Dangerous Treasure

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

A. Lincoln, Proclamation of a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, 1863

Does that sound like a description of our country today? This was President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation for a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, over 150 years ago in 1863.

During our nation’s hardest times, like the depression of the 1930s, giving was greater than it is today, when unemployment is almost gone and wages and home values are so much higher.

With the great blessings our nation has enjoyed for over 245 years, we seem to have fallen prey to dangerous treasure - things from our worldly kingdom that are more important to us than God’s kingdom. Jesus said where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Series

As we continue our series: The Crown & The Cross sermon, Mark’s Gospel shows Jesus as a man with a clear message and mission, and the reader is called to actively response to the message. Jesus’ responses always helped his listeners better understand God’s heart and his statements are typically clear commands for us to follow.

In the first half of Mark the emphasis was on Jesus as Messiah the King who deserved the crown. Now in the second half the focus is on Jesus preparing for His life’s mission to suffer and die on the cross - and to rise from the dead. He is preparing his disciples for what lay ahead. Jesus is also speaking to us today about what it takes to be a true follower.

Last week Jesus answered a question about divorce by explaining God’s Marriage Plan for a man and a woman to come together and remain together for their whole lives. And then he used the example of a child’s pure humble faith as the key to entering God’s kingdom. In today’s text, a man comes with a life changing question. Jesus’ response brought great sorrow and astonishment. He warned his listeners about dangerous treasure. It’s not just the risks we take to find great treasure, but the high price of holding on to it without seeing the real cost.

Our parallel passages are in Matthew 19 and Luke 18. You can turn to Mark 10.

PRAY

READ Mark 10:17-31

A Man's Life-changing Question

v. 17 says a man ran up to Jesus and begged him to answer a pressing question.

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Mark simply calls him “a man” and we discover he has great wealth and property. Our parallel passage in Matthew 19 tells us he was young man. Luke 18 tells us he was a ruler. So, putting the picture together, we have a rich young ruler. Someone with money and political power who is surprisingly young. Maybe he inherited it - we don’t know.

In the middle-eastern culture of that day, men did not run. They walked slowly and dignified. But he is excited and anxious to get the answer to this pressing life-changing question.

Notice the wording “Good teacher. What must I do?” In his mind, and just about everyone else’s too, it was not what a question of what must I know or believe to be saved. It is a matter of what do I have to do - he is thinking it’s about my actions or works not simply faith.

Jesus' Answer & Warning about Dangerous Treasure

Jesus’ Answer

v. 18 Jesus answered with a question, as usual.

“Why do you call me good?” No one is good except God alone. This word for “good” was reserved for describing God by the Jews. You didn’t call people “intrinsically good.” Jesus was not denying being God, but rather he was probing to see if this young man actually saw him as God himself.

Jesus then lists five of the commandments. These are the ones about how we treat others. And he modifies the command “Do not covet” to do not defraud or take advantage of others. This young man had enough property and wealth that coveting was not a problem - but perhaps accumulating his great empire had come from defrauding or cheating the poor or powerless.

in v. 20, the man says, I have kept all of these from my youth. Jesus doesn’t challenge him.

v. 21 gives us a beautiful picture of God’s unconditional and compassionate love. It says Jesus looked at him and loved him. His wealth had nothing to do with it. Jesus valued him as a person, knew that even with his vast wealth he was empty inside, and Jesus wanted to see him saved. Jesus didn’t seek him for a disciple because of his wealth and power. In fact, he told him to give that all away. Just come to me empty handed and follow me.

Jesus knew his heart. He knew he was working hard to keep the Law - the moral code. He knew he was wealthy and had everything he could possibly want. But Jesus also knew he was missing the most important thing - total devotion and love for God.

“Go sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.”

v. 22 has been called the saddest verse in the Bible. This young man is the only person who came to Jesus happy and went away crushed. He is the only person Jesus called who answered “no.” When Jesus called his twelve disciples, they immediately followed him. They were drawn to God even though they didn’t yet recognize him as the Messiah.

The young man was disheartened. It means deeply depressed, crushed, like a sunny sky turned black. He walked away because he had such great possessions. He was rich! Loaded. His treasures were too much for him to give up.

