Jesus and the Rich Young Yuppie

Today we’re introducing you to Rev. Taylor Mertins  who writes at Think and Let Think, has co-authored three books, and hosts the Crackers and Grape Juice Podcast. Clicking the header which follows will get you direct access to today’s devotional, along with a Lego image of the ‘sorrowful’ young man who walks away from Jesus.

Jesus And The Yuppie

Mark 10.17

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

Jesus is doing his Jesus-thing, teaching about the upside down nature of the kingdom, when a yuppie shows up and asks about the requirements for salvation.

We only know what we know about this particular character based on what scripture tells us, and his story is a cautionary tale (and a beloved one among preachers).

Notice – the rich young man is already a success story in the eyes of the world: he’s a winner.

But he wants more.

What could drive someone to such a desire? Surely none of us know of such thirst and such hunger for more.

Robert Farrar Capon, in his seminal work on the parables, imagines the innermost thoughts of this yuppie with Jesus like this:

“Oh yes, I have had what once I would have called success. I moved the vices out of the city into a chain of reconditioned lighthouses. I introduced statistical methods in the Liberal Arts. I revived the country dances and installed electric stoves in the mountain cottages. I saved democracy by buying steel… But the world is not better and it is now quite clear to me that there is nothing to be done with such a ship of fools adrift on a sugarloaf sea in which it is going very soon and suitably to founder. Deliver me, dear Teacher, from the tantrums of my telephones and the whisper of my secretaries… deliver me from these helpless agglomerations of disheveled creatures with their bed-wetting, vomiting, weeping bodies, their giggling, fugitive, disappointing hearts, and their scrawling, blotted, misspelled minds, to whom I have so foolishly tried to bring the light they do not want… translate me, bright Angel, from this hell of inert and ailing matter, growing steadily senile in a time forever immature, to that blessed realm, so far above the twelve impertinent winds and the four unreliable seasons, that Heaven of the Really General Case where, tortured no longer by three dimensions and immune to temporal vertigo, Life turns into Light, absorbed for good into the permanently stationary, completely self-sufficient, absolutely reasonable One.” (Capon, The Parables of Judgment, 42).

The yuppie certainly has a problem: he is a winner who cannot fathom, whatsoever, the end of his winning. He is positively bewitched by the idea that there are no limits to what he can achieve by his own power.

Jesus responds by adding insult to injury and gives the man an impossible list of goals to achieve, namely the Ten Commandments. But the yuppie assures the Good Lord that he is, was, and forever will be perfect in the eyes of the Law.

And then, as Mark puts it, Jesus looks at the young man, loves him, and says something like, “Okay hotshot. There’s only one thing left for you to do: sell everything you have and give it to the poor. Hopefully removing all your winnings will free you to see that the only real way to win is by losing, the only way to be great is to be the least, the only way to live is to die.”

But the yuppie walks away sad, because he has many possessions.

And yet, here’s the really sad part: the yuppie walked away from the only really good news he would ever hear. Because all of that winning, in whatever form it took (material, moral, or even spiritual success) would eventually pass away like the wind in his death.

Or, as Jesus puts it, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

The rich young man couldn’t stand the thought of being a loser. But Jesus saves sinners (losers) and only sinners.

In the strange new world of the Bible, only the winners lose because only the losers can win – that’s how reconciliation works. If winning could’ve saved the world we would’ve done it a long time ago. Evil cannot be destroyed by moral score-keeping. The only way to save the world is to do what God did – by taking evil out of the world by taking it into himself in Jesus, nailing it to the cross, and leaving it there forever.

What must we do to inherit eternal life? Well, nothing. Nothing because, we can’t save ourselves.

But, thankfully, Jesus is in the business of making something of our nothing.

Are We All-In or Just Part-Time?

A year ago we introduced you to John Rothra’s website which contains many great articles. Click the header below to read this one at its source.

Are We Devoted Disciples or Spare-Time Supporters?

Are you and I devoted disciples of Jesus or a spare-time supporters?

That’s the question God asked me a while back: am I a devoted disciple or a spare-time supporter? Or as Kyle Idelman put it in his book, Not a Fan: am I a fan or a follower?

Discipleship is something that, I’m convinced, many of us haven’t truly given enough though to. We may go to church, read the Bible every day, and do all the things that good Christians are supposed to do.  But is that biblical discipleship?

