For a moment, examine this account in Mark chapter 10. In these verses, we find so much right about this young man. He seems to have sought the right person; Jesus alone has salvation. He came with the right approach, enthused and humble. He came truthfully; he knew that he needed eternal life and did not have it. But he left empty-handed and lost-hearted. Why?
There are two parts to Christ’s parable. First, he told of the quick response to the Gospel. Then he told of the rock getting in the way. Look at the immediate response to Jesus that this Rich young Ruler had.
Mark 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” NKJV
He Came to Jesus Unashamedly! This man was young (Matthew 19:20) and rich (Matthew 19: 22). In Luke 18:18 we learn that he was a ruler (archōn in the Greek text), which most likely means he was a ruler of the synagogue (the same use of the word in Matthew 9:18). Thus it appears that he was a Jewish religious leader, devout, honest, young, wealthy, prominent, highly respected, and influential. He had everything.
He Came to Jesus Enthusiastically! Mark 10:17 says the man came running.
He Came to Jesus Humbly! He also came to Jesus publicly. Unlike Nicodemus, who came by night, this man came in broad daylight and in front of other people. Mark says that the Lord was on the road, having just set out on a journey. No doubt there was the usual crowd around him. This fellow ran right through the crowd, unhampered by the fact that the people knew who he was. He was bold enough to confess publicly and openly that he did not possess eternal life. For a man in his position to ask such a question took tremendous courage. He had a lot to lose by openly admitting that he lacked eternal life.
He Came to Jesus Directly! In his search for the missing element in his soul, he sought out Jesus. And how right he was to do so. “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
He came to ask the Greatest Question anyone could ever ask! Nothing matters more in life than the destiny of your eternal soul. Nothing matters more in all the Universe than the salvation that God has offered to all the people on earth.
What was this passage about? We know it was not about a post-conversion call to deeper discipleship, because Jesus was answering a question about how to obtain eternal life!
When Jesus speaks of eternal life (a term used fifty times in the Bible), it always encompasses all aspects of salvation, conversion, evangelism, and the new birth. In fact, the most familiar gospel verse of all, John 3:16, uses the expression: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
From KGD-33c – The Shallow Heart (040509AM)
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