Bench-pressing Your Way to Glory!
Mark 10:17-27 And
when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and
kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may
inherit eternal life?
18And
Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God.
19Thou
knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and
mother.
20And
he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from
my youth.
21Then
Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou
lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross,
and follow me.
22And
he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great
possessions.
23And
Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly
shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24And
the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again,
and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in
riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26And
they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then
can be saved?
27And
Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with
God: for with God all things are possible.
Before
we get into the insights from this portion of the Bible, we will look
at one verse. Verse 18. The young man addressed Jesus as good. Jesus
replied, “Why
callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
Rabbis
did not let people call them good. They felt only God was good and that
the word good should be used only for God.1 When
the rich young man said Jesus was good, he confirmed the Messiah.
Jesus’ answer was not a denial of divinity.2 It
can be seen as a confirmation of His divinity, by wanting the young
rich man to understand the implication of what he was saying.3
Jesus
may have wanted to hold off on letting people see Him as the Messiah,
until His work on Calvary was complete. If the people had clearly
identified Jesus as the Messiah, they would have tried to prevent
Calvary.
There
are several insights we can learn from this brief encounter. They
relate to the role of emotion and personalities in church. We can also
learn a lot about salvation from this story.
•First, the role of emotion in spirituality.
William
Barclay, a respected theologian, commentator, and Greek language
authority, translates the first verse like this. “As Jesus was walking
along the road, a man came running to him and threw himself at his feet
. . .”4
This
must have been quite the site for the disciples. Here was a rich man, a
ruler. Why you could almost say he was an aristocrat!5 And
what does this aristocrat do? Just what nobody would imagine. He races
up to the Messiah and throws Himself down at Jesus’ feet! An aristocrat
kneeling at the feet of a poor servant from Nazareth.6
The
young man had enthusiasm! Tons of it! And Jesus threw a bucket of cold
water on the fire of his enthusiasm.7 Jesus
told the young man the cost of following the Messiah.
The
Messiah’s approach shows much balance. Emotion and passion for the Lord
always needs to be held in check by the reason of the Word. Jesus made
the young man stop and think!8 Not a
bad idea when you are wanting to follow the Lord. Think and emote!
Think with your head and feel with your heart! Both your head and your
heart are important.
I
love the charismatics and charismatic congregations. Charismatics show
devotion for the Lord, a fire and a zeal for service that are to be
commended. Many times, I have wished that fire for the Lord was as
contagious as the flu! We’d set the world on fire in a few weeks.
I
also love those congregations that have a prayer book and follow it.
Some faith traditions have used a prayer book for hundreds of years. As
a result, their members have a quiet, solid witness for the Lord. A
witness that is able to withstand the storms of life, a witness that
understands you have a duty to serve and you can serve the Lord, even
when you are not walking on cloud nine, swinging from the chandeliers
or dancing on the backs of the pews!
We
have some liturgy in this congregation, but we do not follow a prayer
book. The wonderful news is that you can have a prayer book and follow
a prayer book for your daily devotions. And that will help you have a
good balance of emotion and stability, emotion and reason, passion and
Biblical understanding in your service for God and for humanity.
When
we call people to service, when people are asked to help in the Lord’s
work, we should do as the Lord did. We should help prepare people for
what they will face. Otherwise they will never handle the storms of
life and the storms of serving God.
•The
role of pastors and prophets in churches. This passage gives us many
insights into the role of spiritual leaders.
The
role of every single person in leadership in a congregation or a
denomination is to point people to the heavenly, to point people to
God. We are only finger-posts (small sign posts) pointing to the Lord.9 In a
way, Jesus’ response said, “You cannot become a Christian by
sentimental passion for a prophet. You must look to God.”10
There
is a danger for all teachers, pastors, and church leaders. The danger
is that people will develop such a strong emotional bond to the person
that a good bond to the Lord will not form.11
Unfortunately,
some people take advantage of the emotional bonds people naturally form
with church leaders. They proclaim themselves inerrant prophets. In the
process, they degrade the Word of God, by claiming equal status with
the Word. Or, they do not disagree with those who may, out of love for
the pastors, want to count the pastor’s words as equal to the Bible.
There is only one who is inerrant; that is the Lord.
The
sad thing is some people do not know how to reconcile contradictions
between their favorite religious teacher and the Word of God. Upon
seeing contradictions between the Bible and the teachings of a person,
they try to prove the Bible is wrong on that point. Hold
on guys! God does not get it wrong! Many
of our problems with the Bible are not problems with the Bible; they
are problems with interpretations of the Bible. As a result, they
insult God and weaken His life-giving Word.
When
a religious teacher is wrong, you say, “That does not hold up to the
Bible. I reject that teaching.” Rejecting one point of a person’s
teachings does not mean you have to flush the pastor down the toilet.
You only put the pastor in the rightful place - below the Word of God,
below God; not above God.
•This
passage talks about the law.
The
rich young man had everything going for him. He had the strength and
vitality of youth, combined with wealth. He was respected and powerful.
Luke relates that he held an office (Luke 18:18).12 And
somehow, with all of the money and power he had, this young man had
manners. This young man had potential!13 He
was going places in life.
Unfortunately,
he had a superficial view of spiritual things.14 He
has a skin deep view of the law. Now way could he see the principles.
