Mark 10: 17-31 Matthew 19: 16-31 and Luke 18: 18-30 The rich young ruler speaks to Jesus

Overview Introduction (and “the missing words”) Who is this man? Who is Jesus? What the man wanted What the man needed The disciples amazement (disbelief) Jesus assurance and promise So what?

Introduction (including “the missing words”) The final talk in this series What have we seen so far? Verse 21 The missing “take up the cross” The context (Mark) Follows Jesus and the little children Precedes “Who is the greatest?” Precedes the story of blind Bartimaeus Jesus is God and had great authority Jesus had authority over both the natural and the spiritual world Jesus was a man who showed great compassion and love Jesus was a man who challenged those who needed to be challenged Jesus had a clear view of what his mission was and wouldn’t be deflected from that Jesus loves sinners Jesus hates all that opposes His Father’s will Mark 10:21 (NIV) 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.“ Mark 10:21 (NKJV) Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."

Who was this man? (Verse 17) He was a rich young ruler He was a religious man He had a real love for God He had a real spiritual interest He humbled himself before Jesus He ran and fell on his knees He knew Jesus was different He lacked assurance Matt 19:22: When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Luke 18:18: A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?“ The man had an urgent need and humbled himself before Jesus Undignified to run around (father in Mary Poppins) Didn’t call Jesus Rabbi but “good teacher” The rabbis refused to be called “good” because they understood that only God is truly good What must I do to inherit eternal life? – this man was facing the ultimate question

So what? Do we have this same sense of urgency about our spiritual needs? Do we have a serious spiritual hunger? Are we willing to humble ourselves in before Jesus? Do we recognise that Jesus is different Are we facing up to the ultimate questions of life?

Who is Jesus? (Verse 18) Some people think that in this verse Jesus is denying his deity This is not the case Jesus us underlining his deity Jesus is affirming that he is God He wants the man to recognise this and not gloss over it Jesus is going to issue a costly call The man needs to understand that when Jesus issues that costly call, it id God himself who is asking this of him

So what? Do we take the challenges of God’s word seriously? Do we see them as real calls from a real God to change our real lives? Do we recognise that God has the right to make “big asks” of us?

What the man wanted (Verses 19-20) He wanted assurance of eternal life Jesus tells him to obey the commandments Which ones? I’ve done all that since my youth What else do I lack? You may say “no Paul, he wanted eternal life”. Why do you say he wanted assurance? Matthew gives us an interesting insight here: Matt 19:16-20 16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18 "Which ones?" the man enquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honour your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbour as yourself.'" 20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" He knew that although he was following all that his religion demanded, he was not right with God… And he was right Jesus went to God’s law not the leaders rules – not surprising Jesus went to the practical applications of the 10 commandments rather than the “heart” commandments Jesus did not “quote the letter” The man knew that he still lackes something and he was right – he did not have a relationship with God

What the man needed (Verses 20-22) The man needed to understand his real need He had a small view of sin He viewed himself too highly Jesus loved him Jesus called him to tear down his idol This passage is not about money, but about the love of money The principle applies to any idol He went away sad In his heart, he knew that there was something missing

So what? Do we think seriously about where we are up to before God? Are we asking God what needs to change or do we want him to work on our terms? What are our idols?

The disciples amazement (Verses 23-27) The Jewish view of signs of God’s blessing It is impossible for us to earn our own salvation from sin God does the impossible What’s all this about camels and needles

So what? We need to allow God to correct our wrong perspectives Are we trusting in our ability to impress God? God can do the impossible!

Jesus assurance and promise (Verses 29-31) Peter asks: “What about us?” Jesus does not rebuke Peter (although he does give a gentle warning) God will reward obedient service both in this life and in eternity He will also send persecutions! Watch your motives

So what What have we given up for Christ? Are we focused on the “obedient service” or on the “reward”? Are we ready for persecution as well as blessing? Are we watching out motives?

Today’s take-away Are we urgently seeking God? What are the idols in our lives that need to be torn down? Are we willing to give everything for the sake of Jesus who gave everything for us?

Comments or questions?