The Rich Young Ruler: The One Thing He Couldn't Let Go

2023 at the Dixon Lake Boat Ramp, it's just outside uh in the the Traverse City uh area and Gaylord, I couldn't remember the name of the town, it's in Gaylord, uh, there was an emergency call.

So rescuers had to come and and and show up to this call that they received because a woman had dropped her Apple Watch into the outhouse containment area.

Now they didn't they didn't show up because she needed them to come get the watch, they needed them to come get her.

Because she climbed into the containment area to retrieve the Apple Watch.

She was in there for 30 minutes.

She climbed in to get it and realized she couldn't get herself out, so she started yelling.

People heard her calling for help, so they called 911.

The police had to come, they had to remove the toilet so they can hoist her out with a strap.

What would you go in for?

Like, seriously, turn to the person seated next to you.

Monroe Saganal, you two.

Turn to the person seated next to you and say, This is the one thing I would go into that tank for.

All right.

I'm actually hearing the word nothing a lot here at Brighton, and I'm I'm wondering if it's the same for Monroe and Saganal.

Like, y'all are like, I wouldn't climb in there for anything.

But if we were honest with ourselves, there's probably something in your life that you hold on to so tightly that you would at least be tempted to go in for.

Because we all have those things, right?

We have these things in our lives that are so important that we'll go through great links to hold on to.

Because in some way, shape, or form, maybe like the Apple Watch for this lady, it's a sign of our success.

And we have all kinds of things that resemble success for us.

It's our money, it's the car that we drive, the house that we have, the job that we have, the education that we achieve, the the the lake house.

Maybe for you it's not even that.

Maybe it's just, hey, having a car that's paid off.

Or maybe for you it's just being able to say that, like, I'm good and actually mean it.

Maybe that's what your measure of success is.

And when we think about those things, and the reality is most of us, by those measurements, are actually successful.

We actually believe that we're successful.

There's a Harvard study a few years ago.

What they did is they took uh millionaires and they asked them the same question.

On a scale of one to ten, how satisfied are you, how content are you in your life with what you have?

Universal across the board, the answer was the same.

It didn't matter how much wealth they had, it didn't matter if they had a million dollars or a hundred million dollars, the answer was the same.

In order for them to be satisfied, they needed two to three times more than what they already had.

Studies have actually shown that's true for you and me too.

Like, like we often will look at like people with massive amounts of wealth and be like, oh my gosh, if I just had what they had, I'd be content.

But the truth of the matter is they're not content either.

Because there's always something else that we're chasing after for our success.

Years ago, my family moved to the south side of Indianapolis to plant a church.

And I remember uh standing in our dining room looking out the window of the house that we got to live in.

I just want you to understand, like all measurements we were successful too.

I was watching all these people come home from work and they would park in their nice cars and their big garages, and they would they would get out and they'd greet their family.

And I remember sitting there thinking, man, someday, someday, I'll have it together like these people do.

Someday I'll have it figured out.

You ever been there?

You ever looked at people like your own age and said, man, they just have it all figured out?

Like they have all the answers, they have all the success in their life, and we have this mental scorecard in our life that we're we're scoring ourselves compared to all these other people and all these other measures of success in the world and in our lives, and we're determining how successful we are.

So we strive for it.

And here's what happens when we start getting success in our lives.

The first thing that happens is we start to say, I've got this, I've got life, I've got this figured out.

And once we get to that point, the next step is I don't need other people, I can handle this on my own.

And then the next step is I don't need God, I'm successful, I've got things figured out.

But I want to pose a question, what if, what if?

What if success is actually one of the greatest threats to your faith?

I'm not saying success is bad, but I'm just saying, what if success is one of the greatest threats to your walk with Jesus?

If you have your Bibles, Mark chapter 10, we're gonna continue our series called Who Needs God as we explore someone that we often refer to as the rich young ruler.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

And we're gonna see in his story our own story.

