may be something or many things that are hindering you from making an eternal investment. I hope that you will pay close attention and learn from this man’s great error. Join me if you will as we consider “A Poor Investment By A Wealthy Man” . Let’s begin in verses 17-20 and examine:
I. The Objective Of This Wealthy Man v17-20
Throughout the gospels there were several accounts where Jesus approached individuals and simply said “follow me”. This man came seeking Jesus, and he was intent on seeing Him… it says that he came “running” Notice in verse 17:
A. His Interest - v17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? - In this verse we find that the “Rich young ruler” got some things right:
1) He went to the right place - “He ran to Jesus”
2) He did the right thing - “He humbled himself and kneeled before Jesus”
3) He had the right spirit - he was willing to learn (“good master what shall I do?”
4) He had the right concern - He was thinking about eternity
This young man was the epitome of someone being “so close, yet so far away”. There are so many lost people today who are “so close to salvation, yet they are still so far away”. They are people of good moral character, They have integrity, They are charitable, They believe in Jesus, They truly want to go to heaven…But they have not reached a place of SURRENDER!
This wealthy young man seems to be at a place where he is ready to do what it takes, but we will see that tragically that is not the case. Look with me to verse 18 as we see not only His Interest, but also:
B. His Information - v18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 and he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
In this discourse Jesus reviews the commandments with this young man. In responding to the question “what must I do that I may inherit eternal life” Jesus says “you know the commandments”. And the “rich young ruler” professes that he had “observed the commandments since his youth” - There is something very important to see in this conversation: This man had everything this world could offer…He had power, position, possession and prosperity… According to him, he was a man of good moral character and he obeyed the Law, Yet it is apparent that there is still something missing. He is searching for something that could fill a void in his heart and life, and this search has his RUNNING and FALLING AT THE FEET OF JESUS! - He was “so close, yet so far away”
1) You may be here today and like this man you have “The Interest”: - You don’t want to go to hell, you want to possess eternal life and you want to know what to do to make this possible
2) You may also have “The Information” - You have been taught the bible, you know the commandments and you are a person of integrity and good moral character And the very fact that you are here listing to the Word of God proves that you are “so close, yet you may be so far away!” - Maybe you are here and you are searching for answers. I want you to understand that you have a great opportunity today. We will see that was the case for the rich young ruler as well. Notice:
II. The Opportunity Of This Wealthy Man v21
This wealthy young man has had some great opportunities throughout his life. And it seems that he has seized those opportunities and made the best of them. We don’t know how he attained his fortune. Whether through inheritance, investment or good old fashion hard work this man has been blessed financially. Though we my not know the facts before this event, I can assure you, the greatest opportunity of this man’s life is recorded here in Mark 10:17-23
A. An Opportunity To Encounter The Love Of Jesus - v21a“Then Jesus beholding him loved him”
No matter what happened to him before or after, this moment is the greatest. Jesus saw his desire and sincerity and Jesus beheld Him and He loved him. Jesus knew that this young man was a sinner and He loved Him and wanted him to become a follower and Jesus gave him that opportunity.
Friend, No matter where you have been or what you have done you are loved by Jesus!
* John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
* Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - You may be here and this could be that moment for you! Today may be the day that you encounter the love of Jesus.
This wealthy man had “An Opportunity To Encounter The Love Of Jesus, but there was another opportunity that came with that. Notice:
B. An Opportunity To Enjoy A Life With Jesus - and {Jesus} said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Jesus continued to answer this man’s question about eternal life. He goes on to say “go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor and then he would have treasures in Heaven” - Jesus was not telling this man to sell his possession in order to buy his way into Heaven. Salvation is not some eternal 401k plan. Jesus had explained the cost of being a disciple a couple chapters earlier. Look to - Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
The “rich young ruler” in order to deny himself would have to let go of anything that would hinder him from following Jesus.
C. S. Lewis writes in his excellent book, Mere Christianity: Christ says, “Give me all. I don’t want a certain amount of your time and a certain amount of your money and a certain amount of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours.”
Following Jesus requires giving up everything for Jesus sake. But when you reach this point, you will possess joy that the things of this world could never afford. If this man had been willing to “deny himself” he could have lived the rest of his life as a disciple of Christ. Not only that, he could have attained this eternal life that seemed so important to him.
