Mark 10:17-22: What It Costs to Follow Jesus

INTRODUCTION

In Chaim Potok’s book In the Beginning, we are introduced to a young Jewish student named David. He is studying scripture with his teacher Mr. Bader.

At one point in the book, eleven-year-old David expresses to his father his disappointment because his teacher doesn’t have answers to all of his questions.

His father tells him: “It is as important to learn the important questions as it is the important answers. It is especially important to learn the questions to which there may not be good answers. We have to learn to live with questions.”

I have been reading and studying the Bible seriously for almost 70 years, and I have more questions every year.

I have chosen to talk to you today about what seems to me to be one of the most important stories in the gospels. And the more I read it, the more I wonder.

It is the story of the rich, young ruler.

Actually, the New Testament never calls him a “rich, young ruler.”

Matthew tells us that he was a young man who had many possessions.

Luke tells us that he was a ruler who was very rich.

And Mark simply tells us that he was a man who had many possessions.

So putting all these descriptions together we refer to him as the rich, young ruler.

I will read the story, as it is recorded in Mark 10:17-22:

And as Jesus 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?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

And the man said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.”

And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

At that saying the rich man’s countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

The story is repeated in Matthew, Mark, and Luke—so it must be important.

I have heard many sermons on this story, but none of them has satisfied me.

Although I have listened to sermons on this story, I’ve never heard a pastor call his hearers to sell everything, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jesus.

In fact, I’ve never known of a missionary or pastor or even a most committed believer to sell everything, give the money to the poor.

Today I’m going to tell you what I have learned as I have puzzled over this story—even though I don’t have all the answers.

I. First, let’s consider this rich, young man.

A. He is an attractive person. We like him. Here’s what we can say in his favor:

1. He was serious; he was earnest: he ran to Jesus.

2. He honored Jesus: he knelt before him and called him “Good Teacher.”

3. He asked the most important question of all: the question about eternal life.

4. He was rich, but by coming to Jesus he admitted that riches weren’t the answer to the meaning of life.

5. And Jesus loved him. Did you catch that? “And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him.” Nothing in life is better than to be loved by Jesus

B. Many who were poor responded to Jesus. They loved Jesus and followed him.

One would suppose that Jesus would be delighted that finally someone who was rich was interested in following him.

We would suppose that this is the kind of person who would add credibility to the Jesus movement.

What’s better than being young? We love young people. Our culture worships youth. We hold on to it as long as we can.

This eager young man, who was also rich and a ruler, would seem to be well-qualified to be an outstanding disciple of Jesus.

II. But Jesus doesn’t seem so eager to welcome him.

A. The first words out of the rich man’s mouth are: “Good teacher.” 

But Jesus stops him right there. He says, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

Why did Jesus quibble about the eager young man’s expression of respect? Wasn’t Jesus a good teacher? He was.

I think that Jesus wanted to direct the man’s attention away from himself to the Father. He wasn’t satisfied with a compliment.

The rich man was seeing Jesus only as someone who was good. The rich man needed to see that all goodness comes from the one who is perfectly good—God.

So Jesus brushes aside the compliment to direct the man’s attention to God, his Father.

We, who read the story, know that Jesus was God incarnate, but that wasn’t the first thing the rich man needed to know.

If the man decided to follow Jesus, there would be time enough for him to learn about the Incarnation, Jesus as Son of God, and the Trinity.

B. Then when Jesus hears the rich man’s question—“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus surprises us again. He refers his questioner to the Law.

I have heard hundreds of gospel messages, and most of them followed an outline similar to this.

1. Admit that you are a sinner, and you can’t save yourself.

2. Believe that Jesus paid the price for your sins on the cross.

3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

4. Receive forgiveness by inviting Jesus into your life. This is the way to eternal life.

But Jesus doesn’t tell the rich man that he is a sinner. He doesn’t tell him about salvation by faith. He points him to the Law! Haven’t we been taught all our lives that keeping the Law is not the way to salvation? Salvation is always by faith, not by works!