Would you pray with me?

God, I'm so thankful that we get to gather in your presence, that we get to be loved by you.

And yes, today, Lord, maybe even corrected by you.

Lord, we we come to you because we want to experience you.

We gathered here today because we want to receive you, your word, your truth, your love, your transformation.

So, Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, may that be the only thing that happens in this place.

May we just receive you today.

And Lord, maybe in your love, speak the hard truths that we need to hear.

It's in Christ's name we pray.

Amen.

All right, so our story, Mark chapter 10, it picks up in verse 17.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Uh, this is again, we we refer to this person as the rich young ruler.

Verse 17, as Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.

Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

I want to pause there for a moment.

When we first moved to Michigan to come to 242, it was about five years ago.

My youngest daughter would have been about seven years old.

And my family is rooted at the Brighton campus.

It's the community we live in.

And we said, you're not gonna follow me around, you're gonna have your own community of faith.

So when I preach at the Brighton campus, this is where my family happens to be.

And between services, I would I would go out onto the field to greet people and talk to people, and my wife would go get my youngest from the kids' ministry, and keep in mind I hadn't seen her all morning because I left early before she got out of bed, and she would exit the the uh the kids' ministry, and she would look all the way across the field, and she would see her dad, and she would go, Daddy, and run with her arms wide open all the way across the field to me.

And I'd squat down and I'd give her a big old hug, and it was awesome, and it was amazing.

And so many of you are like, Oh, that's so sweet, and it was.

I miss it so much because she's 12 now and it doesn't happen anymore.

But here's the thing like it's cute and it's awesome, but like could you imagine if my 19-year-old daughter did that?

Y'all would be like, a little weird.

A little weird.

Could you imagine if your campus pastor did it?

Austin, Mike, Alex?

Like if they just like ran next time I walked in the building and said, Tony, and like those slow-motion videos when they run through the field, you know, like to embrace me.

You guys would be like, y'all, there's something's wrong with those two.

Like, there's a problem.

It was even a bigger deal in Jesus' day.

Dignified adults did not do this, they didn't run like this.

And here this man runs to Jesus, not just runs to Jesus, calls him a good teacher, falls on his knees and kneels before him.

There is a there is a desperation in him.

Now, the gospel of Matthew is gonna tell us that this man is young.

The gospel of Luke will tell us he's a ruler, and we're about to discover that he's also wealthy.

So the rich, young ruler.

That's how we come up with that.

But he's also desperate.

I mean, he runs to Jesus willing to be undignified in the eyes of culture, to approach the good teacher, to ask a question.

Keep in mind, this is the guy that's got it all figured out.

This is the guy that's that's dignified, he's respected, he's a ruler.

Like people look at him like, man, if anyone's made it, this guy's made it.

He's successful.

He's the kind of guy that people gazed out their dining room window and said, Man, someday I'll have my life figured out like this guy.

And he runs to Jesus and he asks this question: What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Friends, here's the reality: inheritance is not earned, it is given through relationship.

His question is his confession.

Because it tells you everything you need to know about this man.

He thought, if there's just one more thing I can do, if I can just check one more box, then I can get eternal life.

What is it I have to do?

Because sometimes successful people think this way.

What's the next thing I need to accomplish?

What's the next task?

What's the next goal?

What need I what do I need to do, Jesus, so that I can inherit eternal life?

You can have a full resume.

Your bank account can be full, your calendar can be full, and you can still be empty inside.

And this is the picture we have with this young man.

After Tom Brady won his third Super Bowl, he was being interviewed on 60 minutes.

And he said something to the effect of, you know, I've uh you know, I've won three Super Bowls, but I just can't help but think, like, there's gotta be more to life than this, right?

I mean, this is a guy who had reached the pinnacle of success in football.

I mean, one of the most acclimated uh uh quarterbacks we've ever seen in the history of the NFL, and he says, there's gotta be more, right?

Like this can't be everything.

