All Things are Possible with God

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We're going to be in the 10th chapter of Mark, and we're going to look at verses 17 through 27 this morning.
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And so, I would ask that you please stand as is our custom and read with me.
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So again, from the 10th chapter of Mark, beginning in the 17th verse.
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As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked him, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
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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.
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And he said to him, teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.
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Looking at him, Jesus fell to love for him and said to him, one thing you lack, go and sell all you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.
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And come, follow me.
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But at these words, he was saddened and he went away grieving for he was one who owned much property.
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Let's pray.
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Lord, as we turn to your word this morning, give us eyes to see, give us ears to hear, open our hearts that we might have understanding.
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And I pray, Father, that you would help me to proclaim only truth this morning.
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That if there is any falsehood that comes out of my mouth, that you would block it from those who hear.
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Lord, help us to worship you.
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Help us to go away from here more equipped to be both faithful and fruitful.
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For it's in the name of Jesus that we pray.
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Amen.
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You may be seated.
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With the materialism that plagues our society, we should not be surprised that it appears as if fewer and fewer people are interested in the topic of salvation.
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As long as people have the latest gadgets, can visit the neatest websites, or drive the best cars, then they act as if their lives have been fulfilled until the next gadget becomes available.
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People are less prone to discuss the need for salvation now because people are less prone to believe that they are sinful.
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We spend a lot of time trying to convince ourselves that we are okay and need to repent of nothing.
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It's false of us to do that, but that's kind of where our society is right now.
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However, Christians are different because we recognize that before a holy God, we are sinful.
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Therefore, salvation is of the utmost importance to the Christian.
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In fact, from a human perspective, salvation is why we are Christians.
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We believe that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins at the cross.
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When he died on the cross, God's requirement for justice was met.
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Christ's payment for our sins was accepted, and by faith given to us, God has declared to us that the righteousness that Jesus Christ earned has been applied to us.
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You see, salvation simply said is being declared righteous by God, meaning that the sinner has had his sins paid for and is therefore declared by God to be without blame.
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Different religions also try to answer these questions.
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What is salvation, and how are people saved? The first question we have already addressed, but to the second, only three possible answers exist.
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Do people save themselves? Do God and men work together to bring about salvation? Or does God work alone to save people? We're not going to spend this morning addressing how different religions describe salvation and answer these questions.
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We're Christians.
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We believe the Bible to be true, and therefore we are going to once again look into this great book and examine afresh the ever-important question, who saves? Several passages in Scripture answer this question, our text for this morning being one of them.
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So let us consider the context in which we find our passage.
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The Gospel of Mark, we believe, really was written by Mark.
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The church has historically thought that Mark was an associate of Peter's.
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Commentators have concluded that Mark was actually written to a Gentile audience.
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For our passage this morning, this last statement is important because in our passage, Jesus uses the Mosaic Law to demonstrate to someone we commonly refer to as the rich young ruler that he cannot render himself righteous before God by keeping the law.
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Certainly Mark has a reason why he uses the Mosaic Law to communicate this truth to a Gentile audience.
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Before we go further, let's address this question.
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Why is this man referred to as the rich young ruler? To arrive at this title for this man, we need to look at all three accounts of this conversation.
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All three accounts of this conversation in Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicate that this man was rich.
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However, only in Matthew's account do we read that the man was young.
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You can see Matthew chapter 19 and verse 20.
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And only in Luke's account do we read that the man was a ruler.
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You can see that in Luke 18, 18.
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So putting all three of these accounts together, we have arrived at a title for this man.
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We call him the rich young ruler.
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Now let's return to the question of using the Mosaic Law to demonstrate to Gentiles that people cannot save themselves.
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Most Gentiles would not know about the Mosaic Law.
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So why refer to it? How could Mark communicate such an important truth to a group of people who knew very little about the Mosaic Law that Mark is using in this passage? Consider what we read this morning as our call to worship from Romans chapter 2, starting in verse 14.
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All societies have rules by which the people are governed.
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Certainly the Gentile societies in the Roman Empire had rules.
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They had laws.
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So even though they did not have the Mosaic Law, they knew that there was right and wrong.