He thought keeping the law meant not doing things, when it means doing
things for the Lord.
We are
not
called to merely not hurt
people. Our call is to actually reach out and help people. Want to know
if you are following the Lord. The question is not, “Have I harmed
anybody?” The question to ask is, “What good have I done?”15
•This story helps us understand salvation - big time.
Verse
10. The young man asks what he must do to get to heaven. The Greek
carries the meaning of exercising.16 You
almost get the picture of the young man, covered in sweat, working with
spiritual barbells, until he is so spiritually buff God lets him into
the Kingdom.
Tried
to curl a California redwood? Salvation by works is harder than curling
a California redwood. Ya. Don’t think you are quite that buff!
Salvation by works is even more difficult than changing your sexual
orientation and becoming straight. You definitely are not that buff!
The
Word says, He “went away gloomy and sad.” Many people come to Jesus
hurting and unhappy. This may be the only person to leave the presence
of the Lord sad.17
There
is a reason why he went away depressed. He, like the disciples, did not
understand salvation. The disciples seemed to equate respectability
(wealth, power, and prestige) with salvation. That is why they were
shocked when they heard the Messiah say, “It’s hard for rich people to
get into God’s kingdom.”
This
young man was respectable. His wealth, and power made him respectable.
But being respectable is not enough.18 Part
of being respectable is not doing
things - not breaking laws, not acting gay, not being queer. Following
the Messiah is doing things.19
Following
Christ includes doing things for the queer community. We sacrifice some
respectability to serve the Messiah, to help people. Those that do the
most are not always the most respected. We see that in the fight for
rights for gay and trans-identified people. Those who fight the hardest
to help gain equal rights for people regardless of their sexual
orientation or gender identification often lose some respect from the
general population. The old-fashioned church people of society do not
like strong advocates for the queer community.
You
may be thinking, “This is the only time I have been glad I am not
rich.” No time to be smug. My not-very-literal paraphrase would read,
“It is hard for people with things and with toys to get into God’s
kingdom.”20
Perhaps, for us it is the large screen TV, an awesome stereo, designer
clothes, the car, the computer, the internet, or the new home that
makes it difficult for us to follow Jesus.
In
Matthew’s account, Jesus told the rich young man to be perfect. The
rich young man only lacked one thing. What he needed to do was to give
away his wealth to help the poor and to follow Jesus. The Greek word
translated perfect does not mean without sin.21 The
word is better translated complete. To be complete, is to reach the
goal for which you were created.22 We
were created to be obedient to Jesus,23 to
follow Jesus. When we follow Christ, we are complete. Christ has called
queer people to be queer people, not straight people. Queer Christians
are complete only when they answer the call to be queer.
Shalom
means completeness and perfection. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus asked
his disciples to say, “God bless this home with peace,” when His
disciples entered a home. That was a wish for every good thing for the
home.24 From
Hebrew, we understand having shalom is having wellness, happiness,
health, and prosperity.25 When
you have all of those things, you are perfect, complete. With the word
shalom is the meaning wholeness or completeness.26
Tried
to gain shalom, peace, completeness through things? The very things we
turn to for peace and wholeness leave us stressed. We get stressed
slaving for bigger toys. We sweat the daily news, worried about taxes,
stock values, and the crime rate.
Salvation,
perfection, peace, wholeness are not for sale! They cannot be
purchased. The cry of the disciples, “How can anyone ever be saved?” is
answered “ . . . God can do anything.”
Perfection
or completeness is impossible to purchase, but easy to get. Sounds like
a contradiction. Not really. Salvation is impossible for people to
grasp, but God easily places the gift in your lap.
Want
perfection and salvation? Follow Jesus. Keep reading the gospel of
Mark. Follow Jesus’ life to Calvary, to the cross. And there you will
find salvation, and the perfection of complete wholeness and peace.
Prayer:
Thank
You Lord that perfection is following Jesus, not being straight, not
living without ever making a mistake. That gives us hope.
As
you gave us hope and salvation, give hope and salvation to others,
through us. Make each person here the living home of Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
Notes:
1 Warren W. Wiersbe. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1 (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1989), 146.2 Wiersbe, 146.3 Wiersbe, 146.4 William Barlcay. The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark. Revised Ed. (Toronto: G.R. Welch, 1975), 243.5 Barclay, 243.6 Barclay, 243.7 Barclay, 243.8 Barclay, 243.9 Paraphrased from Barclay, 244.10 Barclay, 244.11 Barclay, 244.12 Wiersbe, 145.13 Wiersbe, 145.14 Wiersbe, 145.15 Barclay, 244.16 The Bible Library. 3.0 Special Ed., Computer Bible Software. (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Ellis Enterprises, 1988), Literal Bible, with Strongs NT Reference [2443].17 R. Allan Cole. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to Mark. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 163.18 Barclay, 244.19 Barclay, 244.20 Cole, lists television, record player, projector as things that May occupy first place in the life of people (163).21 Spiros Zodhaites. The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible: King James Version. (n.p.: Word Pub., 1991), 1762.22 Zodhiates, 1761.23 Zodhiates, 1761.24 Zodhiates, 519.25 The Bible Library, Literal Bible, with Strongs OT Reference [7965 and 7999].26 The Bible Library, Literal Bible, with Strongs OT Reference [7965 and 7999].