Like, success can't be everything in the world.

Listen how Jesus responds to this question.

He says, Why do you call me good?

Jesus answered.

No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments.

You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and your mother.

Teacher declared, all these I have kept since I was born.

Do you notice the the nuance of what Jesus says?

Every single commandment that he mentioned had to do with your relationship with other people.

Go through the Ten Commandments.

Which ones did he leave out?

The ones that have to do with your relationship with him.

He he painted a picture of this is what it looks like to be a good neighbor.

Now, Jesus knows full well what he's doing.

He says, This is what it looks like to be a good neighbor, this is what it looks like to love one another.

And the guy's like, I've done that ever since I was a boy.

Like, I spent my entire life doing this.

He's been a good neighbor, he's a good dude.

He's not just successful, he's a good man.

He's lived a good life, and it's no wonder that he's respected among so many people.

But Jesus is about to ask a question that's gonna begin to reveal his real need.

Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Before Jesus says a word, and he's about to say a hard word, he's about to put his finger on something in this man's life and in our lives that's really gonna test him and test us.

But before he does that, the first thing Jesus does is he sees him.

Mark likes to point out where Jesus looks.

And he looks at this man and he sees him.

And not only sees him, he he loves him.

Before he says a word, the first thing you need to know is that he is seen and he is loved.

And here's what love is: love is not annoyed by a privileged guy looking for a shortcut.

Love is not a trap to embarrass him in front of a bunch of other people.

Love is not impressed by what he has, and love doesn't give him special treatment because of what he has.

You must know that when Jesus puts a finger on something in your life, it is not out of contempt, it is out of love.

Jesus saw him and Jesus loved him.

And therefore, because he was loved, Jesus was willing to do what he was about to do.

Why?

Because real love speaks truth.

This is true for God, and it's true for the relationships in your life.

If you have relationships that are not willing to speak truth into your life, I'm not sure it's the kind of godly love that we're looking for.

Real love speaks truth, and here's what Jesus says one thing you lack, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven.

Then come and follow me.

At this, the man's face fell.

He went away sad because he had great wealth.

Jesus puts his finger on the one thing that this man would have climbed into the tank for.

He puts his finger on the one thing that was keeping him from being fully committed to Jesus.

The one thing that would make him walk away sad.

Now understand the verbs that Jesus uses: go, sell, give, come, and follow.

These are important.

He didn't stop at go, sell, and give.

He said, go, sell, give, come, and follow.

Why?

Because it was never about poverty, it was never about money, it was never about wealth, it was always about Jesus.

It was always about following after him.

He doesn't tell him to give up treasure.

He just tells him to shift where that treasure is.

Because the issue isn't money, the issue is worship.

The gospel of Matthew, Jesus says this.

He says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus is telling them, like, like how you shift where your treasure is.

And his response to this was that his face fell.

The Greek word that is used here is the same word that they use to describe how the sky darkens and becomes cloudy before a storm.

That's the description of this man.

His face fell.

Not because he look, he didn't lack another rule to follow.

You don't lack another rule to follow.

What he lacked was a God that he trusted more than his possessions.

And for some of us, what we lack is a God that we trust more than our possessions.

I want you to acknowledge that Jesus doesn't chase him.

Because love doesn't chase.

You know that lady that climbed into that tank of that outhouse?

She got her watch.

She did it.

She retrieved her watch.

What she realized is once she got in, she couldn't get out.

And it's like a modern-day picture of verse 22.

That we chase after these things, we we grab a hold of these things, we're willing to climb into some really disgusting places to hold on to those things, only to discover that we're so deep in that we can't get ourselves out.

Because what you refuse to surrender is what owns you.

So what is it in your life?

What is it in your life that if Jesus put his finger on it, you would walk away sad?

Is it money?

Is it prestige?

Status?

Is it a new car?

Is it a house?

What is it for you that if Jesus put his finger on it, you would be tempted to walk away sad?