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Because their conscience bore witness to the fact that there is right and wrong.
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And they knew that it was their responsibility to do what is right and to refrain from what is wrong.
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Therefore they knew the importance of keeping the law.
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And Mark is going to demonstrate to his Gentile audience that people cannot keep perfectly God's law.
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So let's begin examining our text.
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We read here in Mark 10 that this man runs to Jesus and kneels before Jesus.
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There is an urgency on the part of this man.
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The question of eternal life clearly is on his mind.
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The fact that he kneels before Jesus demonstrates that he respects Jesus.
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He calls Jesus good teacher.
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This greeting brings an interesting response from Jesus.
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You see, it was common for Jesus to be called teacher.
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There are several passages in Matthew and Mark and in Luke and John where we read of him being called teacher.
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Here are three specific ones from the Gospel of Matthew.
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Chapter 8 and verse 19 says, Then a scribe came and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
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Matthew 9-11 says, When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why is your teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners? And Matthew 12-38 says, Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.
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Mark contains several verses where Jesus is referred to as teacher, as does Luke.
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What is uncommon is the use of the word good to describe him.
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The word order in the original, as one commentator notes, places the emphasis upon Jesus when Jesus asked the question, Why do you call me good? Because the word order is really, why me do you call good? Let's consider some passages in scripture where the word good is used.
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In Luke 1-53 we read that God fills the hungry with good things.
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In Matthew 7-11, which is repeated in Luke 11-13, we read that God gives good gifts to his children.
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In Ephesians 2-10 we read that God has prepared good works for us to complete.
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James 1-17 says, Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
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You see, all things that are good are from God himself.
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So if Jesus is a good teacher, then he has come from God.
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If we follow the biblical use of the word good.
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So when Jesus responds with the question, Why do you call me good? And then states only God is good alone.
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Jesus is not denying that he is divine, as some might think.
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Rather, he is reminding this man that the word good is to be used to describe God.
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Jesus is asking this man if the man truly believes that Jesus is from God.
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If he is from God, then Jesus speaks truth.
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If the word good is to be used for those things that are from God, and the Jews were looking for the Messiah, then why does this man not refer to Jesus as the good Messiah, or good Savior, or good Son of God, or some other title to denote that he believes that Jesus is from God? I think the answer is that this man does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
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Look at his question to Jesus.
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Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? His question is not, How is God going to provide my salvation? Rather, he asks, What works can he do to inherit eternal life? The gospel message is not about what people can do to earn salvation.
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Rather, the gospel message is about what God has done to save his people from the penalty of their sins.
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Yet, Jesus does not tell this man directly that he cannot earn his own salvation.
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Rather, Jesus is going to let this man figure it out for himself.
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The Savior's response begins with the law.
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Jesus says in verse 19, You know the commandments.
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Do not murder.
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Do not commit adultery.
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Do not steal.
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Do not bear false witness.
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Do not defraud and honor your father and mother.
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Commentators have a lot to say about these commandments.
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Jesus recites many of the commands that are from the second of the two tablets.
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However, he does not mention the last commandment, Do not covet.
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One commentator noted that since the man in our story is rich, coveting may not be the commandment with which he has issue.
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Also, the fact that Jesus says here, Do not defraud is worth mentioning because it is not one of the ten commandments.
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In Matthew's version, which is in chapter 19 of his gospel, Do not defraud is not included in the discussion.
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However, love your neighbor as yourself is included.
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In Luke's version in chapter 18 of his gospel, Neither do not defraud nor love your neighbor as yourself are included.
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One commentator notes that Jesus includes the statement Do not defraud because the man is wealthy and wants to remind him of his responsibility to be fair in his business dealings.
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So I think Mark includes it here because it is relevant to a Gentile audience, whereas Matthew does not include it because it is not explicitly one of the ten commandments, and Matthew was written to a Jewish audience.
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This brings us to the inclusion of the second greatest commandment, also known as the golden rule.
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Although the golden rule is not included in the ten commandments, Jesus says in Matthew 22 that it is the second greatest commandment.
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In verse 36 of Matthew 22, we read, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
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This is the great and foremost commandment.
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The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.
