This month
Aaron Johnson - 12th May
Mark 10:17-27. The Rich Young Ruler
17. As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’[a]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 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.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.
Sports and me don’t go very well together. I’ve never been any good at any sports.
Apart from a brief flirtation with badminton 25 years ago. I joined a ‘badminton for beginner’s’ club and I was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed it! So I asked one of my teaching colleagues if she fancied playing sometime, and she sad ‘Yes’. So we would regularly play badminton in the school hall--- and I won every single time!
‘Hey’! I said to myself. ‘Maybe you’re not so bad at sports after all’!
So when I asked a guy at our church for a game I was feeling pretty confident. And he absolutely hammered me! He stood in the centre of the court and would just take one step to the right or left to hit my shots, while he had me running all over the court like crazy! I was totally humiliated--- and I learned a very important lesson that night:
How good you are, depends on who you are comparing yourself to!
* * *
In Mark ch 10, the young man learns a similar lesson.
He wants to know how to get to heaven, and like most people, he assumes it is to do with being good. ‘Do enough good things in this life and God will be delighted to open up those Pearly Gates and let you walk right in’, we all think.
V:17 ‘Good Teacher’ he starts--- and Jesus picks him up straight away, saying: ‘Hang on a minute--- no one is good except God’!
No one is good? Surely that can’t be right? I know lots of good people--- most of the people in my family are good. And I bet it’s the same in your family too. My friends are good people--- and surely our church is full of good people!
But Jesus wants this young man to know--- and He wants you and me to know--- that when you compare our goodness to God’s goodness, we don’t measure up so well anymore.
Because how good you are, depends on who you are comparing yourself to!
v.19, Jesus turns the man’s attention to the 10 Commandments which were given to Moses hundreds of years previously.
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.”
‘Get in’ thinks the young man. ‘I’ve ticked every one of those boxes!
If that’s what Jesus says I need to do to get into heaven, then I’m in!
‘Here’s my CV Jesus. I’ve kept every one of them since I was a kid’!
But hang on a minute--- there are 10 commandments, and Jesus didn’t quote them all. He only listed 6 of them! Where are the other 4? Things like ‘You shall have no other God’s before Me, and Don’t have any idols’ are missing.
They are deliberately missing, because Jesus wants the man to work out for himself that the ones He missed out are the ones he has been breaking! And to prove His point, Jesus shatters the young man’s smugness by saying ch10:21 ‘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.’
Gently and lovingly, Jesus showed him the commandments he hadn’t kept. ‘You shall have no other God’s before Me’--- and the sad truth is that for this rich young man, he chose his God because money had become everything to him.
* * *
What about you? Do you have any idols?
If you are a parent, you will have heard the words ‘Mummy--- look at me!
Daddy--- look what I can do!
And it might be a painting that you aren’t able to make out which way it goes--- or it might be a cartwheel or a learning to ride a bike.
It carries on right through their adult lives. ‘Mummy--- look at me’ cries the 40-year-old who has got a promotion at work.
Daddy--- look what I can do! When the 50-year-old completes an extension on their house.
We all get our identity--- our sense of value from what we have achieved and through what we own.
This rich young man gained his sense of self-worth through the amount of hard cash he had available to him. But if you build your life on anything expect the God who made you and loves you--- whether it is your career, your social status, your looks, your family, your hobbies, or your possessions--- if you build your life on any of these things, they will always let you down.
So let me ask you--- what are those things that you dream about when you lay your head down on your pillow before you go to sleep? Are they your idols?
Because if they are, God said in the second commandment that you should not have them, because they have taken the place that God rightfully has in your heart.
If anything is at the centre of your life instead of Almighty God, then you are just like this young man and can’t claim to be as ‘good’ as he believed himself to be.
The rich young man went to Jesus asking about eternal life--- but walked away from it because the things of this world that promise so much--- but deliver so little had got a stranglehold on his heart. And he walked away sad, v22.
Jesus challenged him to choose between God and money--- and when he walked away he had made his choice--- he had chosen his god--- but it wasn’t one that could give him eternal life. He became so poor that all he had left was his money.
Isn’t that tragic?
* * *
Going back to the rich young man is our bible passage, the first thing he said to Jesus was: Mark 10:17 ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life’?
He also wanted to earn his ‘success’. He believed he was fulfilling all of God’s laws--- but maybe there was still another hoop to jump through. The young man knew that there was a gap between him and God, so he was prepared to do something extra, on top of his good moral behaviour to get there.
And is it the same for everyone--- the gap between a holy God and people like you and me is too great! The thing is though--- there is still a gap--- which takes us back to the rich young man’s question: Mark 10:17 ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life’? But the problem is, you never know if you’ve done enough!
The bible says in Romans 3:23 [We] all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No matter how much you do, it will never be enough!
But thankfully, biblical Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. Which means that what we can’t do for ourselves, Jesus Christ has done for us. He lived the perfect life you can’t--- and He laid down His life when He died on the cross to pay the penalty for the wrong things we have done.
