Section 100
Section 100
THE RICH RULER
PERIL OF RICHES. REWARD OF SACRIFICE
(In Peræa)
a MATT. 19:16―20:16
b MARK 10: 17-31
c LUKE 18:18- 30
THE RICH RULER
PERIL OF RICHES. REWARD OF SACRIFICE
(In Peræa)
a MATT. 19:16―20:16
b MARK 10: 17-31
c LUKE 18:18- 30
"Money is not an unmixed good. It brings in its train many temptations. It is easier to bear poverty than wealth-easier to be a saint when life is hard than when prosperity lavishes her gifts." -F.B. MeyerThe story of the rich young man is in all three of the synoptic gospels. I prefer Mark's account for his small but telling details:
The rich young man seems earnest in his question:
"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?” Mark 10:17
"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.” Mark 10:21
Christ grants the young man everything he needs in his response---love and discipleship. His question back to the man,
"Why callest thou me good?" Matthew 19:17
"The ruler's question reveals that common weakness in man which prompts him to look to his fellow-men for religious and moral instruction; forgetting that only God can propound the absolute standards of goodness." -Fourfold Gospel
Christ's response prompts the rich young man to reconsider his perception of good, particularly in light looking to humans for that goodness. We've had some disappointing experiences with church pastors and some encouraging ones. The disappointing ones have forced me to keep my eyes on Christ, not man, which was difficult at the time, but in the long term, is better. Physical leaders are immediate, tangible, sometimes winsome, and it's easier to transfer our trust to them, sometimes unknowingly.
Sometimes I wonder if I have swung too far the other way because I don't look to our pastors for much guidance or direction. Reading the Bible, praying, talking with solid Christian friends in my circle, especially my husband, these have become my go-to's instead of a church, a pastor, a program. And I think that's healthy.
And why does the rich young man ask? Is it that he wants a grand task to complete, something a bit spiritually sexy? Does he put value on his ability to accomplish it? We can only speculate what is underneath his request, but Jesus knew all men's hearts, and he clearly redirects him.
"But when the young man heard that saying his countenance fell at the saying, he became exceeding sorrowful; and he went away sorrowful: for he was very rich. he was one that had great possessions." Matt 19:22
"He was not offended at the extravagance of Jesus' demands, for he was not one of the most hardened of the rich. He belonged to that class which hold Christ and their wealth in nearly an even balance. The narrative shows us how uncompromisingly Jesus held to principle. Though the ruler was sorry to turn away, and though Jesus loved him, yet the Lord did not modify his demand by a hair's breadth to gain an influential disciple." Fourfold Gospel
The Pulpit Commentary has this to say:"'Whoever observed the second table in spirit and truth, kept also the first (Rom_13:9, Rom_13:10); and it is easier to love one’s neighbour than to love God, as the apostle witnesses (see 1Jn_4:20); and without love of our neighbour there cannot be true love of God."
I agree with his statement that whoever loves one's neighbor loves God, but I object to his claim that it's easier to love one's neighbor than to love God--unless we clarify that we mean to authentically love God. It can be tempting to become whisked into the outward observations of "loving God"--religious ceremony, self-serving public acts, token nods that cost us little. Even acts like reading the Bible and prayer can smack of the rich young ruler's question "I've done all these, now what else?" He's a humanist, ready to do his part as long as it doesn't cost too much. But it does and it should. I don't think it's the money in his way as much as how he's insulated himself from the hurts of the poor through his wealth. He can do the good things he's done because they cost him little comparatively.
Here's another great point by the Pulpit Commentary, "He went away sorrowful." What an opportunity he missed! The offer to him was to become one of Christ’s more intimate disciples; to be specially trained by him in the knowledge of spiritual things, and to preach his gospel."
In addition to his bondage to his possessions, the greater loss was the opportunity to walk side-by-side with Jesus, Son of God, Messiah. The young man held the immediate with tight fists and in the process missed the beauty of relationship with God and man.
Mark also emphasizes that the disciples were "amazed at his words" and "exceedingly astonished" when Christ related the difficulty of the rich entering Heaven.
"They were astonished out of measure. The verb is ekplēssō "to strike out, expel by a blow, to strike out of self-possession." -Wuest's Word Studies
God's indifference to wealth is such a key piece of Christianity that it's hard to understand their shock from the distance of today's culture. The Jews viewed wealth as a sign of God's favor, an advantage.
