Mark 10:17–22

¹⁷And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ¹⁸And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" ²⁰And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." ²¹And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." ²²Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Often when someone would ask Jesus a question, it was an attempt to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against him. They didn't have Miranda Rights back then. Jesus didn't have the right to remain silent or to have an attorney present. Anything he said could and would be used against him.

So in our gospel reading today we have a refreshing change. This time a man asks Jesus an honest question. He was sincere. He wanted some assurance: What must I do to inherit eternal life?

This question is just as relevant for us today. The prospect of spending eternity in hell is horrifying. It's a question we ask not only for ourselves, but for our loved ones.

Let us pray: Dear heavenly Father, you sent your Son to die for us so that we could be freed from death and eternal punishment. Now, send your Holy Spirit to give us the gift of repentance and faith that we might be sure of our salvation and live our lives in service to our neighbor. Amen.

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Good question, but right off the bat we see some problems:

First of all, he addressed Jesus as "Good teacher." He didn't say Lord or Messiah, but "teacher." He didn't recognize the Son of God. Jesus noticed this slight as well. "If you don't acknowledge that I am from God, why are you calling me good?" Only God is good. If you call me good you should also then recognize that I am the promised Messiah, I am from God. So right off we learn that this man was not a disciple of Jesus. He was not asking for instruction in how to follow Jesus, or live the Christian life, he was a non-believer. The issue in this text is faith versus lack of faith. It is eternal life versus eternal punishment. I other words, Jesus is making an evangelism visit.

The second problem is the question "what must I do?" He presupposes that earning heaven is a matter of something we do or earn for ourselves. Once again, we see that this man was not a believer.

So Jesus starts with the man's own faith. Jesus tells him, "You know the commandments, 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" We recognize this as the Ten Commandments. Especially what we call the Second Table, the command to Love your neighbor as yourself.

But all these things he had done. And in fact he was telling the truth. He really had obeyed the law of God. He had done everything the law required. He was perfect according to the law. He did not murder or steal. He gave lavish feasts for his friends. He donated to charities. He went to church regularly. He even served on boards and committees. In this regards, he was not much different from most of you sitting here today. You are all law-abiding citizens. You are good people. You are not murderers, thieves, adulterers, and the like. Most of you when it comes time to confess your sins at the beginning of the service have trouble even thinking of something to confess. All of you outwardly behave. You do what God's law demands. When asked if you are going to heaven when you die, most people will tell you, "I hope so. I'm a good person. I've tried hard and done my best to be good." That is exactly what this young man talking with Jesus would have said.

So, was Jesus here telling him what he had to do to go to heaven? No! Jesus was teaching him the true nature of sin. That is the first part of evangelism; people must first know that they have a need; that they stand in danger of judgment and hell fire. Like this man, most of you do not understand that you are sinners. Most people today don't think they will be punished for eternity in hell. "I am a good person," most people say.

But he was not a believer. You don't have to be a Christian to be a good person. Hindus, Muslims, atheists and skeptics can all be good people. There are all sorts of unbelievers who do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, who help others, donate to charities, help the poor, don't run red lights and pay their taxes. But that doesn't save them. That doesn't merit eternal life. And it didn't save the young man interviewing Jesus.

He was not a believer or disciple of Jesus, yet Jesus looked at him and loved him. Jesus is always full of surprises; he loved this man who did not believe in him and who did not follow him. We would expect Jesus to love a person of faith. We often think we deserve Jesus' love, but this man? A non-believer? How could Jesus do such a thing. He doesn't deserve Jesus' love.

And that is just the point. God loves you when you don't deserve his love. He loves you even though you are a sinner. His love is completely undeserved. Jesus would have loved him just as much if he had been a murderer, an adulterer, and a thief. God loves sinners enough to send his Son to die for you. Jesus came into the world to die for sinners. He came to seek and save the lost. Though by nature you are his enemy he sacrificed his life on the cross and paid the penalty for your sin. Your sins are forgiven because of his undeserved love.

So Jesus, in his love, told him, "One thing you lack; Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor." Now let me ask you again, was Jesus now telling him what he had to do to get into heaven? Was Jesus telling him that even though he had done all these good things and been such a good person, there was just one more thing he had missed. All he needed was to do it and he would have heaven?

