In Mark 10:17-27, we read about a certain man whom the Scriptures say came running to Jesus. In fact, he is the only person in Scripture whom we find actually running to our Lord. He is known as the rich young ruler. This section of Scripture begins by saying:
“And when He (Jesus) had 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?”
Running in Strength of Self
As mentioned, the first thing we notice about this person is that he came running to Jesus. Why was he running to Him? Because he had a question—an urgent question on his mind—which he needed our Lord to answer. His question was: “what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” We see that Matthew 19:16 records this verse as: “Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” And we see an extra “good” proceeding from the lips of this enthusiastic young man. Now at first that may seem fair enough, that he should care so much about eternal life as to ask the Master for some help in this matter. But if we take a closer look, we will see some things that made this person and his statement very different from the multitudes of others who came to Jesus for help.
Why Callest thou Me Good?
First of all, we notice that this ruler called Jesus “good.” He either believed in a basic goodness inherent within man—or he was revealing that he believed Jesus to be God Himself. For who but God can be good and not sin? As the Scriptures has declared: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3). Jesus addressed this, and in the next verse we read:
“And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God.”
Jesus was asking the question: If you are calling me good, is it because you believe that I am God? Or do you mistakenly believe that I, being just a man, can be good? Jesus clarified this by stating there is only one that is good and “that is God.”
Apparently this young man, in his zeal for the law, believed that he (and mankind in general) could attain the righteousness of the law by self-effort. We see it all over him. He came running to the Lord with many “goods.” “Good Master, what good thing must I do,” he asked, and so it is obvious that he believed in the way of “goodness” and that man could earn something. He believed that he could attain to this righteousness by his own merits.
Running to Jesus but not For Jesus
We also see this man running to Jesus but not for Jesus. So many multitudes had been coming to Jesus to be healed of their infirmities. There is the account of the man with leprosy who came to the Master and said, “if you are willing you can make me whole,” to whom Jesus replied: “I am willing, be made whole” (Matthew 8:3-4). There was also blind Bartimeaus who, when asked by Jesus what He would like Him to do for him, replied, “Lord that I may receive my sight.” Jesus then restored his vision (Luke 18:35-43). And there was the Canaanite woman who knew that Jesus—and Jesus alone—was the answer for her demon-possessed daughter (Matthew 15:21-28).
All of these people came to Jesus so that He could perform the work or miracle they needed. But in this case, we read about a man coming to Jesus for an entirely different reason. He was essentially saying: “Tell me what I must do to get what I’m looking for.” He wasn’t looking for Jesus in and of Himself; rather, He was looking for a thing that he himself could do. He’s not looking for the way but for a way. “Hand me the baton,” he says, “and I’ll run to the finish line.”
This isn’t so strange, given the fact that he had much “good” on his mind, as previously stated. He, being a Jew, believed in the law, but this young man had yet to see that the law couldn’t save man because man is evil. All our striving is in vain compared to the righteous demands of a holy God. We are helpless before Him. We are reduced to rubble before Him. As the prophet Isaiah said when he beheld the glory of the Lord: “I am ruined” (Isaiah 6:5).
The Crushing Work of the Law
Jesus, having been “born of a virgin, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4), proceeded to quote the law which this ruler was relying upon so heavily. We must remember that although Jesus came to set us free from the law and spoke of the coming grace in many of His parables, He still lived under the dispensation of the law. The veil of the temple had not yet been torn in two, His precious blood had not yet been shed, and His cry of “It is finished” (John 19:30) had not yet rung out triumphantly from the cross. The Lord replied to this ruler as being under the Old Covenant. He spoke to a man, a young man, to whom the law had not yet performed its humbling work. In Mark 10:19, Jesus said to him:
“Thou 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.”
The rich young ruler, perhaps confident in his “goodness,” once again spoke up with that same zeal and enthusiasm that many of us have had in running to the Lord with our own energies, striving and self-confidence:
“Master, all these have I observed from my youth” (Mark 10:20).
This is quite a statement and it would seem that it should be enough. The ruler is saying I have been doing right and good and I’m sure of it. But we shall see that he, like all of us, had sin which “so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). Yes, there is a place where all the confidence in ourselves is brought low. We fall down in the dust and realize our poor and helpless state.
