09/07/2020 – Day 099 – Mark 9 – 10 – The Rich Young Ruler “that Jesus loved”
I would like to thank Tim Keller and his book: “Jesus the King” for my commentary today. I will not have quotes around this commentary as I am not taking it out of the book. But I listened to this book so many times on cd in the car, that I think I have memorized it. (better to do that directly with the bible!) At any rate, we could have guys studying only the book of Mark with us for eight weeks on Monday , just as others are doing our Jeremiah on Saturday for 10 weeks.
Although the text here in this section “Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler” only covers verses 10:17 through 10:27, I am going to be lazy here and not type it out in it’s entirety. Ok, take note that Jesus just met this inquiring “rich young ruler” who asks: “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Yet , let’s take note that verse 21 states: “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him….” How many times in the bible does it say explicitly that Jesus loved a stranger that he just met? I don’t know that we will be able to find a single other instance.
So what is up with this? As many times as I had been through this section of Mark prior to reading Keller’s book, I hadn’t picked up on Keller’s observation here. We are speculating, but why in this instance does it say “loved him”? Well, perhaps it was because Jesus could completely identify with the rich young ruler because he epitomizes Him. He asks the man to give up all his riches and follow him. Well, He had done that in the most extreme example ever. He was the rich young ruler that through all eternity up to the incarnation, he had existed in the perfect love triangle between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet he gave it all up to save us. I recall Bishop Fulton Sheen in my youth noting that anything is a weak analogy to the incarnation, but it would be like us having to enter into a dog’s body and live the life of the dog while being fully human at the same time.
How tragic that the bible notes that he walked away sorrowful, not being able to part with his idol – “his great possessions”. I am struck by the verse we had in Mark just last week, which happens to be one of my memory verses – Mark 8:34 – 35; “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” And I will add verse 36 as well: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul.” How can it be we are so blind to that when it comes to putting our talk into action?
In verses 24 – 25 Jesus confides to his disciples: “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter 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 the kingdom of God.” I recall a brother who noted to me that he gave thanks for not being in poverty, but also, for not having too many riches. Of course, Jesus puts verse 25 in context by adding for his astonished disciples: “With man it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.
This post will tie into my next Post on yesterday’s reading, one day after this Mark scripture – in Exodus chapters 5-8: “Beware of the false teaching in the “prosperity gospel”. (I’m talking to you Joel Osteen amongst constant other heretical preachers!) I am going to try to get on it as soon as possible. It is still the case, keeping up with the readings is easy, particularly as I am not taking care of young children anymore in this stage of my life. But keeping up with the side research and posts is another matter. Struggle or not, it becomes more and more a “fun” adventure, like a kid on Christmas morning, secondary that it is to the “joy”.
Back to the title: I recall with a chuckle John referring to himself as “the disciple that Jesus loved!” A chuckle because I think no small wonder we read in the gospel of how the other disciples were “frustrated” with the sons of Zebedee, the same John and his brother James. Uh, yea! It is somewhat akin to Joseph walking around in his “beautiful coat” amongst his older brothers proclaiming that he had a dream that they would be bowing down to him before it was all over. As an oldest brother, I can just conclude on a humorous reacting note: “Yea, that would be the ticket….!”
Soli Deo Gloria!