No! Jesus was not telling him how to get into heaven. What Jesus told him was that even though he kept the law, had obeyed perfectly, even though he had done all that the law required, his obedience wouldn't get him into heaven. Even though he was perfect, he still had not earned heaven.

Jesus was raising the law to a new level. The law not only tells us how to behave, it shows us that we are sinful on the inside. It shows us that our hearts are corrupt and sinful even though we behave right. For it is from the heart that love comes and this man did not love his neighbor as himself as the law demands. Sin is not what we do, but what we are. So what Jesus did here was to use the law to show him the sinful condition of his heart even though he had obeyed the law outwardly. This man was righteous before men, but he was not righteous before God. In spite of his goodness, he was outside the kingdom of God; he was on the road to hell.

Because Jesus loved him he wanted to show this man his sin. Jesus wanted him to fall to his knees and cry out, "I can't do that! Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!" He wanted this man to realize that all his efforts, his good works, his obedience had failed and that the only way possible to have eternal life was by the mercy of God. Only by the goodness and mercy of God that prompted Jesus to die for us can anyone enter into the kingdom of heaven. No one is saved because he is good, no matter how good he is. We are saved because God is good to us. Only because Jesus sacrificed his life to pay for our sin does God forgive us "bags of filth" as Luther says. And that means that you who obey God, do all the right things, are mere bags of filth saved by the mercy, the compassion and the love of God.

And that is why you gather today and every Sunday for worship; not because you are good or because you are trying to earn heaven, but you come to celebrate together, to rejoice together, to fellowship together, and to encourage one another BECAUSE God is good. God has shown you mercy. God has acquitted you of your sin. God has released you from prison. Jesus Christ has crashed the gates of hell and led you out to freedom.

And Jesus raised the law to another lever still. He is saying that now, as believers in Jesus, as his followers, you are to reflect that same love to your neighbor that Jesus has for you. "Go, sell all you have and give to the poor." That is what Jesus did for you. This describes Jesus and his love for you. As Jesus gave all that he had for you, poor, miserable sinners. He died to forgive your sins and open the gates of heaven to you. Jesus gave up everything, his glory, his power, his throne in heaven to become a mere man, a poverty stricken, homeless wanderer and die like a criminal on a cross to make you rich and make you heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

And so this command, describes you who are in Christ. It is the description of your life in this world. Jesus is talking about your righteousness, not before God, but before men in this world. The righteous life of a believer. For you are, as Luther says, "the daily bread for your neighbor." Your neighbor needs you, just as you need your neighbor. You are to bear the burdens of your neighbor as he is to bear your burdens. You do not live for yourselves, but for your neighbor in this world. Living in Christ mean that you don't live lives turned inward on yourself, but turned outward toward God and neighbor. That is how Jesus lived, he who came not to be served but to serve. That then is how his children live, giving their lives for their neighbor. Your neighbor needs you. That means being a faithful husband or wife, being a good parent and bringing up your children in that faith of Jesus Christ and instilling in them the habit of worship and hearing the word preached and receiving the sacrament. It means working in the community for justice, it means doing your job with all diligence, it means contributing financially and in time and service to the church. It means being in church on Sunday mornings to encourage one another in the faith. The church is also your neighbor. In this world your neighbor needs you; you are his daily bread. It means having mercy on your neighbor and reconciling with him when he offends you. Reconciliation and forgiveness is what the life of Christ was all about. It is the description of the believer. He who does not forgive his neighbor and reconcile with him, is not a follower of Christ.

But then the conversation between Jesus and the man came to a sad end. Evangelism doesn't always produce the results you want. Not even for Jesus. Instead of crying out for mercy, the man refused to repent and went away sorrowful. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but God allows man to resist his gospel and reject the offer of mercy and forgiveness. This is an example to all of you who try to talk to people about Christ, who try to invite your friends and neighbors to church, but it seems like your words fall on deaf ears. They don't hear you. They don't pay attention to you. They resist the Holy Spirit and go away. If they did that to Jesus, they will do it to you too. Don't give up. Don't get discouraged. It is the way of man.

As for you, rejoice that the Lord has had mercy on you and that by faith you have inherited the kingdom of heaven for all eternity.

Amen.