But he didn’t! Because there were some things that were holding him back… Notice:
III. The Obstacles For This Wealthy Man v22
There are a couple of issues in this man’s life that were obstacles that hindered him from surrendering all” to Jesus. The first of which is:
A. Pride - v17b what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Though we saw a measure of humility in the fact that he fell down and bowed before Jesus, if you look closely there may be some pride in his heart. He has it in his mind that he can “attain” or earn salvation. He has been successful in his life and has earned great wealth. He has secured many possessions. Now he has a desire to lay hold on the greatest possession of all time and he wants to earn it!
D.L Moody once said: “It is well that man cannot save himself; for if a man could only work his own way to Heaven, you would never hear the last of it. Why, if a man happens to get a little ahead of his fellows and scrapes a few thousands of dollars together, you’ll hear him boast of being a self-made man. I’ve heard so much of this sort of talk that I am sick and tired of the whole business; and I am glad that through all eternity in Heaven we will never hear anyone bragging of how he worked his way to get there." -(Source: The Grace Of God {sermon} by Steve Shepherd @Sermoncentral.com)
There may be some of you who will miss out on eternal life because of your pride!
Some of you have it in your mind that you will get to heaven:
1. Because you are a “good person” …the Bible says “none is good no not one!”
2. Because you are righteous… the Bible says that “your righteousness is as filthy rags!”
3. Because of the good things you have done… Ephesians 2:9 says {salvation}” is not of works!
- Church membership is not enough!
- Clean living is not enough!
- Charitable giving is not enough!
* Remember what Jesus said in - Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Too many people think that salvation is a reward for a life well lived. Salvation is not a reward for faithful service. It is arrogant to think that you can do enough for God to reward you with salvation. Salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)
There was another obstacle that hindered this wealthy man’s salvation:
B. Priorities - v22 and he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions”
This young man who came to Jesus with what seemed to be an intense desire, walked away from the greatest investment that he could have ever made! Here is a picture of a man who wants salvation… but on his own terms. He wanted to keep all the things he had and attain salvation. It seems that he was looking for more riches to add to his collection. We are told that when he heard Jesus instructions he was “sad and went away grieved”
He went from great excitement to great devastation. He loved the things of this world more than he wanted salvation. And he chose his earthly possessions over Jesus! Jesus will allow you to make the same choice today!
Your issue may not be possessions, you may be hindered by
- Pleasure
- Family
- Friends
- Independence
- Selfish desires …and many others things.
Let me ask you this… is it really worth spending an eternity in a lake of fire in order to hold on to whatever it is that you are holding on to? Better yet, listen to the question that Jesus would ask you today - Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? - This man thought that he had it all… but by walking away from Jesus he lost it all! Don’t make the same mistake today!
We have seen the Objective Of This Wealthy Man, The Opportunity Of This Wealthy Man, The Obstacles Of This Wealthy Man and finally, I would like to examine:
IV. The Outcome Of This Wealthy Man v23
Notice what Jesus said after this man walked away: - v23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
We never hear of this man again. It is probable that he is in hell today. Perhaps he continued to live his life as a wealthy man. Maybe he grew old and retained his good moral character. Maybe he continued living in his religious ways. Maybe he continued to search for something to fill that void in his life.
Though we do not have any details regarding the remainder of his life, I can assure you of 2 things that happened to this man after this encounter with Jesus.
1) He died
2) He faced eternity
And if he never came to a place where he surrendered his life to Christ, that eternity is in hell. Friend, you may be here today and your life is empty. You are searching for something to bring you joy.
A. I hope that you will learn from this “Wealthy Man Who Made A Poor Investment”
Learn from the things he did right. Run to Jesus and humbly bow before Him. Cry out to Him and ask Him for eternal life. If you do, just like the rich young ruler, you will encounter the love of Jesus and you will have an opportunity to live a life with Jesus!
B. But I also hope that you learn from this man’s mistakes.
When Jesus tells you to “deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Him”…. DO IT!!! Realize that nothing this world can offer is worth missing out on a relationship with Jesus.I promise you, if you will surrender to Jesus today, you will not go away grieved or sad!
Just like the rich young ruler there are 2 guarantees concerning your life:
1. You Will Die
2. You Will Face Eternity
You have an opportunity right now to ensure that you have ETERNAL LIFE!