It is worthy to note that even though he had done all these things from his youth, this man was still unsure of his eternal life. This is just what salvation by works will always leave you with: a sense of “not enough,” a sense of failure and the feeling of things left undone. There is never any real peace or security when we trust in ourselves.
Even after having done all these things, this man was still unsure of his salvation. That’s because the law can never save us, since we are sinful in our natural strength and hopeless to maintain its commands by on our own. In the book of Hebrews the writer states “for the law never made anything perfect” (Hebrews 7:19). In fact, the law was given to show our imperfections. It will always find our weaknesses. We may think that we do pretty well and that we are keeping within the “lines,” so to speak, until we get a closer look at the law.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–7:29) should be enough for all those who think they can keep the righteous requirements of God by themselves. Here Jesus shows us that the demands of the law are not only external but internal, in the heart and in the mind—thus revealing in greater measure one’s need for a Savior and for a new heart. This is the very heart that He came to give…yes, His very heart living in us (Ezekiel 36:26-27). It is in the Lord’s teaching on the Mount that we see the overwhelming responsibility of “being good” and our inability to live up to that responsibility. “Be ye therefore, perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), Jesus had stated. Yet He knew, more than anyone else, that man is evil: “if ye then, being evil” (Matthew 7:11), and that the road for our perfection would only come through His atoning sacrifice for us at the cross.
One Thing Thou Lackest
Jesus knew this rich young ruler coming to him and He knew his weakness. He knew that what this man needed most of all was Himself—Jesus. Verse 21 of our Scripture says:
“Then 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.”
Notice the words “one thing thou lackest.” This is what the law will always do. It will always find your weak point and declare you to be lacking: “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.” (Daniel 5:27). Yes, it will always condemn. This is its very purpose. For the law did not come to save us but to condemn us. Paul called it the “ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians. 4:9). He also called it “our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Galatians 3:24). How does the law lead us to Christ? It’s by condemning us and showing us that we can’t make it on our own. The law shows us our need for salvation that can only be found in Christ.
Jesus broke this young ruler’s confidence by focusing on one of the commandments He had not previously mentioned: “thou shalt not covet” and thus brought this self-confident man to his knees. In the Old Testament it is written: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). Now even though this man was not coveting anything but his own possessions, he was still coveting. And Jesus, in the true spirit of the law, was pointing out this failure.
Yes, the law has been magnified. As the Apostle Paul said, “I was alive apart from the law once; but when the commandment came…I died” (Romans 7:9). And just as Jesus had done at the Sermon on the Mount, He did here with the rich young ruler. The Lord elevated the requirements of the external law to be what they always were—spiritual. For “the law is spiritual” (Romans 7:14) and that which no man can possibly keep, apart from the Spirit of God within him.
I’m sure the young ruler wasn’t expecting this from Jesus at all. He may have subconsciously come to Christ for a pat on the back, for some recognition that he had been doing a great job (in his own eyes) and wished for the Master’s approval. But Jesus had more in store for him and gave him the true revelation that he needed. The Light of the world had come into the world to save sinners and call all to His saving grace. But first we must admit our sinfulness and our need for such a Savior. The rich young ruler needed to understand that the answer was not in himself but in the One standing right before him. The answer is within “The Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). He indeed is the only way by which one may have eternal life. Jesus stated it clearly when asked; “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” The Lord replied, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent” (John 6:28-29). Notice here that there is no striving, no requirements, just simple but sincere faith in Him.
Also remember the story that Jesus taught in Luke 18:9-14:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
So we realize that God is looking for the humility which cries out to Him in need and not our self-reliance. We must first admit our brokenness before we can be repaired. This young ruler was discovering, maybe for the first time, that he was not complete in his own eyes or, more importantly, in the eyes of God.
Impossible through Man
Our text continues with the rich young ruler’s response to Jesus’ words that revealed his weakness and imperfection:
“And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22).
