Wealth Verses the Kingdom of God
Truth Taught- Wealth creates a great temptation to find security and trust not in God but in money
This is a passage of Scripture that shows us many things, some about the Kingdom of God others about wealth and still more about ourselves.
Last time we were in the Gospel of Mark, we discovered that Jesus did not want the disciples to hinder the parents from bringing their children to Him to be blessed.
Mark 10:13–16 (ESV)
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Here, Jesus explains that to enter the Kingdom of God, one must have faith and trust in Christ and not rely on any works or special skills, simply come depending on God alone who shows mercy to the humble. The children Jesus was blessing were a good example of that.
They were a wonderful picture of salvation by grace through faith…and beloved, childlike faith is what God desires.
Now in our text today, we see the contrast of the faith of a child. The Rich Young Ruler. Mark simply calls him a man. Matthew tells us he is a young man (19:20). While Luke tells us that he is a ruler (18:18) so we get the name of the account, the Rich Young Ruler.
Here is the twist to the story…The assets of the Rich Young Ruler prove to be a greater liability than the deficits of the little children.
So, how are we to view wealth? Does this passage change our thinking about wealth? Where does this account challenge our goals in life?
Did the rich man think he could buy the Kingdom of God? Did he think that as a ruler, he could command it be given to him? Did he think that in all his worldly wealth that God would be doing well to have him?
Let’s go to the text together today…
Please stand:
Mark 10:17–31 (ESV)
17 And as he 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?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
1. The Rich Young Ruler (10:17-22)
17 And as he 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?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Let’s notice how the man approaches Jesus. ran up and knelt before him We see a level of respect as he says, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
His haste, earnestness and submission suggest he desired to be a disciple, he ran up to and knelt before Jesus.
This man calls Jesus, Good Teacher. In Judaism of the day only God was ever called good. Rabbis welcomed other titles but Good was one they stepped away from. So, Jesus is not denying His deity here but simply assuming the proper rabbinical posture and reminding this man that only God is good.
In addition, and perhaps the main reason Jesus responds this way is to help this young man realize that if only God is good then the young man is not good. This is in line with Paul’s universal statement…
Romans 3:23–24 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Then our Lord refers this young man to the Ten Commandments, specifically the ethical commands plus one…
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
We must see here that this was an exaggeration. The young man may have tried to keep God’s Law. He may have been blameless under the Law which means he really tried to live under God’s authority but he did not keep the Law to the degree God demanded…no one can.
Look closely with me at the list Jesus places before him. Our Lord reaches into the Decalogue and pulls out some of God’s commands but then hinting at where this man falls short is found in the one, Do not defraud. That one is not among the Ten Commandments. Possibly, Jesus is showing him very lovingly that in fact he has not kept the commands after all nor is he good in God’s eyes.
How did this Rich Young Ruler acquire his great wealth? Probably not from working hard.
This man’s entire attitude and view of God’s Kingdom is faulty. When he asks, what must I do to inherit the Kingdom is a glaring mistake. No one does anything. We only have the Kingdom of God given to us as a gift, we cannot do anything to earn it.
” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
For this man, his wealth had become a snare. It actually was his god. Idolatry was not mentioned loving the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind was not brought up…until now. Have no graven images was not mentioned until now. This young man was not quite the Law-keeper he made himself out to be. His great wealth had claimed his heart and love. You shall have no other gods before Me.
To this man, Jesus said, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Rather than loving your earthly treasure, get rid of it and love Me…follow Me, Jesus said. The reality was that this man could not let go to follow Jesus. His true god was his money.
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
He ran up to Jesus in excitement but left in sorrow. Our Lord had shown this man the true nature of his heart and love. It was not for Jesus or treasure in heaven but he loved and worshipped his money.
We learn here, that people will not give up their gods. God has to first do a work.
Is there something in this world you love more than God? Is there something you trust more than Jesus?
This man’s loyalty and worship were fixed to his wealth so, he had to get rid of it and follow Jesus. Is there something Jesus would tell you to get rid of? Is there an idol in your life that is keeping you from being fully devoted to Christ and fully following Him? Will you let it go or will you walk away sorrowful?
2. Jesus Explains to Us What Just Happened (10:23-25)
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
The difficulty for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God has just been portrayed in front of their eyes. As the rich man walked away in sorrow, he displayed the impossibility for the rich or anyone to enter the Kingdom of God based on their own merits.
Jesus takes them from the difficulty to enter to the impossibility of entering when He uses the analogy of a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Today, we often assume that wealth equals God’s favor. The health-wealth false Gospel has taught us that if you’re poor then God has turned His blessings away from you and that all you need to do is have more faith and you will become richer.
Our Lord watches as wealth has become a curse to this man not a blessing.
There is nothing wrong with having money and even a lot of money. However, with wealth comes greater temptation to trust in money and not God. Always remember, wealth is not an end in itself. Wealth is a means. What do I mean. Your money is not the end but a means to bless others, bless your church, and worship God. The same goes for your job. You job is not the end but the means of supporting your family, your church and being generous to others. The key to guarding your heart from the love of money is to give some away on a regular basis.
I remember an old country preacher talking about a conversation he had with a wealthy church member. The man’s business had taken off he was now making a lot of money. He told the pastor that he did not think he should give ten percent of his current income because the income was so large now and ten percent was a very large number. So, the wise pastor told him that he would begin praying that his business would not make as much and make a small amount so he would feel better about his tithing. The man smiled and began tithing 10% of his current income.
Riches can captivate our hearts very quickly if we don’t guard against it.
The point Jesus is making at the end of this section is that from a human standpoint the odds are greater that a camel can fit through the eye of a needle for anyone to enter God’s Kingdom. We cannot do it.
24 And the disciples were amazed at his words
3. With Man it is Impossible but With God All Things Are Possible (10:26-31)
26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
I want to make sure and emphasize what Jesus is teaching. It is impossible for man to be saved. We cannot do enough, we cannot buy the Kingdom through riches, we cannot be good enough or work hard enough. We can only be saved by simple childlike faith in what Jesus has done for us.
What Peter discovers here is that discipleship has a cost involved. But the cost will never outweigh what we receive by grace.
For example, if the Rich Young Ruler would have obeyed Jesus and had given all away to the poor, he would have experienced treasure in heaven. God owns everything. There is a cost to discipleship; there is a cost in following Jesus now. We may or may not receive great blessing in this life. But we must focus on the life to come where God promises His faithful followers treasure in heaven.
Luke 12:32–34 (ESV)
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Where is your treasure?
Resources Used:
Mark by William Lane
Mark by James Edwards
Words of grace
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