Haven’t
you heard people say it? I have. It is one of the main ways
preachers, evangelists, and just ordinary people deal with
this uncomfortable passage in the New Testament:
One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever
you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.
(Mark 10:21)
Didn’t He mean that for the rich young ruler alone?
Wasn’t it only for him and not for the rest of us?
You know, only for those people who have a “problem”
with their riches. Isn’t that what the context of
Yahshua’s words tells us? You can tell that the rich
young ruler had a “problem” with riches because
he went away sad.
But who has riches and doesn’t trust in them? When
the Great Depression began and the stock market crashed,
people jumped out of windows and killed themselves. When
their wealth was gone, they had nothing to fall back upon.
They certainly trusted in riches, and when their riches
were gone, they had nothing left to trust.
If you read the story carefully you can see that the rich
young ruler did trust Yahshua to a remarkable extent. He might have
known Him and His message better than we think. After all,
he came to Him because he knew that He had the ability to
grant him the one thing he lacked — eternal life.
He even knew there was something that he must do to
gain eternal life. But the answer to his question, “Good
teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
was not at all what he thought it would be.
It was a very hard thing to do — if you love your
own life in this world — but not if you hate your
life in this world.
Wealth: The Eternal Consequence
Yahshua said, “Woe to the rich, for they have their comfort in full.” That means in this life, not in the next. The word woe is one of finality. In the strongest terms it suggests impending doom or judgment. If one spends the majority of his lifetime chasing after wealth and the false sense of security it gives, then when he dies his soul will eternally bear the marks of it — the eternal consequences of yielding to a sordid lust for wealth and riches. His eternal destiny is among the unjust and filthy of humanity. Throughout eternity they remain in that state — still.[1]
If only the “rich young ruler”[2] had been willing to see the deep compromise of his own heart when he requested eternal life from the One he called, “Good Teacher.” If he had only obeyed, his eternal soul could have been released from the prison of his guilt — riches. In response to the gospel, he would have made himself poor in order to become truly rich.[3]
[1] Revelation 22:11
[2] Mark 10:17-30
[3] Mark 10:28-30
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Give Him a million shekels… climb up the Temple
steps a thousand times on his knees… build an orphanage…
go to Mount Sinai in the desert and listen to the voice
of God? So many things he would have done for eternal life,
even “Only believe!” But to give up all he
had and come, follow Him… that was too much. The Good Teacher
and he had different ideas about “the one thing he
lacked.”
The rich young ruler faced the cost of removing the guilt
from his conscience, and shuddered, forfeiting eternal life
instead of his possessions. Making right the damage his
wealth and careless ease had done to others, to the name
of God, and to his own soul, involved losing what he would
not let go of. He found his security in it.
So, the cost of this “treasure in heaven”
was too high — honoring God by obeying His
words. This meant humbly admitting that the Good Teacher
knew the way out of the predicament of his guilt.
It also meant doing all he could to satisfy His Father’s
heart that “there would be no poor in the land.”
And it meant making right any wrongs he had committed as
a rich man.
There was another wealthy man, a tax collector, who understood
this, too. It was the first thing on his conscience when
confronted with the mercy of God in the person of Yahshua.
Zaccheus gave half his wealth to charity and paid back what
he had defrauded from others four times over.
Like the rich young ruler, he understood he had to do
something to be worthy of receiving the Son of God.
Sounds heretical, I know, but it all depends on where your
heart is: “Where your treasure is there will your
heart be also.”
A Commonwealth
Many will justify their desire for wealth by pointing
to the examples of Abraham, King David, or King Solomon.
“Were they not wealthy?” But Abraham’s
wealth was in his flocks and his large household of
servants who were fiercely loyal to him. He obviously
loved and cared for them as if they were his own children.[1]
Likewise, King David was a man who gathered the disadvantaged
to himself, and cared for them as their shepherd and
captain.[2] His rulership united Israel and caused
all to prosper. It produced the Commonwealth of
Israel, a type of what would come as a spiritual
Israel under the New Covenant.[3]
King Solomon is the exception that proves the rule.
Although he started out well and caused the nation
to prosper, his love of luxury did the very thing
that Paul warned — he fell into temptation and
a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition.[4] In
the end, the Kingdom his father King David labored
to establish, was torn from him.[5]
The true living God would never desire to curse anyone
with such “prosperity.”[6] His desire
was for another type of prosperity, where the poor
in spirit would receive the blessing as they shared
what they had for the common good. It was the true
prosperity that Peter and the other disciples embraced.
Peter began to say to Him, “Behold,
we have left everything and followed You.”
