Scripture Reference: Mark 10
The First Shall Be Last – Continued
Please read Mark 10:17-31 for background to this section.
From last lesson: The Law can bring the sinner to Christ, but the Law cannot make the sinner like Christ. Only grace can do that.
The young ruler did not see himself as a condemned sinner before the holy God. He had a superficial view of the Law of God, for he measured obedience only by external actions and not by inward attitudes as so many of his day did. As far as his actions were concerned, he was blameless (see Philippians 3:6); but his inward attitudes were not blameless, because he was covetous. He may have kept some of the commandments, but the last commandment caught him: “Thou shalt not covet!” Covetousness is a terrible sin; it is subtle and difficult to detect, and yet it can cause a person to break all the other commandments. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Looking at this young man, you would conclude that he had everything, but Jesus said that one thing was lacking: a living faith in God. Money was his god: he trusted it, worshiped it, and got his fulfillment from it. His morality and good manners only concealed a covetous heart.
Our Lord’s directions in Mark 10:21 are not to be applied to everyone who wants to become a disciple, because Jesus was addressing the specific needs of the rich young ruler. The man was rich, so Jesus told him to liquidate his estate and give the money to the poor. The man was a ruler, so Jesus told him to take up a cross and follow Him which would be a humbling experience. Jesus offered this man the gift of eternal life, but he turned it down. It is difficult to receive a gift when your fist is clenched around money and the things money can buy. The Greek word translated “sorrowful [grieved]” gives the picture of storm clouds gathering. The man walked out of the sunshine and into a storm! He wanted to get salvation on his terms, and he was disappointed.
The disciples were shocked at the Lord’s declaration about wealth, because most Jews thought that the possession of great wealth was the evidence of God’s special blessing. Many people today still cling to this error, in spite of the message of Job, the example of Christ and the Apostles, and the clear teaching of the New Testament. In the case of this young man, his wealth robbed him of God’s greatest blessing, eternal life. Today, wealth continues to make rich people poor and the first last (see 1 Corinthians 1:26–31).
Money is a marvelous servant but a terrible master. If you possess money, be grateful and use it for God’s glory; but if money possesses you, beware! It is good to have the things that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things that money cannot buy. The deceitfulness of riches had so choked the soil of this young man’s heart that he was unable to receive the good seed of the Word and be saved (Matthew 13:22). What a bitter harvest he would reap one day!
However, Peter’s response indicated that there were a few problems in his own heart. “What shall we have?” (Matthew 19:27) This statement reveals a rather commercial view of the Christian life: “We have given up everything for the Lord; now, what will we get in return?” Contrast Peter’s words with those of the three Hebrew men in Daniel 3:16–18, and with Peter’s later testimony in Acts 3:6. He certainly came a long way from “What shall we have?” to “What I have, I will give!”
Jesus assured His disciples that no one who follows Him will ever lose what is really important, either in this life or in the life to come. God will reward each one. However, we must be sure our motives are right: “For My sake and the gospel’s” (see Mark 8:35). The well-known Christian industrialist of a decade ago, R.J. LeTourneau, used to say, “If you give because it pays, it won’t pay!” If we sacrifice only to get a reward, that reward will never come.
Note that Jesus also promised “persecutions.” He had already told His disciples what both the Jews and Gentiles would do to Him in Jerusalem, and now He informed them that they would have their share of persecution. God balances blessings with battles, developing mature sons and daughters.
To the general public, the rich ruler stood first and the poor disciples stood last. But God saw things from the perspective of eternity, and the first became last while the last became first! Those who are first in their own eyes will be last in God’s eyes, but those who are last in their own eyes will be rewarded as first! What an encouragement for true disciples!
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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