MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(CHANGED E-MAIL ADDRESS: FREE POWERPOINTS used with this message. E-MAIL ME at MNSERMONS@OUTLOOK.COM & request #411.)
TEXT: Mark 10:17-27; Matthew 6:24; Luke 1:37, 10:25-27; Romans 6:23
ILL. It has been reported that Albert Einstein was taking a train to an out of town speaking engagement. The conductor came by to punch his ticket, but the great scientist couldn’t find it. He had been searching through his coat pockets, & now was looking in his briefcase – but still no ticket.
The conductor said, "We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it."
As the conductor moved on, he looked back to see Einstein on his hands and knees searching under the seats for his ticket. The conductor walked back, "Dr. Einstein, please don’t worry about it. I know who you are."
Exasperated, Einstein looked up and said, "I, too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going." (Contributed by Paul Fritz to Sermon Central)
Our Bible text today tells of a man searching for something. Matthew tells us he was a young man; Luke describes him as a ruler, or what we would call an aristocrat. And Matthew, Mark, & Luke all tell us he was rich. Today he’s often called the Rich Young Ruler.
He was a man who had two things, everything & nothing. He was wealthy, but he was searching for something more in life.
ILL. In 1987 Bono & the Irish rock group U2 recorded a song about searching. He sang: “I have run; I have crawled; I have scaled these city walls; Only to be with you. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
He ends the song referring to Jesus. “You broke the bonds; and you loosed the chains; carried the cross of my shame; Oh my shame, you know I believe it. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” By the way, Bono’s real name is Paul David Hewson & he wears sunglasses indoors because he suffers from glaucoma.
Bono is now 62, & over the last few years has become more vocal about his faith. In an interview on Focus on the Family a few years ago he said he had found what he was looking for - a relationship with Jesus.
He said, “‘Who is Christ?’ is a defining question... You’re not let off easily by saying ‘He’s a great thinker or philosopher.’ He [declared] He was the Messiah, & He was crucified because He said He was the Son of God. [I believe] He either was the Son of God or nuts. And I find it hard to accept that millions have felt their lives touched & inspired by some nut. I [just] don’t believe it.” (Contributed by David Dykes to Sermon Central)
Two thousand years ago, there was a young & wealthy aristocrat who came to Jesus looking for something.
Mark 10:17-22 says, As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him & fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father & mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him & loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have & give to the poor, & you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
We don’t know this young man’s name, but since we’re going to be talking about him, let’s call him Samuel.
Samuel did many things right. He came to the right person, Jesus. He came with the right urgency - he was running. He came with the right attitude, he knelt before Jesus, & he asked, ““What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
I. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SCENE?
So, what’s wrong with this scene? Why would Jesus tell someone to keep the commandments to find eternal life? We all know that nobody will make it into God’s Kingdom just by obeying rules. What was Jesus doing?
Every Jew knew the Ten Commandments by heart. They knew them as well as any of us can count from 1 to 10. And these Ten Commandments were divided into two sections.
The first section contains 4 commandments that have to do with a relation-ship with God. The Jews were told: They should have no other Gods; They shouldn’t make & worship idols; They should never take God’s name in vain; & They should remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
The second section contains 6 commandments about dealing with one another. This is the section that Jesus quoted. But he apparently left out one of these 6 Commandments.
Did anyone notice which one He left out? He didn’t give them in order, but let’s check them off. He said, “Do not murder.” “Don’t commit adultery.” “Don’t steal.” “Don’t bear false witness or defraud.” “Honor your Father & Mother.”
Which one did Jesus leave out? “Do not covet.” That means a desire to have more & more stuff. Jesus knew this was Samuel’s problem. Samuel replied, “I have kept all these since I was a boy!” Jesus said, “There’s one thing you lack.”
II. JESUS IS ABLE TO PROBE OUR HEARTS
A. You see, Jesus knew that Samuel already had a god in his life. His god was gold & his creed was greed. And there is only room for one God on the throne of our life.
Jesus wanted Samuel to realize he had a problem with greed & covetousness, but He didn’t just come out & say it. He kept probing until Samuel recognized the problem himself.
ILL. Years ago, during VBS, our daughter Patty was experiencing a great deal of pain & I took her to the doctor. The doctor had her lie down & started probing.
When he touched the area of her appendix, her pain was almost unbearable, & the doctor told us she had appendicitis & that her appendix had already burst. Within an hour she was in Surgery.
In one sense that’s what Jesus does too. His Holy Spirit is working on some of us right now, gently probing. Is there anything, any person or activity that has become more important to you than the living God?
B. Knowing Samuel’s heart, Jesus said “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have & give to the poor, & you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
This verse has been a source of confusion to many who wonder, “I want to obey God. So should I go & sell everything I have, give it to the poor, & follow Jesus?”
No, you don’t need to sell all your riches unless your riches have become the god of your life. This Rich Young Ruler is the only person mentioned in the Bible to whom Jesus ever spoke those words.