In today’s passage, God showed me that there is a cost to discipleship that many are not truly willing to pay. Today, we’re looking at the story of the rich young man. What’s interesting is that this would-be disciple expresses views and beliefs that still exist today, some even held by Christians. Jesus’ response challenged the man and, if we’re honest, should challenge us, too.

¹⁶ And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Matthew 19:16-22

The Rich Young Man’s Inquiry

A rich young man came to Jesus inquiring about salvation, eternal life, and being in God’s kingdom.  His question and presentation reveal some interesting things about him that are relevant to us today.

First, he believed salvation was something earned by good works.

The young man asked Jesus, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  Salvation, in his mind, was earned by doing good works. God would look at his actions, and if he’d done enough good deeds and completed his religious checklist, then he would enter God’s kingdom. However, he feared that he despite all the good he’s done, it wasn’t enough.

You see, the Rabbis and Jewish preachers and teachers would often add more and more requirements on top of the already existing law. Thus, concerned he might have missed something, the young man asked Jesus what else he needed to do to ensure his salvation.  He wanted to know that one good deed that would guarantee his being in God’s kingdom.

Many today hold the same religious view: good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell. So, to get to heaven, do enough good works.

Second, the rich man was prideful about his own righteousness.

The ruler told Jesus that he kept all the law. In fact, his whole life was seen by many as a testimony of his being righteous. It was a common belief that righteousness and riches were connected. This man – while still young – was already prosperous, so he must have been very blessed by God!  Besides, he was a man who kept the law.

Religious or spiritual pride continues to be a problem today. Many look at all the religious things they do, how long they’ve been going to church, how many Bible verses they’ve memorized, or other things and think they are spiritually all that! Some believe that righteousness and wealth are connected: to be a disciple means to be rich, and if one isn’t rich, one isn’t holy enough (i.e., the prosperity gospel).

Jesus’ responses to the rich young man revealed that salvation isn’t about doing the right things and calling it a day.

Jesus’ Response to the Rich Young Man

Jesus reminded the rich young man two things about righteousness and God’s kingdom.

First, Jesus reminded him that nobody is perfect, but all are sinners.

Jesus said to the man, “Why do you ask me about what is good?  There is only one who is good” (v. 17). You and I are not good. The rich man, despite his wealth and legal compliance was not good.  We are all sinners born into wrath and judgment. Each of us sins every day, falling short of God’s absolute, perfect glory (cf. Rom 6).

Second, Jesus told the man that salvation means following Jesus, and that comes with a cost.

Jesus showed the rich young man that to be saved, he must become a disciple of Jesus.  That meant doing something he may not be willing to do: give up his life and make Jesus his Lord.  Jesus told the man, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (v. 21).

Jesus was telling the young man that following him came with a cost. Discipleship requires dedication and humility.  The rich man wanted to be a spare-time supporter of Jesus, able to coast along doing what he had to do without taking on any risk.  However, Jesus told him it doesn’t work that way: you can’t love God and love worldly things.  God must come first.

The rich young man was unwilling to give up his wealth and life, even if it meant walking away from Christ.  If he couldn’t follow Jesus on his own terms, then he wouldn’t follow Jesus as all.

So, let’s bring all this home.

Bringing It Home

Salvation is free because Jesus paid man’s penalty on the cross and rose on the third day.  Being a follower of Jesus, though, comes with a cost: it means being a full-time, dedicated disciple.  Being a disciple of Jesus entails making Jesus our Lord and Master and following him, even if it means giving up all we have in this world.

Discipleship is not a part-time, seasonal job; discipleship is a daily way of living.  It may cost us prestige, money, family, or even our lives.

The rich young man was unwilling to put anyone before himself and his possessions.  Are we willing to give up our livelihoods to follow Jesus?  Are we willing to give up our pride, possessions, and even our person to be a disciple of Christ?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a dedicated disciple of Jesus and prisoner of Germany during World War II, wrote an awesome book called The Cost of Discipleship.  In it, he deals with the choice between following this world and following Jesus.  Bonhoeffer was faced with the same choice as the rich man.  However, instead of choosing his life and livelihood, he chose Christ.

Through this passage, God asked me if I was a dedicated disciple or a spare-time supporter.  I ask that same question of you.  What’s your honest answer?  I pray you’ll choose Jesus.

 

Exegetical Blogging

Bible commentary need not be restricted to pastors and Christian authors.  You can copy and paste text into your blog and insert your own insights.  This piece is from Dreaming Beneath the Spires, the blog of Anita Mathias in Oxford, England where it first appeared under the title, Wealth and the Spiritual Life.