Contrast this with last week’s message - the children coming to Jesus had nothing but they needed nothing. They came to Jesus empty-handed knowing only that they needed him. This young man, has everything the world has to offer, money, property, political power. Yet he can’t gain the ultimate treasure of eternal life with his hands and heart grasping so tightly to all his worldly treasure. That’s why this treasure is so dangerous. We think more treasure will fill us and meet all our needs.

While this young man said he was able to keep all the commandments Jesus listed, his heart attitude made him unable to keep the first commandment, one that Jesus did not quote: “Do not worship any other gods besides me” . The young man did not love God with his whole heart as he had thought. In reality, the man’s wealth was his god, his idol, his treasure. If he could not give it up, he would be violating the very first and most foundational commandment: Love God more than anything else.

The task of selling all his possessions would not, of itself, give the man eternal life. Jesus is not commanding poverty for him or anyone else. But such radical obedience would be the first step for this man to become a disciple. Jesus’ words were a test of his faith and his willingness to obey, and sadly this excited young man could not give up his worldly treasure and fully trust God instead of trusting himself and his stuff.

Jesus’ Warning

In verses 23-27 Jesus gives further warnings about the dangerous treasures of this world.

He shocks them saying “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.”

This is often true because the rich, with all of their basic physical needs met, often become self-reliant.

Before you checkout and excuse yourself from listening - YOU ARE RICH! I know there’s crazy inflation and gas prices are absolutely ridiculous. But our minimum wage is still way above the typical earnings of most of the people in the world. There may be people struggling here today and there are lots of people in poverty in the U.S. But praise God, most of us are not wondering if we will eat today. We are not wondering where we will sleep tonight. We are not wearing our only shoes or one of our two sets of clothes. We are blessed with so much but we are also struggling to be thankful for what we have.

When we feel empty, we can buy something new to dull the pain that was meant to drive us toward God. How often do you find yourself looking at Amazon Today’s Deals or going shopping when you are bored or depressed? Our abundance and self-sufficiency become our deficiency. People who have everything on earth can still lack what is most important—eternal life. We have enough money, but sadly the majority of Americans don’t have God’s Kingdom. Being self-sufficient makes is really hard to think you need anyone else - especially God!

The reason the disciples were shocked and amazed is that the rabbis of the day taught that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. If you had a property, a large herd of livestock, money, political power - you must be doing things right. God must be happy with you. There are many churches who preach the same thing today. As I mentioned a few weeks back - the false prosperity Gospel tells people God wants them to be blessed with health and wealth. They tell people if they only believe enough they can have whatever they want. This is absolutely NOT what Jesus preached.

In v 24, Jesus repeats “It is difficult to enter the Kingdom of God. This is not easy believism. You don’t just raise your hand or pray a prayer to find eternal life and real peace with God.

Jesus uses hyperbole in verse 25 saying “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Hyperbole is over-exaggeration to make a point. I remember hearing years ago that this was referring to a unique needle-shaped entry into Jerusalem that only a camel with no baggage could fit through. While this made a nice story, there are no historical records of a gate anything like that until 900 AD.

Jesus’ teachings were revolutionary in his time and are still scandalous even today. Notice, Jesus did not condemn riches as evil in themselves. They are a temptation, a hindrance, a diversion. They provide false security that make people trust in them and the safety they provide instead of radical trust in God alone.

Again, in v. 26, the disciples were exceedingly astonished. Did we hear that right, Jesus? It almost sounded like you said rich people are not the best. Are the rich and famous still the heroes of today? How many of us care what the elite are wearing or driving or saying? The disciples thought “well everyone knows the rich have it all together. They must be right with God.” The disciples could not believe what Jesus was saying and so they asked “Then who can be saved?”

Verse 27 is probably the key to understanding this whole passage. If you haven’t underlined or highlighted this verse - do it now. Jesus looked at them - dramatic pause - made sure they were listening. “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Don’t take this out of context and say you can do anything you want if you just believe enough. This is about the amazing grace of salvation.

Mark Brooks in his New American Commentary said,

“Inheriting eternal life, entering the kingdom, and being saved are impossible for any human being, but not for God, who is good and desires the salvation of all. Therefore all must depend entirely upon God. Such absolute trust in God makes possible a life of faithful discipleship.”

This echoes Jesus’ teaching about the humble faith and empty hands of a child being the way to enter God’s kingdom. It has nothing to do with you, your value, your wealth, your power, your popularity, your heritage, your family status. As Adam read earlier in Ephesians 2 - it is only by the grace of God that we are saved. It has nothing to do with good works or keep the commandments - so that no one can boast of their own goodness or righteousness. There is none righteous, no not one!

