Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 3-11-16 Edition

Sunday School
Everything created by God is good (2 Timothy 4:4), and while God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), there probably is such a thing as too much.
The story of the rich young ruler follows Jesus’ teaching on divorce (Mark 10:2-12) and Jesus’ blessing of the chil- dren (vv. 13-16). It probably is chronologically next be- cause it happened in that order and because the man who ran up to Jesus was “young.” Did he have the sim- ple faith that the children dis- played?
Simple Faith Costs Too Much | Mark 10:17-22
Jesus was beginning to make his way toward Jerusalem for the final time. A man ran up to Jesus earnestly (fell on his knees before him). The Synoptic Gospels call him rich, Matthew calls him young (Matthew 19:20), and Luke calls him a ruler (Luke 18:18). The man might have been possessed by his posses- sions, but he asked a signifi- cant question. What must I do to inherit eternal life?
This question of eternal life (or salvation) is asked four times in the New Testament. Since the Old Testament covenant was still in place at that time, no one should have been surprised at Jesus’ an-
Simple Faith (Mark 10:17–31)
swer. Jesus teased out the di- rect address of the man’s question about who or what is good and then headed straight to Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Jesus an- swered the man on his own turf by underlining the latter half of the commandments—7 through 10—and then circled back to commandment num- ber 5.
The man had done nobly with those commandments. The problem was with the first three commandments, which deal with God—not posses- sions—being first in the man’s life. His simple faith had be- come complicated by the weeds of wealth (Mark 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:10). It is impos- sible to know the man’s vocal inflection in v. 20—All these I have kept (“to guard”) since I was a boy.
Jesus knew where the real problem resided and was cer- tainly not angry at him (loved him). Jesus told him what he lacked. His road to a more simple faith is located in the verbs:Go...sell...give... follow. Jesus called him to de-
accumulate his possessions and unclutter his life. Jesus also called him to the road of discipleship.
But the man would not pay the price (Luke 14:25-33). It was too high. In some of the saddest verses in the Bible we read, At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, be- cause he had great wealth. He just could not embrace a sim- ple faith.
Simple Faith Pays Big Div-
idends | Mark 10:23-31 With the man out of earshot, Jesus decided to teach about riches. We should remember that not everyone was specifically called to do this for salvation. The lawyer was told to love God and neighbor (Luke 10:25-37). The Pentecost crowd was told to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). The jailer was told to believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-33). No possessions were mentioned to those peo-
ple.
That being said, Jesus did
teach that it is hard to be rich and enter the kingdom of God. In fact, he said it twice in
our text. He even gave an il- lustration of a camel and nee- dle to show how hard it is.
This teaching amazed the disciples. Mark describes a lot of amazement in his Gospel. The disciples were amazed and were even more amazed. Their worldview had just been shattered. Their formula was: more riches equal more affir- mation of following God. They wondered, Who then can be saved?
Jesus taught that God is so powerful that he can even save rich people. (We should be glad.) When Peter re- minded Jesus that the disci- ples had simplified their lives to follow him, Jesus re- sponded by emphasizing their dividends. To follow Jesus might cost, but the reward is worth it. Giving up family (which Jesus redefined) or farm (occupation) will be re- warded—even in this age. Even if there are some perse- cutions, they will not last. In Jesus’ government the first (rich) will be last, and the last (poor) will be first. A simple faith is an uncluttered one.
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