And the greatest sin of all is to ignore Almighty God and live as if we are the centre of the universe--- which we’re not! So to become right with God is to humbly receive God’s gift of forgiveness and submit yourself to His rightful authority over your life.
And when we do that, He accepts us into His family and begins to change us from the inside out.
This is wonderful Good News that the rich young man didn’t stay around long enough to receive! How sad. How tragic.
I implore you--- don’t make the same mistake as him!
Don’t walk away from the offer of eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ!
* * *
But let me draw your attention to the passage just before the one we have been looking at. In Mark 10:13, we read: 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
These children had nothing to offer Jesus when they were brought forward by their parents. They hadn’t done anything to deserve His love and acceptance, had they?
But listen to what Jesus says in v.14: ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’
The children did nothing to earn acceptance by Jesus. All they did was to come to Him--- and He welcomed them!
This is the answer to the rich young man’s question about how to receive eternal life--- it wasn’t by doing something--- you have to receive it as a gift!
* * *
Last month we took two of our grandsons shopping to buy them tennis racquets for their birthdays.
Now imagine, if when we gave them their presents, they looked us in the eye and said ‘Thanks very much. How much do I owe you?’
We’d be shocked, wouldn’t we? No--- you don’t owe us anything--- it’s a gift!
But then if they asked us “do you want us to cut the grass or wash the dishes to earn them?”
We’d be upset and say “No, we don’t want you to do anything to earn them. We want you just to receive them as a gift because we love you!”
And so it is with God and His free offer of salvation. We can’t do anything to earn eternal life--- it’s a gift from a loving God. It is a free gift by the God who made you and loves you very much! All we have to do is to receive the gift--- which was paid for by the death of the Lord Jesus.
To get into the kingdom of God is not achieved by the good things we have done. It’s about receiving God’s love and forgiveness. And all you need to do is receive it like a child on his birthday! Gladly.
* *
So if you are a Christian--- rejoice and praise God for His wonderful love for you!
But if you are not yet a Christian, then you need to know that God sent the Lord Jesus to bless you with love, forgiveness. Turn to Jesus… no one is too old or too bad to turn to Him and start a new life with Him as your saviour.
Do it now, if you have never done so before… do it today… and you will be glad for all eternity that you did!
Aaron Johnson - May 5th 2024 - Jesus does more than we can ask or even imagine!
Readings: Mark 2:1-12 & Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 2:1-12
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Here is a job description you might recognise.
Wanted a nanny for two adorable children
If you want this choice position, Have a cheery disposition
Rosy cheeks, no warts! Play games, all sort
You must be kind, you must be witty Very sweet and fairly pretty
Take us on outings, give us treats Sing songs, bring sweets
If you won't scold and dominate us
We will never give you cause to hate us
We won't hide your spectacles so you can't see
Put toads in your bed or pepper in your tea
Hurry, Nanny!
Many thanks Sincerely,
Jane and Michael Banks:
It is the job description for Mary Poppins, isn’t it? The two children, Jane & Michael, have a pre-conceived idea of what they want their new nanny to be, so they write down all the characteristics she should have. And they get exactly what they wanted!
I wonder if you have a pre-conceived idea of what you want Jesus to be?
A good teacher? A magician, who did lots of clever tricks like walking on water and stopping the storms? A poor bloke who got caught and crucified--- cut off in the prime of life
Let’s look at what the Bible says about Jesus--- and we’ll see if it can help our understanding of who He really is!
* * *
Jesus was in someone’s house, teaching them about God. Verse 2 tells us that the place is packed! Some of the crowd there are desperate to hear about God, Some are there because Jesus is getting a reputation for doing some wonderful miracles, so there might be a bit of a show going on!
And some… these teachers of the law… are there because they are His enemies.
So while Jesus is teaching the crowds, four friends arrive with their mate strapped onto a stretcher. He was a paraplegic. They try to get near Jesus because they have faith that Jesus is able to do help their sick friend.
Can you see them trying to push through the crowd? “’Scuse me… sick man on a bed here… needs to be right at the front where Jesus is. Scuse me!”
But the crowd have no compassion in their hearts. So up onto the roof they go. There was probably a staircase up the outside of the house, in typical Middle Eastern tradition. And they estimate the spot where Jesus is… and they get stuck in!
I love the mental picture of these guys talking about it. One is saying, “Go on. Go for it--- Jesus won’t mind!” But another one says “You’re crazy! You can’t go digging a hole in someone’s roof! Do you know how much that is going to cost us?” But dig they do.
And it must have been a hole about 6 foot by 4 foot to get a stretcher through! And as luck would have it, they are right above Jesus head! Excellent!
Only Jesus has just got showered with a whole load of plaster and rubble! And here is Jesus… the greatest preacher ever… showered with plaster and rubble... and he’s only half way through the second point of His sermon! Imagine the tension in the room as the stretcher guy is slowly lowered! It’s really quite a hilarious picture!
