You Cannot Earn Your Way In

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[0:00] Our sermon text today comes from Mark chapter 10 verses 17 through 31. As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. He said to him, Teacher, I've kept all of these since my youth.

[0:44] Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, You lack one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have eternal life. treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." When he heard this he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard will it be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. They were greatly astounded and said to one another, Then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and for mortals it is impossible but not for God. For God all things are possible for for Peter began to say to him, And in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. Let's pray.

[2:33] Father God, we ask for your blessing on this word. May you speak to us in heart and mind. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So this man had everything. He was considered to be honored among his peers.

[2:53] He was a good man. From parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke, we find that not only was he rich, but he was young, and he was a ruler. And that probably meant that he was a ruler in some sort of synagogue, so he was a religious ruler.

[3:12] The rich, young ruler. That's really everything that the world wants. And desires. Wealth, youth, and power. And not just that, but hidden in those words is also the assumption that he had God's blessing. In that time, people understood wealth to be a sign that they had been good enough to receive special blessing from God. And they understood power in much the same way. So a person must be doing well. By God. If God has gifted them with wealth and religious power. And furthermore, alms giving was seen as an indication of a good man. So if a person gave alms, then they were doing their duty by God. And the more alms they gave, the better they were as a person. A rich person could afford to give many alms.

[4:13] So not only were they blessed by God with these riches, but they also were blessed by God. And in that sense, we can see that the poor were not only blessed with alms for being a good person. They were further good because they gave many alms. But a poor person could not afford to give alms. And had apparently done nothing spectacular to deserve God's extra blessings in their life. Therefore, poor people were seen as less.

[4:38] They hadn't gotten God's blessings in life. And they didn't give alms. And a wealthy person might give alms to the poor. But that didn't mean they associated themselves with the poor. There were societal implications of a person blessed by God spending time with somebody who faced God-given hardships in life. A man of this rich young ruler's particular wealth and status had a reputation to uphold.

[5:11] He wasn't just rich and powerful, though. We're under the impression that he was a rich man. He was good. He knew the commandments and he kept them. He wanted to please God. In fact, he so wanted to please God that he knew he was missing something. It stirred within his heart. How could he have everything? And yet know beyond a doubt that he was missing something. And something important. It tormented him so much that he abandoned all cares for his reputation and risked embarrassing himself by not just casually meeting Jesus, but actually running to Christ and laying himself at his feet.

[6:05] I think that's important to note this for a couple of reasons. First, it shows some humility. And we're going to find out in a little bit. That maybe it was displaced humility. But it was humility nevertheless.

[6:21] But second, it's because everywhere else in Mark, when a person kneels down before Jesus, it comes with some sort of affliction. It's a request for healing. For him or herself or for somebody else. Whenever someone kneels, they're requesting healing. So it's possible that he was just a little bit too humble. But it's possible that this problem the rich young ruler has is considered a spiritual affliction that's in need of healing. In which case, we should really take notice. Because what needs to be healed in our own spiritual lives, should we be running to Jesus and kneeling before him as well? Will Jesus' words in this passage serve as a remedy for our own spiritual afflictions?

[7:13] Whatever it is, he was desperate for this healing because he not only kneeled before Christ, but he ran to do so. So afflicted as he may have been, this man was a man that the world thought of as good.

[7:31] He kept the commandments, or at least tried to. And he recognized Jesus as good also. He called him good teacher. I think that running to him and kneeling at his feet was genuine. I think there was genuine desire and genuine humility there. He had a burning question in his heart and he desperately wanted the answer.

[7:57] His desire for a response, and specifically a response from somebody as honored as Jesus, was also genuine. But there was something in him that was not genuine. There was something that he expected in return. And this is where I say it was maybe some displaced humility. He thought of himself as a good man, kneeling at the feet of another good man. He probably expected this good teacher Jesus to reciprocate in the greeting in an equally honorable way. Not by kneeling at his feet, but maybe by saying something like, good sir or honorable sir in return. And so maybe in the future, we will be able to see Jesus as a good teacher. Maybe in the future, they could have a reciprocal relationship. This man had power in the synagogue. And so maybe he's thinking by asking Jesus out, by making this relationship with him, by asking his advice, maybe in the future, Jesus will come to me for my power because he's got certainly a problem with the Pharisees. There's this growing conflict. And the rich young ruler wouldn't be blessed. He wouldn't be blessed. He wouldn't be blessed. He wouldn't be blind to that. He would know that this conflict was building between Jesus and the Pharisees.

