Peter and the Rich Man (Mark 10:17-31)

If we were wanting to have a supporter in our cause, we would prefer that he had resources and was influential in the community. Imagine what the disciples would have thought initially when this important person indicated that he wanted to identify himself with Jesus. This man had wealth, energy, contacts and influence. He was very different from the disciples in those ways. Yet things did not work out as he had hoped.

The Dialogue

As we can see, the man was eager to hear from Jesus and respectful towards Jesus. Yet within his question to Jesus we can see that the man was full of self-confidence because he reckoned that he was able to do something to achieve eternal life. Moreover, we can deduce from the response of Jesus to the man’s use of the adjective ‘good’ that he had not grasped who Jesus really is. He recognised that Jesus was a guide, but he did not appreciate that Jesus was God.

In addition, we can see that he did not understand grace, but instead had a legalistic attitude to his life. When Jesus mentioned some of the commandments to him, the man’s assessment was that he had been doing fine for many years. He imagined that he had kept the law, which he may have done in an external manner, but certainly not from the heart.

In his assessment of himself, we see what happens when one does not use the law correctly. The law is not only a code for outward living. It is also a torch for showing to us our defects. If the law makes us proud about ourselves, we have not used it correctly. While it is good to desire to keep it, spiritual insight will make one realise that we have not kept it.

The man’s question to Jesus about doing something in order to get eternal life points to the fact that he had realised that his attempts so far were not achieving his goal. He had realised that something was missing, but he still believed that he had the ability to do it himself. His frustrations had not reduced his certainty about himself.

It is important to note how Mark describes the response of Jesus. He says that Jesus spoke to the man out of love. Mark does not say that Jesus loved the man as he was walking towards Jesus or when he was describing himself to Jesus. Instead Jesus sees a poor lost soul, but sees him through eyes of love. The Saviour is not impressed by the man’s attainments. Yet he is not angry, but speaks out of fresh love. Here is a man strutting down the broad road to a lost eternity, and the Saviour’s response is to feel for him.

Jesus identifies for the man the root cause of his problem, and the root cause was selfishness. If he wants to have eternal life, he needs a radical change of priorities. The problem with him was his grip on his possessions. Jesus did not tell every rich person to sell everything, but he did tell this man to do so. The man was totally preoccupied with himself. So he was told to get rid of the things in his life that would prevent him following Jesus. In other words, he was told to count the cost.

It did not take the man long to do so – about ten seconds. In that small space of time, he used the balancing scales about eternity. He had no interest in having treasures in heaven, which also meant he had no interest in helping the poor on earth, since both are connected. And he had no desire in his heart to be with Jesus. Therefore, he refused to do what Jesus commanded.

The rich man is an example of most people, even if they are not rich. The detail that marked him was self-dependence, that he could live in such a manner that would merit heaven. He was religious without repentance, and he saw no need for the personal involvement of Jesus in his life. Although initially he seemed very close to the kingdom, he was miles away from it. And that is where most people are – self-dependant, without any concept that they need divine help constantly in their lives. Therefore they refuse to follow Jesus, and we should not be surprised that they do so.

The difficulty

Jesus then explained to his disciples that it is not easy to enter the kingdom of God. He used the illustration of a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle, which is impossible. It may be that he was referring to a small gate in the city wall which a camel could not go through because of its height and because of the baggage it would be carrying. It would have to crawl through without its load. If that is the illustration, then we can see that Jesus is requiring that the rich man should have humbled himself and got rid of his riches that were hindering him from making spiritual progress.

Yet the difficulty is not limited to wealthy people. After all, in comparison, most of us probably have more assets and things than the rich man would have had. He did not have a house with electricity in it, he may never have travelled to other countries, he would not have a wallet full of notes or credit cards, he could not look ahead to a comfortable pension, he did not own a car, or a television, or a computer. In fact, it is not hard to see that we can have the same problem as him, which is that we love the things of this life instead of Jesus.

The disciples got the point, because they realised that Jesus was saying that no one can save themselves. Instead, as Jesus instructed them, they should take comfort from knowing that God can do the impossible. And he was going to do the impossible through the salvation that Jesus would provide by going to the cross. We can think briefly of the impossible things that God can do. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus, a guilty sinner can be cleansed from the stains of sin; through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, a spiritually dead person is made alive; through the justifying act of God, a guilty sinner is forgiven and given a standing before God because of Jesus; through the adopting act of God, a sinner is given access to the divine presence; through the sanctifying activity of the Spirit, a sinful person becomes like Jesus; and eventually, through the glorifying actions of God, there will be an innumerable number of perfected sinners in the new heavens and new earth for ever. All these things are possible with God.

