"The Story of the Rich Young Ruler" (Sermon on Mark 10:17-22)

Today we have “The Story of the Rich Young Ruler.” It’s a story of idolatry, of the false gods that people have. But it’s also a story of love, the love that Jesus has for sinners, that he calls us to give up on our idols and to follow him in faith. Because that’s the only way that you and I will ever gain eternal life. “Come, follow me,” Jesus says, “and you will have treasure in heaven.”

The story of the rich young ruler. We find this story recorded in three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Luke tells us that he was a ruler, probably meaning he was a leader in his local synagogue. Matthew tells us that he was young. And all three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, tell us that he was rich. Thus, “the rich young ruler.”

So this young man comes running up to Jesus and kneels before him. I guess that’s why we know that he was young, because he can still run and kneel! He’s heard about this rabbi, Jesus, who shows so much wisdom in his teaching. And the young man evidently has a strong interest in getting an answer to a question that’s been bothering him. He asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Notice, he calls Jesus “Good Teacher.” He’s approaching Jesus respectfully, as a teacher who may have some advice to offer on this question about inheriting eternal life. But he sees Jesus only as a merely human teacher. A good rabbi, but that’s it.

So Jesus deals with that problem first: “Why do you call me good?” he says. “No one is good except God alone.” In other words, if you want to find out the key to gaining eternal life, you need more than just one man’s opinion. Only God holds that key. You need an answer from God, not just some advice from a rabbi or philosopher or best-selling author.

Then notice what’s embedded in the young man’s question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He thinks it’s a matter of his doing. “There must be some good work I need to do in order to merit, and thus inherit, eternal life. What is it? Have I left something out? I’ll ask this teacher. Maybe he can tell me.”

Now at least the young man’s question shows that he has a concern for obtaining eternal life. That’s important. He realizes that much, that we’re all going to have to face the music some day and meet our Maker. There will come a day of reckoning, the final Judgment Day. Then it will be either eternal life or eternal damnation for every one of us.

But Jesus must deal with this idea of eternal life by way of doing good works. He needs to disabuse this young man of that notion. Oh, it’s a common thought that people have. We come to it naturally, that the way to get on God’s good side is by how much good we can do. We have to show ourselves to be better than the bad people. And we do that by piling up our good works, racking up enough brownie points to outweigh our negatives.

Now if the young man is going to ask a Law question, Jesus will give him a Law answer. “You know the commandments,” he tells the young man. And then he quotes some of them: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” In other words: There’s no super-secret special good deed you need to do, if you want to gain eternal life by way of your works. You already know what to do. God has already told you in the Ten Commandments. So then, young man, how do you measure up?

“Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” Ah, now we’re getting to the problem. The young man thinks he already has done these things well enough. And, compared to most people, he probably has. I’m sure he was a fine young man, a paragon of virtue. To be a synagogue ruler already, at a young age--he probably was an exemplary young man.

But there was something missing. Something was nagging at his conscience, like he hadn’t done enough. Why else would he be asking Jesus this question? And if we’re honest with ourselves, our conscience would be telling us the same thing: Have I really been good enough? Have I really done enough? Should God really be pleased with me? You see, the reality is that there’s this matter of eternity looming ahead of us. How do we know if we’re going to have eternal life? And deceiving yourself into thinking you’ve done enough good works to earn it--well, that isn’t going to cut it. The law will always accuse you.

The young man thinks he has done enough by way of the commandments. Not murdering, not stealing, not committing adultery: “All these I have kept from my youth.” He has led an outwardly respectable life. So now Jesus is going to put his finger on an even bigger problem that the young man has, namely, his idolatry. The young man has a false god.

In the Large Catechism, under the First Commandment, Luther explains what it is to have a god: “Whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god.” And he goes on to say of money and possessions: “Mammon is the most common idol on earth.”

That’s what the rich young ruler’s idolatry was. And Jesus knew it. Our text says: “And 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.’” Notice, Jesus looked at the young man and “loved him.” Jesus loves this young man. He wants him to know the truth and to gain eternal life. But in order for that to happen, the young man needs to repent of his idolatry, of his false god, Mammon.

Friends, Jesus looks at you and me today, and he loves us. That’s why he reveals our idols to us and calls us to repentance. He’s doing that because he loves us. Jesus wants us to inherit eternal life. He wants us to have treasure in heaven.

“You lack one thing,” Jesus tells the young man; “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor.” Well, is that the secret? Selling off your possessions, helping the poor? Will that gain you eternal life? Is that your ticket to heaven? Yeah, you’ve kept the commandments pretty well, but now, if do this one more super-duper good work, then you’re in! Is that it?

No, Jesus is not here prescribing an additional good work for you to do to earn your way into heaven. Instead, Jesus here puts his finger on the young man’s idol. It was his wealth. His money, his possessions--that was his god. That’s what he placed the highest value on. That was the idolatry he needed to repent of.

Jesus here is showing the young man that he is indeed a sinner. If he thought he could get by on his outward good works, Jesus here shows him that he is still clinging inwardly to an idol. Friends, like the rich young man, we all need to hear that we are sinners. We’re not going to make it on the basis of our keeping the commandments. That will not gain for us eternal life and treasure in heaven.

So, is there anything that will? Yes, and it’s what Jesus is referring to here when he says, “You lack one thing.” That one thing needful is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to that treasure in heaven. He is the key to inheriting eternal life. That’s why Jesus invites the young man--and invites each one of us--saying, “Come, follow me.” Come, follow Jesus, and you will discover that he’s far more than merely a “good teacher.” Indeed, he is the very Son of God, come down from heaven for us men and for our salvation.

Earlier I said that our text today was “The Story of the Rich Young Ruler.” And that’s true. Because really, Jesus himself is “the rich young ruler” who did leave everything behind for us poor sinners. “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 by his poverty might become rich.” Yes, Christ set aside the riches of heaven and came in our flesh as a servant. He bore our sins and the weight of our idolatry--for we all have worshiped false gods--and he, Jesus, suffered the judgment for our sins by his death on the cross. He did this for your sake, that you might become rich, so that you would have a treasure in heaven.

What is this treasure you will inherit? Eternal life. Death is not the end for you. Life, everlasting life, opens up before you. It is life with Christ, life that overcomes the grave, even as Jesus himself rose from the dead, lives, and reigns to all eternity. It is eternal life in Christ’s everlasting kingdom. You and I will be there, rejoicing with all the saints of all ages in the presence of God. No more sin, no more sorrow. Glorified bodies in a restored creation. This is the treasure Christ has won for you, and it’s waiting for you in heaven.

The rich young man went away disheartened and sorrowful, “for he had great possessions.” Or you might say, his possessions had him. He was not ready to give up his idol. But not so with you. You know that any false god cannot save you. But there is one true God who will. “Come, follow me,” Jesus says to you today, “and you will have treasure in heaven.”

Mark 10:17-22 (ESV)

As [Jesus] 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?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 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.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And 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.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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