Introduction
This story has such a sad
outcome. The rich man went away grieving, and was never heard about again. You
could say that this rich man went away … very poor. There were so many great
possibilities within this encounter, however, in the end, they were lost. The
Holy Spirit had been preparing this man for an encounter with Jesus, and even
brought the two together; yet this unnamed rich man did NOT find freedom. Sad
indeed!
The Holy Spirit is NOT short
of activity. The Holy Spirit is everywhere … bringing opportunities of faith,
renewal and ministry – in our home, in every café we visit, in the community
group, at the sporting ground, in the music venue, within the church. We just
need to dispense with whatever is holding us back, and leave behind whatever it
is we prize more highly than Jesus, and walk into freedom.
In the incident we have read,
money or wealth was the problem. And we will dig into what was going on in this
man’s life, and reflect on the way in which Jesus dealt with him … and why.
However, in reflecting on this scripture, we need to listen to the Holy Spirit
as to what our particular problem area might be (possibly very different
to the man in the story), and how we, particularly, are being
invited to respond to deepening our relationship with God.
A Sense of Need
We see that this rich man had
a keen sense of his own need, in the way he runs up to Jesus and kneels before
him. This also shows … that whatever he had heard about Jesus was enough to
think that Jesus could give him some answers. Despite his wealth, he was
discontented with his life, and perhaps recognised a spiritual void. This man
wanted to gain “eternal life” (v 17). And this was a reasonable question to ask
… maybe … depending on his mindset. Was this man asking with complete
sincerity, or rather, just seeking an ‘easy ticket’ to salvation? Was he just
looking for a sort of theoretical cut-and-dried answer, or was he prepared to
expose his inner being?
When he asked what he needed
to “do” (v 17), we might say that it was really a case of just accepting Jesus;
however, as we shall see, sometimes there are things that are stubbornly
standing in the way, that you do have to “do” something about. Looking at the
biblical context, the incident before this … is where Jesus welcomes the little
children to come to him. On that occasion he says (10:15), “Truly I tell you,
whoever does NOT receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter
it”. Aha! This speaks of empty-handedness, being uncluttered, acknowledging
dependence, and desiring to learn … all epitomised by little children. We need
to approach God with the sort of humility and openness that allows for
transformation in our life. We need to consider daily … what God might want to
teach us; and what God may want us to do in response!!
When the rich man refers to
Jesus as “Good teacher” (v 17), we see that Jesus queries the use of the word
“good”. What do you mean by calling me “good”? What does this man think is
“good”? What do we think is “good”? 'That's good', we say, but why is it "good"? Something that suits us, something
we like, or something much broader than this?! For instance, do we describe a
federal budget as “good” … because it works well for us personally, or …
because it serves the greatest needs within the community as a whole? Being
“good” is surely about much more than our own preferences! There is a sense
here, that this rich man may be looking for a convenient rather than
challenging answer!
Jesus Responds
Thus, Jesus quickly refers
the man to the ultimate source of all goodness … God … the actual definition of
goodness. This was so that Jesus could then refer the man to well-known
commandments that come directly out of the heart of God’s goodness. Aha! There
is a test of sincerity coming!! We should notice that the particular
commandments Jesus cites are the more ethical and social ones (out of the big
‘ten’) … the ones that deal with human relationships. Of course this is where
the rubber of loving God hits the road! {Jesus doesn’t quote the ones dealing
with idolatry, but probably doesn’t need to – this man knows them all.}
To make the coming ethical
test even stronger, on top of the command not to steal, Jesus includes another
instruction regarding not defrauding anyone. How does this man here think about
his wealth? {Now I’m NOT looking to judge wealthy people here, just let the
text speak for itself. This man had a problem that needed to be dealt with.}
This rich man thought that he had kept these commandments; but, if he had
really done so … why did he still feel so spiritually lacking. Has he really
kept these, or just deluded himself?
Maybe, he had actually missed
the point! Perhaps he had only applied an immature notion … that if he hadn’t
taken anything from another, if he hadn’t stolen anything literally, he was
okay!? At this moment, Jesus didn’t judge him, or berate him, but we read that
Jesus looked at him and “loved him”. Why did Jesus “love him”?? Because he is a
beautiful creation of God; because he was a seeker with an expressed need;
because he had potential for good; because Jesus knew there was a significant
challenge ahead of him {that he may not be able to respond to}!!