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Jesus says this because these commandments are found in the Old Testament.
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In Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5, we read, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your might.
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In Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 18, we read, You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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I am the Lord.
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The two greatest commandments are straight from the Old Testament and the second of these, Matthew, includes in this list of commandments that Jesus gives to this young man.
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The others that are listed do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother appear in all three versions of this conversation between Jesus and this young man.
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Consider also that Jesus does not give this young man any further clarification of the meaning of these commands.
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Recall Jesus' explanation in the Sermon on the Mount regarding two of these commands.
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In Matthew chapter 5 and verse 21, we read, You have heard that the ancients were told you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.
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But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.
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Beginning in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 27, we read, You have heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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See, to his disciples, he gives clarification as to the true meaning of these commands.
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To God, the condition of the heart is just as, if not more important than the act itself.
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He does not give this young man any such clarification.
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For some reason, Jesus intentionally does not give this young man any such clarification.
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Matthew wrote his gospel for a Jewish audience, and therefore Matthew places tremendous emphasis upon the law.
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Hence, Matthew includes Jesus quoting the Golden Rule because Matthew wants to be specific to his Jewish audience that this young man has shown that he cannot keep the law in its entirety.
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However, Mark does not include Jesus quoting the Golden Rule, not because Jesus did not say it, but because Mark's theme is not the importance of the law, but rather the authority of Jesus.
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Now, there are several verses here from the gospel of Mark, but I want to emphasize this point that Mark's theme is the authority of Jesus.
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In chapter 1 and verse 16 of Mark, beginning there through verse 20, Jesus calls some of his disciples, and the text says immediately they come follow him.
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In chapter 1, verses 25 and 26, Jesus commands an unclean spirit to come out of a man, and the spirit obeys.
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In chapter 1, verses 29 through 31, we read that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law of an illness.
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In chapter 1, verses 40 through 42, we read that Jesus heals a leprous man.
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In chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, Jesus heals a paralytic man.
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In chapter 3 and verse 5, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand.
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In chapter 4, verse 39, Jesus rebukes the wind and the sea, and they become calm.
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In chapter 5, verses 1 through 13, we read about Jesus casting out a legion of demons from a man.
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In chapter 5 and verse 29, Jesus heals a woman who has an issue of blood.
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In chapter 5, verses 41 through 42, Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead.
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In chapter 6, verses 41 through 44, Jesus takes five loaves of bread and two fish, and he feeds thousands.
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In chapter 6 and verse 49, Jesus walks on water.
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In chapter 7, verse 29, he casts out a demon from a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, and the daughter was not even present.
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In chapter 8, verses 5 through 8, he feeds thousands, this time with seven loaves of bread.
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In chapter 9, verses 2 through 7, we read about Jesus being transfigured.
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And in chapter 9, verse 25, he heals a boy who is deaf and mute because of an unclean spirit.
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This is a long list, but notice that this is not a list of Mark simply repeating the same type of miracle over and over that Jesus accomplished.
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Note the variety of miracles.
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Jesus displays his authority over the supernatural and natural worlds.
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In the natural world, he demonstrates authority over the human body, including over life itself, over the weather, and over matter itself, when he made all the food from just a few loaves of bread and fish.
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Since Mark's theme is the authority of Jesus, then Mark is more concerned about demonstrating the authority of Jesus to a Gentile audience than he is at demonstrating the authority of the Mosaic law.
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Return to our text, where we see this young man attempts to justify himself and declare himself righteous.
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In verse 20, he says to him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.
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In his mind, this young man has kept the law.
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He says he has kept all these things from his youth up.
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This is an important phrase, from my youth up, because he is trying to demonstrate to Jesus how well he has kept the law.
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Consider the following passages in Scripture in Genesis, chapter 48 and verse 15.
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Jacob says, The God before whom my fathers and Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.
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In other words, from my youth up.
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Acts chapter 26 and verse 4.
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The Apostle Paul says, So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up.
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In a prayer asking for Israel's deliverance from her enemies, we read in Psalm 129 and verse 1, Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up, let Israel now say.
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Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed against me.
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This phrase, from my youth up, is a phrase that denotes how serious this young man is about how he has lived his life.