Because what you refuse to surrender is what you have crowned as your Lord.

Jesus is right now, I'm confident that the power of the Holy Spirit, He wants to put a finger on a spot in your life right now that you haven't surrendered to Him.

Verse 23.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

The disciples were amazed at his words, but Jesus said again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.

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.

The disciples were even more amazed and said to each other, Who then can be saved?

Jesus looked at them and said, Without man, with man this is impossible, but not with God.

All things are possible for God.

Here's the disciples' thoughts.

If this guy can't make it, who in the world can?

If he can't make it in, how do we make it in?

You ever feel that sometimes?

Like you wonder, it's like, man, if that person can't, then what hope do I have?

How in the world am I ever gonna make it?

Here's what Jesus is saying that this whole camel in the eye of the needle thing is deliberate exaggeration.

Because what he wants to show you is you cannot do this on your own.

You see, the rich man couldn't, it wasn't that he was too rich to enter in, it was that his richness made him unable to see his need to enter in.

He was unable to see the need in front of him.

So they're like, who can be saved?

And Jesus, going back to the original question, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

says, You can't do anything.

There's nothing that you can do.

But I can.

Jesus can.

On your own, you cannot make it.

There's no level of success that you can earn that's gonna help you get in.

Listen to what Peter says.

Peter spoke up.

We've left everything to follow you.

Wink wink, right?

This is the most human part of the entire story.

Because Peter says, I'm gonna compare myself to that guy.

I've done what he didn't do.

How many times we find ourselves staring out of our proverbial window, watching the rest of the world go by, and we begin to compare ourselves to everyone else rather than ourselves.

I think it's the most human part of the story that every single one of us are tempted to do.

We're just going to evaluate our lives by everyone else's story.

Verse 29.

Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age.

Homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.

But many who are first will be last and the last first.

Jesus flips the scorecard.

You know that scorecard that we we keep track of comparing ourselves to everybody else.

Jesus flips it and this says the first will be last, and the last will be first.

No one who releases everything else to follow after me and embrace the gospel will miss out.

A hundredfold.

Houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers.

Oh yeah, persecutions.

Did you notice that was kind of squeezed in there?

Like all these good things, like, oh, and persecutions, but also eternal life.

This is a good deal.

It's not an easy one, but it's a good one.

It's a deal that you can't construct from your own successes.

That through Jesus Christ you have an opportunity to be saved, to enter in, to receive the gift that has been offered to you.

And it is only through Jesus that you can do that.

You cannot enter in any way.

There is an element of your life that if you do not surrender, will cause you to walk away sad like this man did.

Notice what the author does.

Notice what he tells us happens next.

They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way.

And the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.

Again, he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.

This is the third time he's told them.

We're going up to Jerusalem, he said, and the Son of Man.

And will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.

They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, will spit on him, flog him, and kill him.

Three days later, he will rise.

Do you notice the contrast?

We have one man who is unwilling, it seems, to let go of something that's so important for him to follow after Jesus so he goes away sad.

Now we have a picture of Jesus who's willing to surrender everything, give up everything, suffer and die on a cross for you and for me, so that you may have eternal life.

There's a huge contrast between these two pictures that are being drawn.

Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 says, For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

I don't know about you, like I read that sometimes.

I'm like, you mean joy?

Like you were beaten, you were scorned, you were mocked, you were ridiculed, you were spit on, you you call this joy?

Well, the joy wasn't in what happened, the joy is what happens as a result of what happened.

It's you.

It's me.

It's a restored relationship that we get with our Heavenly Father because of what Jesus has done.

The joy that Jesus has is you and me.

Second Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9 says, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

It is the gospel underneath the entire story.

The story of the rich young ruler is a presentation of the gospel that you cannot squeeze in on your own.

There is no level of success that you can achieve that will help you enter into the kingdom of God.

You cannot do it on your own.