Nicodemus was wealthy. Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy, but Jesus never told them to sell all their possessions, because Jesus knew their possessions didn’t possess them.
Jesus looked into Samuel’s heart & saw that money was his god. Samuel wanted more & more; that’s what it means to covet. So, Jesus was simply giving Samuel a solution to get rid of that false God. And notice Jesus said, “You aren’t losing your treasure by giving it to the poor, you are just transferring your wealth to heaven.”
C. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned that there is only room for one God in our lives. He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one & love the other, or he will be devoted to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve both God & Money.” (Matthew 6:24)
Jesus gives an appropriate solution to each person. In Luke 10:25-28 a lawyer came asking, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus didn’t say, “Sell all you have & give to the poor,” because He knew this man’s problem was pride.
Jesus asked him “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your strength & with all your mind, & love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “That’s correct.” Yet the lawyer tried to justify himself & asked, “But who is my neighbor?”
Maybe he expected Jesus to say, “All your Jewish brothers & sisters.” But instead, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, a half-breed. Jesus saw this man’s god was pride, so he said, “Love your neighbor, even your Gentile neighbors.”
If you have a competing god ruling your life, Jesus will help you replace that god with the true & Living God, for Jesus wants us to make the right choice.
III. JESUS WANTS US TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
A. Mark is the only one who mentions that Jesus looked at the young man & loved him. We know that Jesus loves us as individuals. He looks at you & me & loves each of us. Jesus really did want Samuel to make the right choice.
ILL. There’s a painting by the German artist Heinrich Hoffman. In this painting the Rich Young Ruler is portrayed wearing fancy clothes. Jesus is inviting him to give his money to the poor people in the background & then to follow Him.
The Rich Young Ruler looks down as he considers the most important decision of his life. Give away all his money & follow Jesus? But he has so much! And in that moment he sadly shakes his head & says, “No. The price is too high.” And he walks away.
B. Not all stories end, “They lived happily ever after.” Jesus invited Samuel to follow Him, & I believe Jesus really wanted him to say, “Yes, Lord!”
Someone wrote, “The saddest words of tongue or pen are these, ‘It might have been.’” Just think, if Samuel had followed Jesus, we might be reading his Gospel account of Jesus. But because he rejected Jesus, he fades out of history.
God is all-powerful. But there is one area where He has voluntarily restricted Himself; it’s in the area of our will. God won’t force you to accept his gift of eternal life.
IV. AFTER THE RICH YOUNG RULER WENT AWAY
A. After the rich young ruler went away (Mark 10:23-25), Jesus looked around & said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words.
But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to 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 the kingdom of God.”
It is interesting how many times Jesus used humor to make a point. This time Jesus used the largest animal in Israel, a camel, & the smallest manmade opening, a needle’s eye, & talked about the impossibility of getting a camel through that opening.
Some people have tried to explain this by saying, “The “Eye of a Needle” was the name of a small gate for people, & a camel could possibly squeeze through it, but it would be really difficult.” The problem with that suggestion is that it’s wrong.
The N.T. scholar Dr. Hugh Nibley wrote: “The ‘needle’ in Matthew & Mark is ‘raphis’, while in Luke it is ‘belone’. Both refer to needles used for sewing. There is absolutely no evidence that there was a gate called the ‘Eye of a Needle.’
He suggests that this ‘gate idea’ was probably invented by some unknown preacher for the comfort of his wealthy congregation.
B. What Jesus was pointing out is that it is impossible for anyone to gain eternal life through his or her own merit. Samuel was trusting in his wealth. Now what are you trusting today? Is there another God competing for your life?
It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be a rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief; doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief. There’s only one way - & that’s by Jesus.
V. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD
A. Now notice what happens. The disciples were even more amazed, & said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them & said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:26-27)
Many Jews had the impression that God made people rich because they had pleased Him, & that very poor people had angered God & were being punished.
So when they heard what Jesus said about the rich, they turned to Him in amazement & asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answered with a profound truth: With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
B. Remember, God specializes in the impossible. When Moses had the Red Sea blocking him & Egyptian chariots chasing him, he faced an impossible situation, but God made a highway through the Sea.
When young David faced a 9’ warrior with only a slingshot, victory seemed impossible. But God guided the stone to strike Goliath right between the eyes, & the victory was won!
When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to a son who would be the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Mary said, “How can this be, since I’m a virgin?” Gabriel said, “Nothing is impossible for God.” (Luke 1:35-37)
The Rich Young Ruler had so much, but he ended up with nothing but the god of wealth in his life. How about you? Have you found life, real life, wonderful life? You’ll only find it in Jesus.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
INVITATION Jesus is looking at you today & He loves you. He looks into your heart & says, “Get rid of those gods, & follow me. I can give you a life that is really worth living.” Will you come to Him?
*(This is my adaptation of the theme and some of the wording of an excellent message contributed to Sermon Central by David Dykes.)