Jesus presents a divine paradox. It is not simply hard to be saved it is quite impossible. But our God is the God of the impossible. Only through His Holy Spirit can we comprehend our sinfulness and need for repentance and redemption. Only by God’s mercy can we be forgiven and saved. Have you come to that place in your life where you realized you were so low that you had to look up and accepted the outstretched hand of God offering you salvation? If you have say Amen! If you have not yet, please come talk to me after the service. God is calling you just as Jesus asked this young man to follow him. Will you walk away full of sadness and hopeless or will you follow Him?

A Disciple's Sacrifice & Reward

Peter, again appearing to be the official spokesman of the disciples, says in verse 28, look, we’ve left everything to follow you. Are we OK? We’re in, right Jesus?

in v 29 Jesus answers with some of the sacrifices they made to become his disciples. But then he reminds them of the awesome rewards.

He answered Peter and the disciples, “You left your home, your family, your property to follow me. You were willing to give up all these things for me and for the sake of the Gospel.

But you will be rewarded a hundredfold here on earth and in heaven.

A different Peter, Peter Parker was told with great power comes great responsibility.

Jesus was saying, “With great sacrifice comes great reward!”

Here is Kingdom Math - hundred times

Give up 1 house and gain 100 open doors to share the Gospel

Leave the safety of 2 parents and gain an entire churchful of spiritual family to encourage and at times correct you. You have senior saints who will teach and disciple you. You have new brothers and sisters who come alongside you.

Lose 1 worldly friend and find 100 spiritual companions with a far deeper impact on your life. Spiritual friends who share the same mind of Christ, the same spirit, the same goal in glorifying Christ in everything.

This is priceless. It’s the pearl of great value that is worth selling everything to gain.

We can’t miss the end of v. 30. Persecutions. Yes, in addition to great rewards you will experience persecutions. This was probably a reassuring word from our Lord to the early church. It should also be a reminder for us today. Yes, we will experience amazing spiritual rewards as a believer, but we should also expect persecution for the sake of the Gospel. Just like the first disciples.

Finally in verse 31, Jesus ends restating this kingdom principle that is backwards from the world’s thinking. Many who are first will be last, and the last first. The key to being great in God’s kingdom is making yourself least. Serve others rather than demanding to be served. Give your stuff away to help others instead of accumulating more and more. Use the money and assets you have to advance God’s kingdom instead of building up your own kingdom where you are the center. Put Jesus Christ in his rightful place on the throne as Lord of your life instead of yourself.

Take Aways

Warren Weirsbe said “Money is a marvelous servant but a terrible master. If you possess money, be grateful and use it for God’s glory; but if money possesses you, beware! It is good to have the things that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things that money cannot buy. The deceitfulness of riches had so choked the soil of this young man’s heart that he was unable to receive the good seed of the Word and be saved.

Tim Keller’s awesome book “Jesus the King” about Mark’s Gospel is something I hope you will take time to read. He included a money test in the chapter about this message. This is how you know money is a problem for you.

You can’t give large amounts of it away

You get scared if you might have less than you're used to

When you see people with more than you have it gets under your skin

It's a scorecard - your identity

The young man who was so excited to meet Jesus - he wanted it all. He said, I've been successful socially, economically, religiously, morally. Am I missing anything?

Yes - you can't DO enough for eternal life. You have to empty your hands and your heart to receive the gift of eternal life with God as the center. Jesus must be your treasure not the world.

Paul’s Warning to the Rich

Paul warned of the dangers of wealth. Money can quickly bring out these sinful character traits. 1 Tim 6:17 - Don’t become haughty or look down on others. Beware of pride arrogance, insensitivity, indifference, self-satisfaction, worldliness.

Instead, like children, we have to admit our own helpless dependence on God and be thoughtful and generous to those around us in greater need.

1. Divest (get rid of) our dependence on wealth

2. Invest our wealth in God’s Kingdom

Finally Jesus warned “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Where you treasure is your heart will follow. Choose the treasure of eternal life and don’t let money or anything else take its place.

Benediction

Father, may we store up our treasure in heaven instead of here on earth. Help us realize that our greatest treasure is in your Son, Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! To Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! Amen.

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