[9:16] But instead, Jesus dismissed his compliment by saying, no one is good except God alone. It wasn't a unique statement. It was a reminder that nobody is good or righteous apart from God. And I'm thrown back to Psalm 14, where humanity has abandoned God. And we see that nobody is able to be good without him. Is Jesus good? Of course.

[9:48] But we know that Jesus is God. And this man didn't know that. But the rich man still expected Jesus to call him good in return, which means he thought of himself as good and righteous. He had a genuine desire for God's blessing in his life. But he also thought of himself as good. He thought of himself as good, apart from God. And that is the root of the passage. He thinks of himself as good, and he thinks of Jesus as a fellow good man. And he expects that there is a specific good thing that he can do to achieve God's approval or blessing of eternal life. So in his mind, salvation is something to work toward and earn. Something that can be earned. Because he's wealthy and powerful and competent. He knows that he has what it takes to achieve this standing. He just needs to know the assignment.

[10:52] Jesus starts with the commandments, and those feel easy for the man. He's been studying scripture all of his life, and he's a ruler in the synagogue. So he feels as though he has kept these commandments.

[11:07] This is a common belief that people are capable of keeping God's commands by their own accord. But it feels incomplete reading his response. Obviously he believes he has kept them, but does God believe that he has kept them adequately?

[11:25] There's something interesting here though. Jesus specifically recited those commands that have to do with honoring your fellow human. We know from other passages that Jesus believes the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and strength.

[11:45] And to love the neighbor as yourself. But he left out the commands about loving God and has gone straight to the commands about loving the neighbor. And he's done so for a reason. It's almost easy to keep these commands by the letter of the law. Which I'm sure you've heard of. I'm sure this rich man has been trying to keep them to the letter of the law. But it's far harder to keep them by the heart and spirit of the law. Which is to love your neighbor as yourself and do these things with all of your heart and all of your soul and all of your strength. And the rich young ruler still assumes he's done a decent job of keeping these commandments. And thinks that by his own abilities he's made himself good in God's sight.

[12:35] So the next thing that Jesus says, it's much harder for him. But it wasn't because Jesus was trying to make an impossible request or disheartened the man. And we know this because Jesus looks at him with love. He doesn't treat him as insincere. He doesn't mock him. He doesn't call himself righteous. He just simply looks at him and loves him.

[13:07] It's so important to remember that. Because we come to Jesus with these same afflictions. Jesus loves us. He wants us to get to the point of what he's saying. He wants us to have eternal life with him. So it was with the utmost love and care for the man that Jesus looked at him and said this impossible thing.

[13:33] Take all of your possessions. And give them to the poor. Then follow me. And that was so much harder. Jesus' primary call is to a life of discipleship. Not a life of poverty. His words come and follow are born of a desire for the man to get closer to him. To get closer to the heart of God. But both tasks are hard. And for this particular man. They do seem impossible.

[14:09] Jesus did not simply tell him to give up your possessions. He went a step further by instructing him to redistribute his wealth among the poor. And asked him to follow calls for more than a change in status or living situation. He tells him to actually change his whole way of living. He must revalue his life. He must revalue his whole relationship to the poor. To help them. To identify with them. He resists surrendering not only wealth but also his status and power. He resists participating in economic justice and handing power over to his poor beneficiaries.

[14:57] The financial, social, and political costs are too great. Imagine not just the direct order that Jesus has given but the implications. Take all that you have interpreted to be God's blessing over your life and give that to the poor.

[15:24] Bless them in your place. The people that you don't necessarily even associate yourself with. The people that you don't necessarily even associate yourself with. You'll no longer have the respect and authority in your community because you're going to give up your position as a ruler to come and follow me.

[15:42] Jesus doesn't want him to negotiate relationships between him and the Pharisees. He wants instead for him to come and follow and be one of those disrespected disciples. There will be no more slaves under your supervision. You'll be on the same level as the poor that you disregard now. You say you keep the commandments of loving your neighbor but can you actually put that to the physical test? You can say it but can you put it into practice? If your identity is in God then giving up all of your possessions to help God's people is something that you can do. But if your identity is in your possessions or your possessions are not in your possession, then you can't give up all of your possessions to help God's people. Or your status as a good person or your status as a powerful ruler, then that's going to be a problem for you. And if your reliance is on God, then giving up all of your possessions to the poor is going to be okay. You're going to make it. You'll be provided for. Because you can fully rely on God for that provision. But if your reliance is on yourself, your ability to provide for yourself, your ability to succeed, then you're going to be in trouble. If you don't have the ability to provide for yourself, your ability to provide for yourself,

[17:01] your own ability to be powerful and good enough to enter eternal life, then that's another problem. The rich young ruler had everything. He'd hoped by maybe giving more alms or by maybe doing something, he could work his way into heaven but it doesn't work like that. So it was a problem for him. Whether this is a problem of identity or reliance, we don't really know. Whether this is a problem of identity or reliance, we don't really know. But it was a problem for him. And the man walked away dejected.