Matthew 19 16-30

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

He has the longing for spiritual things that many good people have.

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

For starters, the moral code of basic decency with the addition of Love Your Neighbor as yourself, an obscure directive from Lev 19:18.

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

An idol is something which, in practice, means more to us that God does. Though we may not realize that we love it more, in effect it absorbs our thoughts and our attention more than God does. And how does one deal with this?

Sometimes, surgery, giving it up all together. God may take the idol from us in mercy, or we may give it up.

At other times, we need to constantly repent and surrender the idol to God, and make sure that we are doing it in God’s way. (That, for instance, is what I need to do with my blog.)

Jesus did not ask everyone to sell their possessions and give them to the poor. However, his diagnosis of this young man’s heart was correct, because that was the one thing he could not do.

He could not deal with the resultant transformation of identity if he lost his possessions. He could not part with something he had probably nurtured and brooded over over many hours and years.

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

And this is what happens when we say No to God. We go away sad.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, 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.”

Wealth brings with it a sense of security, prestige, power, an easier life, the respect of men, “friends” some of whom might become real friends, social acceptance, the power to fulfill fantasies, to gratify desire, to affect the lives of your children, family, and friends in positive ways. “Men praise you when you prosper.” Psalm 49:18.

It is not therefore surprising that it could easily become an idol to us, something which takes the place of God in our thoughts.

The general attributes of the rich are the opposite to those of the child, (Matthew 19 13-15) when it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished

Because wealth was equated with God’s blessing and favour.

and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Even rich men and rich women can be saved!! For “with God, all things are possible.”

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

No wonder Jesus loved Peter. He who said what he thought as he thought it. Him with his foot in his mouth.

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

What have you done for the sake of Jesus?

Think about it.

You will receive a hundred times as much, in this life, some of the Gospels, specify. And eternal life.

Receiving a hundred times as much for the little I have done for the love of Christ in this life–that I can testify from personal experience is true!!

³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

A repeated theme in the Gospels. Those who are prominent here, may be the least prominent in paradise, and those who are the least prominent here may be the closest to God here, and in paradise.

The day of judgment will bring many surprises.

What is the one thing in your life which might take the place of God? Think about it. What would it take for you to either let it go, or to do it in God’s way?

The Cost of Following Christ

When a rich young man came to Jesus and asked if there’s “anything else” he needed to do, Jesus presented him with “one more thing” that to the young man was seemingly impossible.

Biblical discipleship would truly involve “forsaking all.”    This post appeared in July at TruthSource.Net While I agree with what it says, I can think of instances where I wouldn’t want to see this used.   Or would I?   I remember hearing a speaker saying that “small demands will produce small results; great demands will produce great results.”   Didn’t Jesus seem to be “waving people off” following Him at times with “difficult sayings?”  Have we watered down the gospel?

Because of horrible evangelism, religious lies, and itching ears, a majority of people have been led to believe that becoming a Christian is as easy as praying a simple prayer and requires very little cost or no cost at all. However, the Lord Jesus Christ has declared very clearly in the Bible that it will indeed cost you—it will cost you everything.

You will have to turn away from all your sins

Being a Christian will cost you your sins; you cannot be a Christian if you’re unwilling to forsake them. This is called repentance, and Jesus declared that unless you repent, you will perish in Hell. We are called by God to repent of our sins and turn to Him because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world. You don’t have to clean up your life before you come to Christ; no, my dear friend, come to Him now as you are. You just have to make up your mind about giving up your sins. You must stop, turn around from following after sinful lusts, and begin following after Christ, calling upon Him to help and He will remove sin from your life as you follow His lead and obey His word.

James 2:19-20; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30-31; 26:20; Luke 13:3; Psalm 7:12; Revelation 2:16

You will have to forsake your desires and affections

Being a Christian will cost you all desires and affections which oppose the will and word of God. You will have to continually be on guard to rid your life of all the things that God hates and declares to be wicked. If you are unwilling to give up these unrighteous desires, you cannot be a Christian. God commands His people to hate evil and love good; to abstain from every form or appearance of evil; to flee from immorality, lust, idolatry, and greed. We are commanded to pursue righteousness, justice, and godliness. And this means all the things we fill our lives with will be determined by God’s word—the movies or television we watch, music we listen to, clothes we wear, and everything else on which we may set our affections.