No doubt, the disciples were disappointed when the rich man walked away from them. But their assessment should have been, ‘Only God can change such a person. It was not enough that he had some religious intentions.’ And that should be our assessment as well. Yet the proof that we believe that will be seen in how we pray to God for him to do so in the lives of all the self-dependent people that we meet.

The disciples

Peter recognised that there was a difference between the disciples and the rich man. Although they had less than him, they had left what they had and followed Jesus. What would they get for following him? Jesus proceeded to instruct them. The question of Peter goes to the heart of the gospel and asks, ‘Is it worth it to follow Jesus?’

First, Jesus reminded them that following him can only be done by those who put him first above their homes, their families and their possessions. This does not mean that they abandon all that. But he does demand that there be a scale of priority in a person’s life. A Christian is a person who puts Jesus first.

Second, Jesus will provide for those who put him first. It was obvious from the response of the rich man that he did not believe that Jesus could do this. In fact, Jesus says that his provision in this life will be a lot better than what can be experienced without him. I suspect that Jesus is referring to the fact that when a person becomes a Christian he finds himself within a universal family composed of sinners who have been changed by God, and who will share what they have with one another.

Third, Jesus informed them that there is pain in following him, summarised here by the word ‘persecutions’. The gospel is opposed by many, whether in power or not, and is opposed for a wide variety of reasons. Yet the pain is real for those who follow Jesus. There can be the pain of family ostracism, of losing one’s place in society, of losing one’s possessions, of imprisonment, and of death.

Fourth, Jesus reminded them of the prospect of glory, that there is another world in which eternal life will be known. That was what the rich man had imagined he wanted when he asked Jesus what he could do to get it. Jesus here tells the disciples how such a state of bliss can be obtained. What is eternal life?

It is more than eternal existence because every person will exist forever. Maybe we miss the thrust of what it means by focussing on the adjective rather than on the noun. So we can ask what life means here. Eternal life comes in stages. Believers living on earth today have eternal life because they believe in Jesus, but we cannot say that they have it in its fullness. The stage of eternal life that is in view here is experiencing it in the age to come.

Jesus has defined eternal life has the experience of God. In John 17, at the start of his prayer recorded there, he says that eternal life is to know God the Father and Jesus. Of course, by ‘know’ he means intimate knowledge. It is the kind of knowledge that lovers and friends have of one another.

Since it will be enjoyed in the age to come, we can see that it is life connected to the consequences of the final resurrection, which is defined for believers as a resurrection to life. Paul reveals to the Corinthians the wonderful resurrection body that they will have, one without weakness, mortality and dishonour. The resurrection body will one that is suitable for the environment of the new heavens and new earth.

This stage of eternal life is also connected to having the Holy Spirit. Paul describes the current experience that believers have of the Holy Spirit as the firstfruits, which is an illustration taken from the Jewish sacrificial ritual where a sample of the full harvest was given to God. The current experience we have of the Holy Spirit is like the firstfruits, one day he will be present in his fullness. One way of looking at this is to think about the fruit of the Spirit. Christians have them in a small measure now, but what will it be like to have much more love, joy and peace.

No doubt, there are many other aspects of eternal life that we could think about. One is mentioned by John in 1 John 3 when he says that when we see Jesus we shall be like him. He does not mean that we will be like Jesus in power or in knowledge. Yet we will be like him in character and we will be glorified because of him. And that must be part of the experience of eternal life.

The dilemma

Jesus closes his comments with a solemn statement: ‘But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’ When he refers to ‘first’, does he have in mind first in status or first in time, or both? Examples can be given of each. With regard to first in time, we know that Judas was an early disciple, but his actions have brought about an opposite effect for him, and any disciple is above him. Or regarding first in status, the rich ruler, if he never repented eventually, will be an example of a person who was high in this life, but who will be low in the next. And the nation of Israel as a whole are an example of those who were first in privilege and in time in comparison with Gentiles. The point that Jesus is making is that being first is no guarantee of lasting the course, and being last is not a reason to start following Jesus.

Preached on 11th September, 2016