Maybe the reason Jesus starts with the Law is that the rich man isn’t ready for the gospel yet. The rich man’s question was actually not the right question. He said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.”

The rich man knows that he is a good person. He also knows that something is missing. He wants to be sure of eternal life. So he is hoping for something more that he can do to insure that he will share in the world to come.

The rich man wanted Jesus to tell him one thing he lacked—the one thing that would put him for sure on the road to eternal life—maybe a prayer to pray, a habit to form, an outstanding act of charity to perform, a costly act of self-denial.

C. But Jesus doesn’t tell him something to add to his already good life. Jesus names some commandments: “Don’t kill, Don’t commit adultery, Don’t steal, Don’t bear false witness, Don’t defraud, Honor your father and mother.”

The rich man honestly says he has kept those commandments. And Jesus accepts his answer.

But notice. There is one commandment that Jesus didn’t quote. He didn’t quote the tenth commandment: “Don’t covet.”

Coveting is simply wanting more. Coveting is greed.

The tenth commandment is the hardest one for most of us to keep. It was the one the rich man needed to think about.

D. When Jesus challenged the rich man to sell all he had and give the money to the poor and follow him, he was asking something he must have known the rich man couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do.

I think Jesus was trying to help the rich man see that what he needed was not something added to his life, but a radical change in his lifestyle, his thinking, his behavior.

“Just sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor, and follow me.”

Jesus realized that the one thing coming between the rich man and God was his love for his wealth.

This is a parable of following Jesus. To follow Jesus, we must turn everything over to him. He is asking the rich man to see that God is more important than every possession he owns.

The main point is not getting rid of all his possessions. It is not helping the poor. The main point is following Jesus. And those possessions were the one thing standing between this eager young man and following Jesus.

E. I have mentioned my big problem with the story.

We don’t read that Jesus asked anyone else to give up all his possessions. We know that some of Jesus’s early followers had possessions—even wealth. I think of Lydia. I think of Philemon.

Who could do what Jesus asked this man to do? We can think of a mature disciple giving up everything. St. Paul gave up all. He wrote: “For Christ’s sake I have suffered the loss of all things and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8). But that was the mature Paul. Jesus didn’t ask that of him when he called him.

Although we don’t read that Jesus asked anyone else to give up all his possessions, Jesus did warn people that it would cost to follow him. He said, “Count the cost.” He said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”

F. So here are my best thoughts on what is going on in this story.

Jesus saw in this young, rich man the potential to be an outstanding disciple. The rich man was attracted to Jesus. He approached Jesus eagerly. He was a good person. Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Surely Jesus knew that no one—or only a very rare one—could take such a step at the beginning of discipleship as to give up everything.

Is Jesus maybe seeking to bring the rich man to an acknowledgment that he doesn’t have it in him to be “good” enough to be a follower of Jesus?

What would have happened if the rich man had fallen at Jesus’s feet and said, “God be merciful to me, a sinner”? That’s what the tax collector said in his prayer in the Temple. And. we read, he went home justified.

What would have happened if the rich man had said, “Lord, I don’t have it in me to take that step yet. Just let me follow you and learn to trust you with that kind of faith and obey you with that kind of obedience.”

But the rich man gave up at the beginning. “He went away sorrowful.”

There are two things that lead me to suppose that the rich man did come back and did become one of Jesus’s disciples. The first is that “Jesus looking upon him loved him.” And the second is that “He went away sorrowful.”

It’s sorrow that leads to repentance.

I hope that the rich man did come to Christ eventually. His sorrow could have led him back to Christ. Maybe eventually he did find enough faith to sell everything and give the money to the poor and follow Jesus. We don’t know, but we can believe that this one who ran to Jesus and who Jesus loved and who went away grieving—this man could have come back and followed Jesus.

I hope so.

APPLICATION: 

I suggest that the lesson in this story for us is that it will cost to follow Jesus. It will cost to have God in our life. It will cost us something to inherit eternal life.