Psalm 97:10; Amos 5:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Ephesians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:10-11; 2 Timothy 2:22; Philippians 1:10; 4:8; Psalm 119:97, 128

You will have to surrender over your dreams and aspirations

Being a Christian will cost you all dreams and aspirations you may have that do not align with the will of God for your life. If you’re unwilling to completely shift the focus of your life away from yourself and your previous aspirations and toward Christ and doing His will, you cannot be a Christian. We are commanded to do absolutely everything—down to something as small as taking a drink of water—with the focus of bringing God glory. We are even called to take every thought captive and make them obedient to the will of Christ. That means if you’re worrying about becoming rich, well-off, famous, or whatever, you’re going to have to cast this behind you. Jesus declared that our primary and preeminent focus is to be on His kingdom above all else. We serve the Lord, not vice versa; and He calls His people to carry out His will, not theirs; we pray for His kingdom come, His will be done, not ours. He is Lord over our life, and His disciples must live their lives accordingly.

1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Matthew 6:10, 33

You will have to give up all your finances and possessions

Being a Christian will cost you all your finances and possessions. If you’re not willing to transfer all ownership of your money and possessions over to Jesus Christ, you cannot be His disciple. He owns everything in your life—including your life—and as a Christian you must acknowledge and submit to this. All that you have, you no longer use it for yourself but for Him—for His sake, His glory, His kingdom. And the things which cannot be used for these things must go. The money you have, which itself comes from God, you no longer use to buy foolish things for yourself but for the things which He approves and is glorified in. Christ commands us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasure in Heaven. Your treasure will reveal your heart. If you’re all about money or heaping up this world’s goods, then your heart is with this world which will pass away. What will it profit you if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? If you seek to keep this world’s goods, you will lose both them and your soul. You cannot serve both God and wealth.

Luke 9:23-25; 14:33; Matthew 6:19-21, 24

You will have to leave behind your family & friends

If you love your parents, siblings, spouse, children, family, friends, or even your own life more than Christ, you cannot be His disciple. Your love for Christ must be so extreme and preeminent that it makes your love for everyone else, in comparison, look like hatred. Jesus declared that He had not come to bring peace and tolerance amongst one another on the earth…He came, rather, to bring a sword of division, to set a person against the members of his own household for the sake of obedience and loyalty to Him. If your family criticizes you in regard to following Christ, or pressures you to go on a route that opposes the will of God, you will have oppose them for Christ’s sake. If you have friends who love to sin and could care less about Christ, you’re going to have to leave them behind…but if you are true to the Lord and serious about following Him, they’ll end up hating you eventually anyway. However, Jesus promises that whoever has left houses or parents or siblings or friends or spouses or children for His name’s sake will receive many times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 10:34-37; 19:27-29; Luke 14:26; 18:28-30; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 15:33

You will have to renounce your reputation and status

If you are unwilling to count as loss for Christ’s sake your reputation and status, and what people think of you, you cannot be a Christian. You must count all these things as rubbish in view of the surpassing value of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. You must cast off any false notion that you are someone important, someone of worth, one with wisdom and strength, and realize you indeed are one who is broken, lowly, foolish, and weak. The message of the cross is foolishness to the world, and in coming to Christ, believing His word, and obeying His commands, you will also be esteemed utterly foolish by them. But you must embrace the reproach of Christ that will come your way. If you hold faithfully to Christ, you will be ridiculed, despised, mocked, and slandered.

Philippians 3:7-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 21, 26-28; 3:18; 4:9-13; Luke 6:22-23

You will have to abandon your comforts & easy living

If you are unwilling to take on the demanding lifestyle of a disciple of Christ, you cannot be a Christian. Jesus declared that the vast majority of mankind will end up in Hell, and that there are many who desire to enter into eternal life but will not be able to. He exhorted His disciples to strive to enter into the kingdom of God, because only those who violently press into it will enter. The Christian life is not one of luxury or complacency, but one of self-denial and discipline, vigilance, always being on the alert, always taking heed and being careful, always striving, pursuing Christ, fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold on eternal life. The Bible says we must enter the kingdom of God through many trials and tribulations, and all who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. You will be hated, excluded, insulted, scorned, slandered, and abused on account of Christ—you may even be killed—but be of good cheer, for these things you are blessed, and your reward will be great in Heaven.

Luke 6:22-23; 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:12; John 15:19; 1 John 3:13; Acts 13:40; 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 Timothy 6:12; Mark 13:33; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:12

HT: Holding to Truth