[17:36] Can you imagine the looks that the disciples gave Jesus? This seemed like a good man. And he had the money. They could have used that. And he had the connections with the religious rulers that really would have helped them out of some tough situations.

[17:56] And Jesus just let him walk away. Why didn't Jesus go after him? So Jesus turned his teaching toward them. Because remember, they're part of this society that thinks that being rich has been a blessing. So this man must be good in God's sight. It wasn't just that he was rich and evil. He was rich and seemed to be good.

[18:24] It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than to enter the kingdom of God. Than it is for the largest animal you know, a camel, to enter the smallest hole you can imagine. The eye of a needle. And the disciples were stumped. Because if a wealthy man, who's obviously had God's blessing, can't get to the kingdom of heaven, then really who can?

[18:54] And it's so insanely hard. Unimaginable. And beyond human understanding for a camel to just pop right through the eye of a needle. But it's not impossible. Because nothing is impossible with God. That verse of the Bible is so often taken out of context, by the way. Whenever you're trying to achieve something that's ridiculous. Or maybe that you shouldn't be trying to go for. And you say, but nothing is impossible with God. That may be true. But this is actually speaking of our salvation. Something much, much greater. Something much more important. Our salvation is never impossible when we leave it in God's hands. But it absolutely is impossible if we try to flail around and earn it on our own. Right? There's nothing we can work for. There's nothing we can earn. There's no money we can throw at it.

[20:01] If we rely on ourselves, or if our identity is in the wrong place, it's going to be impossible. But nothing is impossible with God. In other words, put your hope, your identity, your reliance, all in God's hands. And eternal life is waiting for you. You can't follow the commandments of your own accord. You can't be considered righteous. With your own abilities. You can't love God's people as God loves them if you're relying solely on yourself. But humble yourself before God. Put your identity in Him and rely on Him. And He will make you righteous.

[20:44] It wasn't something the rich man was able to do. He was far too accustomed to earning everything on his own. But we simply cannot earn or achieve eternal life. By our own striving or merit or ability. It's gifted to us.

[21:02] Now the rich man wasn't the only one who didn't get it. Peter thought he understood. Hey, Jesus, we left all of our possessions behind. We've left our families and all we know of our old lives. In other words, they've fulfilled the conditions that Jesus had set for the rich man. I don't think that Peter was bragging about it. I don't think he was bragging about his spiritual accomplishments. I think he was seeking reassurance. Because if the rich man can't make it, then can Peter make it? And Jesus promised that they would receive eternal life. And many treasures stored up for them in heaven. But Jesus also leaves them with this thought. The first will be last and the last will be first. In other words, Peter was still seeking assurance. He was still wondering. If this rich man can't do it, then do I have what it takes? And the answer is no. None of us do.

[22:03] They just didn't get it. So there is still a little bit of warning in Jesus' reassurances. Put your trust in God. Make yourself last among God's people. Be a servant. Be God's worker. Jesus wasn't just calling the rich man to give up things.

[22:27] Nor was he desiring that from his disciples. What he wanted from them, he wants from us. And that's true and radical discipleship. Money is an object of desire in our society. And their society, too. And so this passage challenges us. Are we following the letter of the law while seeking to gain the rich man's trust? Or are we following the whole world by our strivings? Or are we following Jesus and resting our future in God's hands?

[22:58] Perhaps there's something other than money or power that we treasure most. Whatever it is, Jesus tells us to give it up. Not as a step to making ourselves righteous. But in an honest quest to follow Jesus. These words of Jesus challenge notions of discipleship that feel easy. And allow us to become complacent. We may suffer great loss with the assurance that God has the last word. In our quest to inherit the kingdom, we must also allow the kingdom of God to break into our world. And transform our identities, our obedience, and our reliance on ourselves. And our service to others right here and right now. Let's pray.

[23:51] Dear God, we pray that we could give it all to you. Whatever you ask of ourselves, of us, would we give it up? Would we become yours fully and truly? Put all of our identity and our reliance on you. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.