Yes, he was sad; but sometimes it’s this very type of sadness that will eventually take us out of reliance on ourselves and into the true knowledge of God. The natural man, the man of flesh, needs to go through a dying process before the life of the Spirit can shine through our lives. It hurts our pride to realize how incapable we are to save ourselves. We think we do rather well at times and somehow we think we are holding ourselves together—maybe even those around us too—perhaps Jupiter and Mars as well! What a crushing reality to realize our complete and utter dependence on God. “Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken” (Luke 20:18), Jesus said, and this is what Paul called, “the offense of the cross” (Galatians 5:11).
For it is at the cross of Jesus where we are all humbled; it is the place where we come to realize that if Jesus had to die for us upon that cross, then we are all worthy of death. We are helpless and incapable of saving ourselves. And the cross is the place where sadness and joy meet each other. First it’s the sadness and crushing truth that our pride must be dissolved in the face of the crucifixion. Then it’s the joy of His complete and utter power and ability to save those who come to Him through His sacrifice there.
Our text continues:
“And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It 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” (Mark 10:23-25).
Now if we were to stop here, we would surmise that this whole teaching is really only about rich people and that it has nothing to do with the law and our need for the saving grace found in Christ. We would say that a rich person—more than anyone else—has a difficult time entering into heaven (yea, an impossible time!) and stop there.
But there is still more to this story, which will help to explain the true heart of the message imparted here. It is important to add that the earliest manuscripts of this verse record Jesus’ second statement, quoted above, as: “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24, NASB). We see it without the reference to rich people in particular. This translation is entirely in keeping with what the next few verses will show us:
“And they (the disciples) were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?” (Mark 10:26).
The disciples were, as the Scripture tells us, “astonished out of measure.” This is very colorful speech to convey that they were having a hard time understanding what just happened before them. They personally had watched Jesus touch the lives of many and minister to prostitutes and tax collectors…yes, He even ate with them! Yet here a man comes along, one who has kept the law from his youth, (or at least most of it) who was also rich (which was thought of in that time as a sign of God’s favor), and yet he was declared unable to enter the kingdom? They were astounded and cried out with the only logical sentence that could possibly come forth from their lips: “Who then can be saved?”
Possible through Christ
It is here that Jesus revealed what this whole matter had been about. The subject clearly changes from this rich young ruler to all of us, as the next verse declares:
“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).
We see no mention of just the rich in society; rather, it comes home to all of us. “With men it is impossible.” Do you see it? Do you see the whole content of what has been happening with this young man? It has all come down to the simple statement, “With men it is impossible.” Isn’t this just what the rich young ruler missed and we as well, so easily miss? He had come to Jesus with all the enthusiasm and strength to keep the law, and yet he—like us—was denied. Why? “Because they sought it not by faith but, as it were, by the works of the law” (Romans 9:32), says the Apostle Paul. “With men it is impossible.” The fact that we are not able to save ourselves is the revelation of the Scriptures.
But, bless the Lord! “With God all things are possible.” It is only through Jesus that we can ever obtain eternal life. By His sacrifice, He has given everlasting life to us as a gift and has delivered us from the curse and striving of the law. As one writer once put it: Christianity isn’t hard; it’s impossible.
And that is what this teaching is all about. It is impossible for man but not for God, Who has accomplished our salvation in the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. And He has provided for us a life of grace in His favor. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God—not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Running to Christ—My Confidence
It is within these last verses where we see the revealing of what sets Christianity apart from all other religions of the world. Every other religion declares a salvation by works. They say in effect: we can work for it, yes, we can bow down, we can chant certain things, we can deny ourselves…we can reach up to God. And just like the tower of Babel of old (Genesis 11:1-9), they attempt to reach up to the very heavens, only in the end, to be brought low. But here we see within Christianity the revelation that man cannot reach God; rather God must reach man. And bless the Lord, He has done it in Christ Jesus! Let all of us who are Christians be grateful for such a free salvation that we may receive with gladness and joy. And let us continually run to Him, for Him, because with God “all things are possible!”
Paul, the Apostle, sums this up very nicely in Philippians 3:3-9, NIV:
“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
In Christ Jesus,
Richard O. Webb
HeartoftheLord.org
