PENTECOST 20 – October 10, 2021 – Mark 10:17-22
“A CALL TO REPENT”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Mark 10. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- In our text we are introduced to a very interesting man. First, he was humble – he knelt down before Jesus. Second, he was polite – he called Jesus “Good Teacher.” Third, he was a person who desired eternal life, to have eternal fellowship with God. Fourth, he was a person who was devoted to doing what is good and right, committed to keeping the commandments. And as we later learn, astonishingly, he was a man of great wealth. How hard it is to find these characteristics in rich people today.
- Jesus’ response to this man was also very interesting. We will look in depth at why Jesus quoted the commandments to this man. However, two major facts are somewhat surprising. First, that Jesus loved him in spite of his hypocritical assertion of his obedience to all the commandments. Second, that Jesus would invite him to follow him, to become a disciple of Jesus. This is rare – but it helped this man immensely to see himself honestly.
- As we look at this incident, and hear what Jesus had to say, we should put ourselves in front of Jesus and learn from him. We should learn to see ourselves honestly, and we should learn to see the blessedness of God’s gift of eternal life, given to all who believe in Jesus. Essentially, the teaching of Jesus is “A CALL TO REPENT,” and we all do well to heed it. First:
I. It Is Good To Desire Eternal Life
The man came to Jesus desiring to know how he could have certainty in regard to having eternal life.
A. However, We Often Think That Securing Eternal Life Is A Matter Of Our Own Doing
Text: “Good Teacher, what MUST I DO to inherit eternal life.”
B. We Think It Is A Matter Of Making Ourselves Good, Perfect, Able To Defend Ourselves Again All Accusations
Text: “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
Statement: Don’t you like this man? I really do! I hope we will see him in heaven when we get there. It is certain that he would be in heaven had he followed Jesus’ instructions. But I have a feeling that he went away thinking very carefully about himself, about the commandments, especially the first commandment about loving God above all things. And I suspect that he might have kept up with Jesus, with His teachings. He likely was inquisitive when he heard about Jesus’ death and His resurrection. And he would have heard the good news about eternal life from the disciples of Jesus.
Application: I hope that you desire eternal life. So many people around us today do not. They are not even inquiring as to how to get it. They do not receive the teachings of Jesus from the church today, His offer of forgiveness and eternal life. It is a good thing to desire eternal life. This puts us in line with God’s will for us! But we must have the truth and reality pounded into us, just as this man did. And:
II. God’s Intent For The Law Is To Show Us Our Sin, So That We Despair Of Our Own Goodness
Gen. 6:5 “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Jer. 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Matt. 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
1 John 1:8,10 “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say we have not sinned we are calling God a liar, and His Word is not in us.”
Statement: There are literally hundreds of statements like these in the Bible, which inform us of the dreadfulness of sin’s infection of our nature. Then there are hundreds of descriptions as to how human beings have sinned, including some of the most pious human beings, like David and Samson and Moses. After the fall into sin in the garden, the law of God has always had this principle purpose – to convict us of our sins so that we never ask: “What must I DO to inherit eternal life.”
Application: Now, if you do not know the grace of God, then you must try to make some defense for yourself. Otherwise, you despair and give up on ever having the blessings of God! So this man had done a masterful job of this, convincing himself, against all of these Scriptures, that he had kept all of the commandments from his youth to the present. Remarkable – yet we know some people who do the same today, refusing to repent of their sin. But what Jesus masterfully teaches is that:
III. To Think Hypocritically Like This Is Perverse, To Think That You Have Kept All Of God’s Law
A. Jesus’ Command To Sell All That He Had And To Follow Jesus Showed Him That He Was Yet To Keep Even The First Commandment
B. His Leaving Sorrowfully Showed That He Remained Unwilling To Keep The First Commandment – And Without Obedience To The First Commandment There Cannot Obedience To The Rest Of The Commandments
Text: “Jesus 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.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Statement: Jesus put the law into terms this man could understand. He applied the first commandment to the man’s wealth. Jesus could easily do the same to us – in regard to our wealth. Yet even if this man had given away all of his wealth and began following Jesus, it would not have been enough to earn eternal life. There would still be the matter of all his sins. Hopefully, his sorrow brought him to repentance, and to the Gospel of God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy, and God’s gift of eternal life to all who believe Him.
Application: So let the law of God do its proper work for you and in you. You cannot defend yourself! None of us can. You cannot depend on your good works! None of us can. We are, as Luther commented, “only beggars before the throne of God’s grace and mercy.” But this is a very good place to be, for God is full of mercy and forgiveness! You remember what Jeremiah wrote about this:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. [Lam 3:22-26]
You remember what God proclaimed to Moses:
“The LORD passed before Moses and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
This is what Jesus sought to prepare this rich man to see and experience, so that by God’s gracious mercy and love, he might receive the free gift of eternal life.
Conclusion: This is obviously the good and gracious will of Jesus for each of us! I pray God that each of us eagerly desire eternal life more than anything in this world! There is no treasure like knowing God as He truly is!
Now, knowing the grace of God doesn’t mean that we are no longer concerned about the commandments. No, love is the fulfilling of the law, and we all desire to love. The grace of God teaches us to say no to evil and wickedness, and to love others even as God loves us! May God bless each of us with an eager desire to do what is right and good to others.
May God preserve each of us from idolizing our wealth, or thinking that we should have greater prerogatives and prestige because we are wealthy. And God preserve each of us from ever thinking it right to use our wealth to try to coerce others, especially within the church. What a hideous evil!
But most importantly, may God keep each of us in repentance and in the joy of His salvation, His gracious gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.