There is a sense of
tender compassion here; but still … NOT without a test of this man’s
genuineness. This man was on the precipice of deciding either for or against
God. Would he be able to do what was in his own best interests? Would he be
able to remove the barrier that stood before him? What Jesus was going to
present to this man, was for his own good, and was out of God’s good heart – if
he didn’t deal well with this, then he was going to miss out on the blessing
that he so much desired. The Holy Spirit is available to take us deeper into
God, but we have to be open for it.
The Challenge
To the rich man’s statement,
“Teacher, I have kept all these [commandments] since my youth”, we get Jesus’
reply (in verse 21): “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the
money to the poor”. If this man could do this, he would have “treasure in
heaven” {as he would have served the poor in a mighty way}, and also freedom to
“follow” Jesus. Jesus was reaching down deep into this man’s values and
motivations, and hoping to draw him into a proper understanding of the breadth
of God’s “goodness”.
The world is full of economic
inequity. Wealth is built at the expense of the poor. Hoarding wealth (without
generosity) … is in effect … stealing. You can’t have more resources, without
someone else having less. We have seen CEO salaries grow, while other people in
the same company lose their jobs. {Apparently one train of political thought is
to keep the poor working until they’re 70, to avoid having the rich pay a bit
more tax.} In effect, to gain more and more wealth, and then spend all your
time and effort keeping it, is to “steal” what really belongs to others.
Again in the biblical context, we
hear Jesus saying to his disciples in the next verse (10:23), “How hard it will
be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God”! How hard … the
disciples wonder? “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”, Jesus says (10:25).
That this is the problem being faced by this man, is seen in the fact that
Jesus didn’t just ask him to be more generous, but rather be prepared to give
it all away. This man needed a total reorientation. He thought that he had
obeyed the commandments, and may have done so at a legal level, but at the
depth of his spirit … he had NOT! His wealth had become a mountain blocking the
way to “eternal life”!!
Opportunity Lost
That this rich man had missed
the point of the ancient commandments (also the prophets who applied them), is seen through … the report that … he
was “shocked” … at what Jesus had asked of him (v 22). And this request was just too
much! Salvation had come so close, yet he couldn’t take hold of it. ‘Couldn’t’
… because money had become such a strong addiction (that his possessions
actually owned him); or … ‘wouldn’t’ take hold of it … because he
just loved his things so much, and they were giving him a sense of security.
Either way, he walked away! But, at the same time, he had this acute sense of
loss … he was “grieving” (v 22). He knew this was a lost opportunity, yet he still
couldn’t bring himself to fully embrace where the Spirit of God was leading
him. He remained in his discontent and spiritual unfulfillment.
Conclusion
Let us open ourselves to
wherever the Holy Spirit is leading us. We might need to leave something behind
that is just so consistently getting in the way and disrupting our growth. If
we are getting prompted about something, it would be much better NOT to ignore
this, but dig a little deep to identify what is going on – and getting some
trusted help as necessary. The need to let something, or some hurt, go, and forgive another. The need to forgive ourself. The need to say goodbye to a particular negative memory. The need to be liked, or have to be the centre of attention. The need to keep striving for that which we can have for free. The need to stop doing something that turns out to be destructive. The need to trust in God more ... to know that he has heard our prayers! What is it that makes us sad? What can we do about it? We might need to open up some space for the Holy
Spirit to give us something new – something better – “treasures in heaven”
rather than “treasures of earth”.
We often think that it is
evil, and darkness, and sinful behaviour … that separates us from God … and of
course these do. However, in this case of the ‘rich man’, It was not a direct
“sin” that was his problem, but rather his attitude to life, and by neglect,
his attitude to broader humanity. As believers and disciples, following Jesus
means growing more into his image. It is the Holy Spirit that aids this
process, by convicting us of what needs to change, and what will free us to be
the sort of people to make a difference for ‘good’ in the world … and invest in
those “treasures in heaven”. Let us NOT go away ‘sad’.
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