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He truly believes that he has kept the law and is now asking Jesus, in essence, to agree with him and declare him righteous.
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This view of the young man is also heightened by the verb here translated, kept.
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The word here can mean, I have guarded or I have observed, according to one commentator.
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This young man is emphasizing his keeping the law.
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He has guarded his conduct.
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He has observed the law.
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We read that Jesus felt a love toward this young man.
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I think this is why Jesus does not strongly rebuke him.
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Rather, Jesus is going to give the young man something to do that he cannot do.
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Therefore, Jesus will prove to this young man that he cannot keep the law.
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Look in verse 21.
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The Lord says, Yes, Jesus is demonstrating to this young man that he does not love his neighbor as himself as Matthew tries to communicate.
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However, Mark's emphasis is upon Jesus' authority.
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This young man began by recognizing Jesus' authority for he knelt before Jesus and refers to Jesus as good teacher.
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By recognizing Jesus' authority, this young man is submitting himself to Jesus' instruction.
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Jesus gives him a series of instructions.
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Go.
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Sell all you possess.
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Give to the poor.
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Come.
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Follow me.
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Go is a simple command.
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Yet, by obeying this command, this young man would demonstrate that he would be intentional about carrying out this command.
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Sell all you possess would be the young man abandoning the world system.
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Give to the poor indicates this young man is not going to rely on the world system and come follow me indicates that he would leave the world behind to follow Christ.
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This young man ultimately rejects Jesus' authority.
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Note his response to Jesus' instruction in verse 22.
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Ultimately, he trusted in the world system and wealth more than he did in Jesus Christ.
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And Jesus is going to use this as an object lesson for his disciples who have watched this entire event unfold.
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Look in verse 23.
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And Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples, How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.
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People trust in their efforts, their works.
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We have a very difficult time realizing that our works do not measure up to God's standard.
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Yet, scripture is clear that the works of men will not render them justified before God.
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This young man is another example of that truth.
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According to Matthew's gospel, he did not love his neighbor as himself.
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And according to Mark's gospel, he would not submit to the authority of Jesus Christ.
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He could not demonstrate that he was without blame.
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Yet, it is important to note that Jesus' disciples were surprised at this statement.
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If any could earn their way into heaven, surely a rich man could do enough good works to earn God's favor.
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However, look at the next verse.
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The disciples were amazed at his words.
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Jesus must have known that this was their response because he does not make it any easier for his disciples to grasp this truth.
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He continues, But Jesus answered again and said to them, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
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What a statement! The eye of a needle is small, it's incredibly small.
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If you've ever tried to thread one, you know this.
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A camel is large, incredibly large.
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How can a large object go through a small hole? It cannot.
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And this is Jesus' point.
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A rich man, in fact, no man can enter heaven based upon his own merit.
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He must have a Savior.
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From a human perspective, though, a rich man is more likely to trust in riches than a poor man.
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A rich man will therefore have more difficulty submitting to God.
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A rich man will have more difficulty realizing his own works are as filthy rags.
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This brings a logical question from his disciples.
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Verse 26 says, They were even more astonished and said to him, Then who can be saved? If a rich man cannot save himself, then who can be saved? If a rich man cannot earn his salvation, then a poor man has no hope at all.
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You can just hear the disciples having this discussion.
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Clearly we see this, that at this time, they do not yet understand the gospel.
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They are still at a point where they believe that a man earns salvation by his own works.
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Now Jesus reveals the point he wants to make with this entire episode.
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Verse 27 says, Looking at them, Jesus said, With people it is impossible, but not with God.
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For all things are possible with God.
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With people salvation is impossible.
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We cannot keep the law.
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We are not able to submit to God's law.
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And therefore we are not able to render ourselves righteous before God.
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A rich man cannot do it.
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A poor man cannot do it.
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Men simply cannot render themselves without blame before a just and holy God.
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This is the great message that the church has.
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Salvation is possible with God.
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Where men fail, God succeeds.
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Where men cannot, God can.
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Where men are powerless, God is powerful.
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With man this is impossible, but not with God.
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For all things, and let me add, including salvation, are possible with God.