I’ve been to a lot of funerals. I’ve conducted a lot of funerals. Funerals are a great ministry opportunity to the witness of the reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, what I often hear at funerals is some version of: “they were such a good person!” But seriously, were they? We need to get the whole notion of “goodness” into perspective this week with Mark 10: 17-31.
As you prepare for the sermon, please read Mark 10:17-31. Really take it in. A wealthy “up-and-comer” in the Jewish community calls Jesus a “Good Teacher.” Rabbis were not called this. Even the best of Rabbis in the Jewish tradition were not called good. The Jews believed goodness to be an attribute belonging only to God. Jesus had a prime opportunity here to cause the rich young ruler to reflect deeply on his own question. Jesus wants to get at the heart of the question, and to address the heart and the priorities of the man asking the question.
The man, told by Jesus to keep the whole law of God in order to inherit eternal life, probably felt pretty “good” about his “checklist,” having done all those things and obeying satisfyingly. But Jesus, (being Jesus) went to a deeper level with the young man. I love verse 21. Look at it carefully. Jesus hears the rich young ruler smugly answer Jesus that he indeed has kept all of the law. And then he looks at him…and LOVES him. The heart of Jesus comes on the scene here full of compassion and pity on a wretch-of-a-rich-man as this. The rich young ruler does not see himself as a wretched sinner. He most likely views himself as upright, godly, law-abiding, humble (as he knelt before Jesus) and “good.” And, in some ways, he probably is. But these are not things of salvation. These are not the things that bring you into right relationship with God. True “goodness” gets shown for what it really is; Jesus Christ alone and his performance and perfection. It is Christ alone who is good. It is Christ alone who saves. Whether rich or poor, Christ wants our hearts as an expression of full surrender. This is the heart of our text this week!
Thomas Brooks said, “Christ is the greatest good, the choicest good, the chief good, the most suitable good, the most necessary good. He is a pure good, a real good, a total good, an eternal good, and a soul-satisfying good.” So the rich young ruler was asked to submit unassumingly to the lordship of Christ “sell all you have and follow me.” What Jesus exposes is that the man’s treasure is where his heart was. As in our lives, Christ wanted his heart, not his “law-abiding” goodness. The young man was unable to meet the one prerequisite that Jesus gave, to give his entire heart and life to God. The man came to Jesus asking what it was that he could do, yet he left seeing what it was that he could NOT do. Be encouraged! We are not left in our innate non-goodness. Salvation changes everything. Christ is the Savior—He looks at us. He loves us. And He saves us!
- Why would the man have knelt before Jesus, and why did he call Jesus a “Good Teacher?”
- How could the young man have honestly answered that he has kept all the commandments? Is this self-delusion or something else?
- What does, “Jesus looked at him and loved him,” mean? How could Jesus love him? What is implied about Jesus here?
- Why is it difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God? What makes it so?
- In verse 29, how is it that this is not bribery? Doesn’t it sound like, “do this and I’ll reward you?” Is that what Jesus is saying?
by Henry Knapp