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is
no one who has left house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or farms, for My
sake and the gospel’s sake, but that he shall
receive a hundred times as much now in this present
age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers
and children and farms, along with persecutions
and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark
10:28-30)
The disciples had embraced poverty for the sake of
the gospel, and in return they also received the blessing
of true riches.[7] In the Community of Messiah, no
one desires riches for themselves, but all is a commonwealth.[8]
The material wealth of those who believe is shared
among the needy and poor brotherhood. Therefore, all
things are held in common, so the wealth is evenly
distributed according to need.[9] As a result there
are no rich in the Body of Messiah, but there are
also no poor. This is true prosperity.
[1] Genesis 15:2-3;
24:1,2,10
[2] 1 Samuel 22:2
[3] Ephesians 2:12
[4] 1 Timothy 6:9
[5] 1 Kings 11:11-12
[6] 1 Timothy 6:5-8
[7] Mark 10:28-30; Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-37
[8] Ephesians 2:12
[9] Acts 4:32-35
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It seems like the rich young ruler wished that could be
the other way around: “Where your heart is, there
will your treasure be also,” but the Savior didn’t
say that. So the man turned away in grief and sorrow, understanding
the choice before him. Since then most people have not had
his sensitivity of conscience, for they only turn away with
a shrug. “Hard sayings,” they say, and turn
away.
Yahshua knew how easy it would be to focus on the particular
circumstances of this “rich man” and not see
that it applied to all who would believe in Him.
The “great astonishment” of His disciples showed
that even they did not really understand. But they had been
willing to do what the rich young ruler wasn’t: “See,
we have left all and followed you.”
They wanted to know, “What about us? Is there eternal
life for us?”
Remember, His disciples were “the poor” and
not the rich. What about them? By saying, “There is
no one...” Yahshua generalized His words to
this particular rich young ruler to include all, both rich
and poor:
Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who
has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother
or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,
who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time —
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children
and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to
come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)
The underlying issue of possessions is deeper than security.
It is authority. Yahshua was not teaching His disciples
to preach a gospel of salvation by philanthropy —
the good works of the wealthy. He was not training them
that eternal life was for sale with charity or alms. But
He was saying something very definitive about salvation:
“Are you going to do what I want you to do?”
Knowing what was in the heart of man, the Master thus
put His finger on the very nerve of human existence. He
was saying to this man what He says to every man and woman:
Unless I can be the highest Authority in your life there
is no salvation for you. This is why He said to the
multitudes in Luke 14:33, “So then, none of you
can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
The Antidote
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves
do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Our wealth has to be invested in something of eternal
significance or else we will receive our comfort in
full in this life. Eternity is a long time — a
long time of paying the price for destroying other people’s
lives while living a life full of the excessive desires
for selfish gain. The Rich Man who closed his eyes and
ears to the plight of his poor brother Lazarus learned
this too late.
But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you
are tormented.” Luke 16:25
The antidote for the toxic poison that accompanies the
love of money is what Paul commanded Timothy regarding
the rich. Herein is wisdom:
Command those who are rich in this present world to
not be haughty, nor to trust in the uncertainty of their
riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly everything
we need. Let them do good, that they be rich in good
works, ready to give [distribute their wealth],[1] willing
to share [inclined to make others sharers in their possessions],[2]
storing up for themselves a good foundation for the
time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
(1 Timothy 6:17-19)
To lay hold of what is truly life eternal, the rich
must surrender their riches. They cannot enter the
Kingdom of God while holding on to them. We know the
grievous example of Ananias and Sapphira who did not
fear God, but thought they could lie to the Holy Spirit.[3]
They tried to put on a front of distributing all their
wealth among their poor brothers in need, but kept
some back for their own security.[4] This is in contrast
to the examples of the other obedient disciples, including
Barnabas, who joyfully laid all he owned at the apostles’
feet in deep gratitude for his new life with his new
brothers in Messiah.[5]
[1] The Greek word is eumetadotos (#2130 in Strong’s
Concordance), meaning: ready to distribute, free to
impart (wealth).
[2] The Greek word is koinonikos (#2843 in Strong’s
Concordance), meaning: ready and apt to form and maintain
communion and fellowship; inclined to make others
sharers in one’s possessions.
[3] Acts 5:1-11
[4] Luke 14:33
[5] Acts 4:34-37
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When the disciples asked in their astonishment, “Who
then can be saved?” His answer comforted them, “All
things are possible with God.”
What almost everyone misses is that He goes on to explain
how it is “possible with God” in verses
29-30 — by forsaking all for His sake and the gospel’s
sake, resulting in a hundredfold return in the life shared
with all who believe, along with persecutions, and in the
age to come, eternal life.
Those who fail to see this must embrace the contradiction
that God would deny His very own word by granting eternal
life to someone who would not obey His word. Isn’t
that a lot to “hope” for with eternity at stake?
For more on the name Yahshua, see What's
in a Name.
John 12:25-26
Deuteronomy 15:4
Luke 19:1-10
Matthew 10:37-38
Matthew 6:21
Mark 10:28
Mark 10:26-27
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