It is only through Christ where he carries you through the eye of a needle.

It is only through Jesus.

There's no level of success or lack of success that's going to make a difference for you.

It is all about your relationship with Jesus and your willingness to surrender all those things, to let go of everything so that you can follow after him.

You know, when that lady was rescued from that tank, the police had to put out a notice.

Uh, do not venture in.

Like you ever read like warning labels and you're like, who in the world was that for?

Like, which kid ate the wrapper, right?

That makes you have to put that on the label.

Well, I think the reality is like this is for all of us.

Don't venture into greed.

Don't venture into areas of idolatry.

Don't don't grab a hold of things so tightly that you're unwilling to follow after Jesus.

Don't jump into the pit where you cannot get out.

Surrender what it is that you call success.

And look, I'm not telling you that you have to give it up and you're not gonna be successful anymore, but man, what you've decided is the most important in your life, is what you've crowned.

Look at it this way: success is what you have.

Your success looks different than mine, it looks different than the person next to you.

But if you define success by what you have, here's the question I want you to ask yourself.

What is the one place that if Jesus put his finger on it, you'd be tempted to walk away sad?

If Jesus came up to you right now and put his finger on blank, you would walk away sad.

What is that for you?

Because I assure you, we all have something.

Is it money?

Then start to give generously.

Is it comfort?

Like find an opportunity, step out of your comfort zone for a change.

Is it control?

Just begin to release the thing you've been white knuckling your entire life.

What is the thing?

And I'm gonna encourage you, like, think about what that one thing is and keep it to one simple step.

Don't get overly complicated.

We're not talking about radical transformation in this very moment.

We're talking about momentum and movement toward holiness, movement to getting out of the tank and following after Jesus.

What is the one thing that you can do right now to begin to follow him more faithfully?

Jesus looked at him, verse 21.

And he loved him.

One thing you lack, he said, go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven.

Then come follow me.

Then it is followed by the saddest words in the story.

The man walked away, sad, because he had many possessions.

The truth is, we don't know what he did.

Maybe he did go home and he began to sell everything and give.

Maybe he began to follow Jesus and was faithful and lived a great Christian life.

Maybe he just went home and continued to live his life.

I don't know what his story turned out to be, but you can determine yours.

You can make a decision right now that you're gonna follow after Jesus, you're gonna be gonna let go of those things you've been white knuckling.

So the question I have for you is very simply this what is it that if Jesus put his finger on it, you would walk away sad?

As we prepare to move into our time of next steps, I want to encourage you to have that in your mind.

My guess is it's already there.

You already know.

Maybe you haven't been honest with yourself yet, but you already know.

You know what that thing is.

You need to start letting go of.

You know that thing that if Jesus walked up to you right now and said, I need you to, I need you to surrender this, you'd be like, uh, I don't know if I can do that.

So we enter our time and next episode.

I just want you to like prayerfully think, God, what is it?

What is it that you're calling me to surrender, and then take the bold step today to surrender.

Could you pray with me?

God, this is a story about another man from many years ago.

But sometimes it feels so much like our own.

That there are like we we strive to be good people.

We strive to live our lives the way that we we know you you've called us to live our lives, but but Lord, there are times that you come up to our lives and you put your finger on an area of our life and you say, I need, but I need you to surrender that.

And God, we walk away sad.

Today, in the name of Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit, would you begin to convict us of what that space is?

Every single one of us, begin to whisper into our hearts and our souls, what is the thing, what is the thing that if you put your finger on it, we begin to walk away sad.

And Lord, may you give us the boldness and the courage to not leave this place today sad.

May we leave this place overjoyed because for the first time in our life we surrendered something that has kept us from you.

Lord, would you would you just speak?

Convict us of what we need to be convicted of.

Look at us, love us, and then speak the hard truth to us.

And we know, Lord, that you will walk every step of the journey with us so that we can become more and more like you.

It's in Christ's name we pray.

Amen.