You’ve been told that salvation is a gift. That’s true. But salvation involves a changed life. Salvation involves following Jesus, and following Jesus costs!

For the rich man, it would cost his wealth. His wealth had become to him a god. He couldn’t imagine life without it. So Jesus told him to give it up.

For us, it probably isn’t our wealth that is keeping us from God.

Here are some of the things that shut God out of a life. Here are some things we may have to give up.

1. We may have to give up our love for money. We are not rich, but money could still dominate our lives. We can make sure that it doesn’t by choosing to be really, truly generous. When we give generously, trusting the Lord rather than trusting in our CDs or savings, we are choosing the riches of heaven over the riches of earth.

The main reason old people are stingy is because we crave security. Luther called security the ultimate idol.

We crave to have our future assured. Remember Jesus’s story of the Rich Fool.

The Rich Fool was a farmer who had such an abundant crop that he decided to retire. He would build more barns and store his goods and have enough for many years. He said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” He thought his wealth gave him security.

But God said, “You fool! Today your soul is required of you. So it is with everyone who lays up treasure on earth and is not rich toward God.”

Let’s learn to trust God for our security, not our bank accounts.

2. We may have to give up our grudges. Some people cling to their grudges. Last week a friend complained about some harsh things people had said to her.

I said, “But we have to forgive. We have to give up our bitterness. We have to let it go.”

She said, “I can’t, until they apologize.”

I answered, “But they won’t apologize. They don’t see anything to apologize for.”

My friend can’t accept that—at least not right now. Perhaps she will let her bitterness torment her for ever. But I hope she will learn to forgive. She’ll have to let it go.

It’s right there, in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

3. We may have to give up some habit or addiction. Some people are addicted to drink…to pornography…to mindless TV shows…to luxurious food…to some hobby or pastime. With all of us, there is something that we love that can keep us from following Jesus wholeheartedly.

4. Another thing we may have to give up is our good opinion of ourselves.

Most of us are convinced that we are pretty good people—certainly better than average. But to follow Jesus we have to know that we are needy people. We are sinners in need of a Savior. We have traveled the wrong road and need to change directions and own that we are not what we should be. (The Bible calls it “repentance.”) We need forgiveness.

If we have been at the center of our life, God must become the center—and that will make all the difference.

What have you had to give up to follow Jesus? What do you still need to give up to follow him more closely?

Think about Jesus. As he hung on the cross, he had nothing. Even his clothes were no longer his. Then Jesus was nearest the Father. Then the Father was everything to him.

Jesus invites us to identify ourselves with Jesus on the cross—dying to this life and living for God.

CONCLUSION

Elizabeth Speare, in her classic children’s book The Bronze Bow, a story set in the time of Jesus, records this exchange between Jesus and Daniel, a young Jewish revolutionary.

“Daniel,” Jesus said. “I would have you follow me.”

“Master!” A great burst of hope almost swept him to his knees. “I will fight for you to the end!”

Jesus smiled at him gently. “My loyal friend,” he said, “I would ask something much harder than that. Would you love for me to the end?”

Baffled, Daniel felt the hope slipping away. “I don’t understand,” he said again. “You tell people about the kingdom. Are we not to fight for it?”

“The kingdom is only bought at a great price,” Jesus said, “There was one who came just yesterday and wanted to follow me. He was very rich, and when I asked him to give up his wealth, he went away.”

“I will give you everything I have!”

Something almost like a twinkle of humor lighted for an instant the sadness of Jesus’ eyes. “Riches are not keeping you from the kingdom,” he said. “You must give up your hate.”

Is there something that is coming between you and God?

Here is a famous prayer from St. Ignatius of Loyola, who died in 1556:

Lord, take to yourself all my freedom.

Take my memories, my thoughts, my plans, my desires.

Whatever I have, you have given me.

I give it all back to you and entrust it to the guidance of your will.

Only give me your love and grace and I am rich enough.

I ask for nothing more.