He Who Had Everything
Opening Prayer
Loving Father, my first glimpse of today is a reminder of Your faithfulness. You are with me as I wake. Thank You.
Read MARK 10:17–31
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“The rich man missed the eternal life he requested and wished to earn his own salvation. The disciples received it by coming to Jesus in the gracious way that he asked, allowing the things of earth to matter less to them than Jesus and the gospel” (Darrell Bock).
With the extensive concerns over the financial crises of recent years, it would not be difficult to conclude that our societies worship the god of money. Like many Christians, though, the man who came to Jesus was torn between a desire to follow the one, true God and the enticing lure of the gods of wealth. He goes from devotion to disappointment in the space of five verses, as his apparent hopes of following both paths are dashed.
All who were wealthy in Palestine would be treated with suspicion by peasants because it was not untypical that wealth would be gained from the exploitation of the poor. Jesus’ emphasis on the second half of the Ten Commandments may similarly point to problems in interpersonal relationships, as previous passages have also emphasized. Indeed, Jesus’ specific command to “give to the poor” (21) again suggests a focused response for the benefit of those in need. However, this is not giving without hope of return: the Jesus way brings us into a community of new relationships, through which we gain so much more than we have given.
But will we count the cost? Following Jesus along “his way” (17) leads ultimately to Jerusalem and the cross. There, we must abandon the things that make us powerful, self-sufficient and wedded to the ways of this world. Jesus has already said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). It is ironic that the one man in Mark’s Gospel who shows such godly desire, and for whom Jesus declares love, is the one who rejects him. His wealth only serves to bring him sorrow (22). Is wealth getting in the way of us following Jesus?
Apply
Give something, however little, to someone who needs it today. In doing so, declare to yourself and to God that wealth will not stop you from following Jesus.
Closing prayer
Father God, the lure of the world is very powerful. Lord, enlighten us with a fresh glimpse of the Gospel.
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