* * *
And as the stretcher is lowered, I am blown away by what happens next. Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Nobody expected that. Everyone expected Jesus to say ‘Get up and walk! Instead He said "Your sins are forgiven."
I wonder what the man on the stretcher thought? Did he reply under his breath “Eh… thanks… but actually I’m here to get my legs sorted! They don’t work you know!”
But Jesus knows that the Stretcher Guy’s main problem is not his legs--- but his sin! Jesus is saying “I understand. I’ve seen that you are helpless and need the support of your mates here--- good job there by the way guys--- but you need to realise what the main problem in your life and everybody else’s!”
As he turned to the crowd he said… “Your biggest problem is not your health--- it’s your sin!” Wow! Just like that… straight to the jugular!
We sometimes read the word ‘sin’ in the papers but what does it mean? When the Bible uses the word ‘sin’ its not just referring to the bad things we do--- it’s not the stealing and the lying that’s the problem.
Our biggest sin is ignoring God. Sin is rebelling against God by living without Him in our lives! Sin is saying “It’s my life--- my rules!”
And Jesus says that is our biggest problem. Jesus is saying to this paralysed man “By coming to Me and asking only for your body to be healed, you are not going deep enough! You have underestimated the longings of your heart!”
* * *
The stretcher guy had probably spent years saying “If only I could walk, everything would be right! I’d never be unhappy again!” But Jesus is saying “When I heal your body, it will be great for a few months… maybe even years! But after a while, life will get ordinary again.
Your feeling of excitement wont last… your discontentment goes deeper than that!”
The Stretcher Guy is like a struggling actor or musician, who after years of taking bit parts and working in a restaurant, saying, “If only I could make it!” And eventually they get the success they have been striving for--- and what happens? They become unstable, angry and arrogant--- Because the awful realisation dawns on them--- they are still the same person inside! And this disillusionment turns them into a howling, insufferable wreck!
But Jesus is saying “I have got something better for you!” When Jesus says “Your sins are forgiven!” He is saying something so unexpected that the teachers of the law react with “Who does this fella think he is?”
* * *
Picture 3 friends, Tom, Dick and Harry having a coffee one day. And as they chat, an argument develops--- and Harry gets so angry with Tom and whacks him across the face. While Tom is holding his cheek, Dick says to Harry, “Its ok Harry I forgive you.”
What is Tom going to say to that? He is going to say “Oi Dick… I am the one who got slapped so I’m the only one forgive Harry! It’s not yours to forgive!”
So when Jesus says “Your sins are forgiven!” He is saying “Your sins have been against Me… and I forgive you!” The only person who can forgive a man’s sins is God! Jesus, by claiming to be able to forgive the stretcher guy’s sins--- is claiming to be God Almighty! The teachers of the law know it…. This man Jesus is not just claiming to be a miracle worker… He is claiming to be the Lord of the Universe!
* * *
So this brings the teachers of the law--- remember they are enemies of Jesus--- to a crossroads in their understanding of Jesus: either He is blaspheming--- and by that we don’t mean swearing--- we mean He is making himself equal with God the Father--- or He is saying He is God!
Which one is it? Is Jesus really God or is He blaspheming?
What do you say? This is a vitally important question!
We do not have the option of saying that Jesus was a good man, who did jolly nice things while He lived on earth. You know… healed the sick, kind to His mother, patted dogs on the head! No! That is nonsense! We don’t have that option with Jesus!
Either He is who He said He was… and He has just claimed to be God… or He is an utter fraud! There is no other option!
So Jesus proved it when He said: Mark 2:9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…" He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."
Jesus does the visible thing, which is to tell the guy on the stretcher to walk, so they will know He can do the invisible thing, which is to forgive his sins. He proves He has the authority to forgive sin by telling the man to walk--- proving He is God!
Only God could read the thoughts of the Scribes. And only God could tell the man his sins were forgiven and leave his heart filled with peace!
So when Jesus forgave the stretcher guy his sins, He was proving himself equal with Almighty God! So Jesus again shows His authority when He tells the man on the stretcher to get up, pick up his mat and walk!
And he did.
* * *
I am a proud Newcastle boy... a Geordie.
Just outside Newcastle is the Angel of the North--- have you seen it? It is a huge angel that stands 20 metres tall--- with his arms permanently outstretched--- and that is just how the Lord Jesus is for you. His arms are always outstretched--- because He loves you.
So Christian--- when you have failed through your sin and failed through your lack of love for God and for other people--- run into those outstretched arms and find the healing your heart needs. He will never turn you away.
And if you are not yet a Christian--- and you feel a tug in your heart that says you need to know Jesus and to worship Him--- run into those outstretched arms--- confess your sin, ask forgiveness and declare your need for Him. He will never turn you away.
To all of us, the Lord Jesus “You’re sorry... great... let’s start again,” as He wraps His outstretched, loving arms around you.
Because of Him--- the Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for your sins--- for He had no of His own--- you can approach Almighty God confidently. This is wonderful Saviour, who loves you very much!
Praise his holy Name!