So, I have been reading through the Bible chronologically, and this morning I read Matthew 19 and Mark 10.  I gleaned so much from these chapters regarding following Jesus.  Give them a read and meet me back here.  

So the rich young ruler had come to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”.  Jesus answered him by listing certain commandments he had to follow – Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t bear false witness, honor your parents, love your neighbor as yourself.  The rich young ruler answered Jesus, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 

I found myself pondering a bit why Jesus chose those particular commandments to list for the rich young ruler.  The ten commandments are divided into two sections: four commandments that are “man towards God” and then six commandments that are “man towards man”.  Why did Jesus list the commandments that were all man towards man, and not the ones about our relating to God?  

As I sat in that for a bit, I began to wonder if it was because the commandments Jesus listed were things rooted in “do”.  Was Jesus choosing to stay in the realm of this rich young ruler’s original question — “what good thing must I DO to obtain eternal life?“?  

The rich young ruler’s response, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” opened the door for Jesus to flip the script – away from a “do” mentality and towards matters of the heart. 

The last in the list of commandments Jesus had given this man was “Love your neighbor as yourself”.  Jesus telling this rich young man to “Go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” would reveal that he was breaking this last commandment.  

In His answer, Jesus steered him away from the “do” mentality by showing him his lack of love for the poor.  This man loved his stuff more than he loved the poor.  Both of those – his love of stuff and his lack of love for his neighbor – were matters of the heart.  

Jesus was teaching us that salvation isn’t something we DO.  It’s an inside act done by God Himself.   Salvation is God making us alive in Christ and making our heart new.  That’s first, and then as we grow to be more like Jesus, our behavior will reflect the new life within.  What I saw in this rich young ruler was that he was treating the kingdom of God as merely one more thing to “acquire”.  The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus, grieving. 

Jesus used this interplay with the rich young ruler to teach those with Him how hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, and they then asked Him, “who then can be saved?“.  Jesus responded, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

As I read Mark 10, I was intrigued by the reaction of those who were with Jesus —the disciples were amazed – the followers were fearful.

The word AMAZED in Greek grammar was (imperfect–passive–indicative), and it means to stupefy with surprise; astound. “Passive” means that the disciples were the receivers of “amazed”, and “imperfect” indicates that the amazement was an ongoing thing as they did life with Jesus.  

The word FEARFUL in Greek grammar was (imperfect–active–indicative), and it means to be struck with fear or to be seized with alarm.  “Active” indicates that they are the doers of “fearful”, and we know what “imperfect” indicates.   

Those are two really different responses, aren’t they?

In looking at those responses, it becomes apparent that the people “following” Jesus, although physically following Him, weren’t spiritually invested in following because the teaching about selling their stuff and giving money to the poor seized them with alarm. Like “Oh my gosh!  I have to sell my stuff?!”  

At that moment, these people were challenged to count the cost of following Jesus, and sadly, they thought it would cost them more than they were willing to give. They’d heard the truth and rejected it.  They were so close and yet so far.

So as I close out this blog entry, I must ask, “which group do you identify with?”, the disciples who had given up everything and followed Jesus, continuing to be amazed by Him?  Or do you identify with those just physically going through the motions of “following” Jesus, but not willing to make the sacrifices to be a fully-devoted follower of Him?  The answers to those questions are of eternal importance. 

I can tell you from experience that life with Jesus is worth more than anything in this life that you might be challenged to let go of.  Doing life with Jesus will leave you in ongoing amazement.  Yep.  Jesus is worth more than anything this world could possibly offer.  

If you aren’t sure which group represents you, please reach out to me.  Your choice has eternal ramifications.