"The eye of a needle. A small door fixed in a gate and opened after dark. To pass through, the camel must be unloaded. Hence the difficulty of the rich man. He must be unloaded, and hence the proverb, common in the East. In Palestine the "camel"; in the Babylonian Talmud it is the elephant." E.W. Bullinger
"But that difficulty lies, not as the disciples thought, simply in the possession of riches, but in the proneness of men to love riches. And how short is the step from having riches to loving them!" -Pulpit Commentary
All of us are poor before God; all by him, and by him alone, may be made rich. -Pulpit Commentary
"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?” Mark 10:17
"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.” Mark 10:21
Christ grants the young man everything he needs in his response---love and discipleship. His question back to the man,
"Why callest thou me good?" Matthew 19:17
"The ruler's question reveals that common weakness in man which prompts him to look to his fellow-men for religious and moral instruction; forgetting that only God can propound the absolute standards of goodness." -Fourfold Gospel
Christ's response prompts the rich young man to reconsider his perception of good, particularly in light looking to humans for that goodness. We've had some disappointing experiences with church pastors and some encouraging ones. The disappointing ones have forced me to keep my eyes on Christ, not man, which was difficult at the time, but in the long term, is better. Physical leaders are immediate, tangible, sometimes winsome, and it's easier to transfer our trust to them, sometimes unknowingly.
Sometimes I wonder if I have swung too far the other way because I don't look to our pastors for much guidance or direction. Reading the Bible, praying, talking with solid Christian friends in my circle, especially my husband, these have become my go-to's instead of a church, a pastor, a program. And I think that's healthy.
And why does the rich young man ask? Is it that he wants a grand task to complete, something a bit spiritually sexy? Does he put value on his ability to accomplish it? We can only speculate what is underneath his request, but Jesus knew all men's hearts, and he clearly redirects him.
"But when the young man heard that saying his countenance fell at the saying, he became exceeding sorrowful; and he went away sorrowful: for he was very rich. he was one that had great possessions." Matt 19:22
"He was not offended at the extravagance of Jesus' demands, for he was not one of the most hardened of the rich. He belonged to that class which hold Christ and their wealth in nearly an even balance. The narrative shows us how uncompromisingly Jesus held to principle. Though the ruler was sorry to turn away, and though Jesus loved him, yet the Lord did not modify his demand by a hair's breadth to gain an influential disciple." Fourfold Gospel
The Pulpit Commentary has this to say:"'Whoever observed the second table in spirit and truth, kept also the first (Rom_13:9, Rom_13:10); and it is easier to love one’s neighbour than to love God, as the apostle witnesses (see 1Jn_4:20); and without love of our neighbour there cannot be true love of God."
I agree with his statement that whoever loves one's neighbor loves God, but I object to his claim that it's easier to love one's neighbor than to love God--unless we clarify that we mean to authentically love God. It can be tempting to become whisked into the outward observations of "loving God"--religious ceremony, self-serving public acts, token nods that cost us little. Even acts like reading the Bible and prayer can smack of the rich young ruler's question "I've done all these, now what else?" He's a humanist, ready to do his part as long as it doesn't cost too much. But it does and it should. I don't think it's the money in his way as much as how he's insulated himself from the hurts of the poor through his wealth. He can do the good things he's done because they cost him little comparatively.
Here's another great point by the Pulpit Commentary, "He went away sorrowful." What an opportunity he missed! The offer to him was to become one of Christ’s more intimate disciples; to be specially trained by him in the knowledge of spiritual things, and to preach his gospel."
In addition to his bondage to his possessions, the greater loss was the opportunity to walk side-by-side with Jesus, Son of God, Messiah. The young man held the immediate with tight fists and in the process missed the beauty of relationship with God and man.
Mark also emphasizes that the disciples were "amazed at his words" and "exceedingly astonished" when Christ related the difficulty of the rich entering Heaven.
"They were astonished out of measure. The verb is ekplēssō "to strike out, expel by a blow, to strike out of self-possession." -Wuest's Word Studies
God's indifference to wealth is such a key piece of Christianity that it's hard to understand their shock from the distance of today's culture. The Jews viewed wealth as a sign of God's favor, an advantage.
"The eye of a needle. A small door fixed in a gate and opened after dark. To pass through, the camel must be unloaded. Hence the difficulty of the rich man. He must be unloaded, and hence the proverb, common in the East. In Palestine the "camel"; in the Babylonian Talmud it is the elephant." E.W. Bullinger
"But that difficulty lies, not as the disciples thought, simply in the possession of riches, but in the proneness of men to love riches. And how short is the step from having riches to loving them!" -Pulpit Commentary
All of us are poor before God; all by him, and by him alone, may be made rich. -Pulpit Commentary
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