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March 1928
ciples plunges civilization downward and judgment from a righteous God is the in evitable result. V. 20. "And he said unto Him, Teacher, all these things have 1 observed from my youth.” Young men recognized Jesus as a teacher, for He was the greatest Teacher of the world. But He was more than a teacher: He was the Prophet of whom Moses spoke (Deut. 18:15f), and the Mes/ siah. Evidently this young man had lived a clean;4moral life, for which one may praise God. Oh that all young men could just as honestly make the same statement!/ V. 21. “And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, fol lows) MA” Although he had lived a clean, moral life,,there was .one thing which, he had neglected to do. He had no proper regard for the poor. ,He was selfish. Why did Jesus insist upon his selling his goods and distributing to the poor, while upon others He laid no such demand? Riches for this young man were as a millstone about his neck to sink his soul into per dition. To others upon whom He laid no such demands, riches were not such a spiritual hindrance. In order to have treasures in heaven, the young man was required not only to cast off the millstone o f riches from about his neck but to follow Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. . No one can come to God except through H im ; hence, Jesus promised him the .true riches in the eternal world if he would follow Him. V. 22. “ But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrow ful : for he was one that had great, possessions." This' young man failed to meet the chal lenge. It was the crisis o f his life. It is quite probable that by his rejecting the Saviour’s invitation on this occasion his heart was not stirred later, as.on this oc casion, to accept the Lord. Every refusal to respond to the call has its bad effect. “H e went away sorrowful.” His heart was centered upon his great possessions. V. 23. “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom o f God!” Riches seem to pos sess a power which pulls one from God and from spiritual things. It is not that there is evil inherent in material wealth, but the trouble lay in the fact that with a sufficiency o f material supplies one for gets his Maker and.ceases to realize his need. . Vs. 24, 25. "And the disciples ’ were amazed at His words. But Jesus an swered again, and saith ■ unto them, Chil dren, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom o f God! It is easier fo r a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than fo r a rich man to enter, into the kingdom o f God.” The grave danger which lies in the pos session of wealth is set forth in the illus tration of a camel and a needle’s eye. Re gardless o f whether the passage is to be taken literally, or the needle’s eye refers to a small gate o f a city, the illustration teaches the difficulty that a rich man ex periences in coming to God and entering into His kingdom. Vs. 26, 27. At this statement o f Jesus, the apostles were amazed and asked Him, “ Then who can be saved?” to which query Jesus answered, “ With men it is impos sible, but not with God: for all things are
in his heart he did homage to Him. He did not, however, render divine worship, as some others did. Addressing Jesus as “ Good Teacher,” he asked what he should do that he might in herit eternal life. It is. not quite clear just what he meant by calling Jesus “ Good Teacher,” i.e., whether he recognized in Jesus an excellent teacher who under stood the things he spoke or that the word “good” has a moral connotation. Regard less o f what his conception was concern ing Christ as Teacher, it is well known to us that He was a Good Teacher in the sense that He could teach on any subject, and could express Himself in words that all could understand, which is the essen tial characteristic o f a good teacher. It is also true that Jesus was good, since He was without sin and had a heart over flowing with goodness and kindness to wards all. The young man had an erroneous idea concerning how to obtain eternal life, as is indicated by his. question. According to his conception one had to do a certain amount o f good "work in order that he. might gain eternal life. If one had to depend upon his good works in order to inherit eternal life he could never be cer tain o f his salvation. Under the new covenant we are saved by the grace of God through faith. ■ V. 18. “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? Nòne is good save One, even God.” Jesus always endeavor ed to call forth an expression o f faith oh the part o f those who approached Him. God often deals with His peopìé by bring ing them into situations that will call forth and develop faith. Mark does not record any answer to this question but immedi ately tells us that Jesus' said that there is none good except God. W e are not to infer that Jesus admitted that He was conscious o f sin. On one occasion He challenged His enemies to point to one sin o f which He was guilty, but they were unable to answer a word. In what sense, then, did Jesus mean there was none good except God? He may have been using the word “good” according to the current philosophical conception, namely: The Absolute Good. He would not class Jesus, whom men considered merely a man, in the same category with God the Father, who had never limited Himself by the' limitations of the flesh. This statement does not mean that Jesus did not claim that He was God, for continually He made that claim. V. 19. " Thou knowest the command ments, Do not kill, Do not commit aduh tery, Do not steal, Do not bear false wit ness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother.” These commandments are taken from the Decalogue and contain the fundamental moral principles which un derlie 'correct conduct. On another oc casion Jesus, upon being asked what was the greatest commandment of the law, replied that to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength was the first and great commandment, and that the second one was to love one’s neighbor as himself, which two commandments embrace all. If one really loves God with his whole heart, and loves his neighbor as himself, he will do all of the things required in the Deca logue, and will refrain from those things which are prohibited by the same. The moral part o f the Ten Commandments is summed up in the Golden Rule. A dis regard for these fundamental moral prin
“ If we cannot give the lordly sums The rich men gave with pride, W e may cast therein the widow’s mite As we pass the Saviour’s side.” —o— P ith and P oint . The platform of law-keeping cannot be raised high enough to enable a man to step off into heaven. The commandments are sharp pins that will pop the balloon of self-conceit ,(v. 19). Modern version—There’s no disgrace in poverty, (unless your neighbors find it •out). “He is the truly rich man who lives upon what he has, owes nothing and is contented” (H ow e). .He gives most who gives best (12:43). The greatness o f a gift cannot be de termined by an amount. Giving is an act o f worship judged in heaven by motive, not amount. S uggestive Q uestions . Where did the idea o f “doing” in order to merit eternal life, originate? (V . 17.; cf, Gen. 4:3.) Was Jesus denying His absolute good ness? (V . 18; cf. Jn. 8:29,46; 14:30.) What is the onlyi|‘‘doing” that leads to salvation? (Jn. 6:28-29.) , Was there any possibility that the, young man had kept the law? (V . 20; cf. Jas. 2:10-11.) Did Jesus place any value upon the good qualities o f an unsaved man? (V . 21; cf. Jn. 1:47.) , What is the best way to be rich? (1 Tim. 6 :18.) Who then can be saved? (V . 26; 1 Tim. 1 :1S.) —o— G olden T ext I llustration .1 , Where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. —Mt. 6:21. A minister called one day to - see a wealthy church attendant. “ I understand you’re very dangerously situated,” began the minister. “ Is that so?” / came the answer, “ I have not been aware o f it.” Said the minister: “ I hear you’re getting rich—take care. That is the road on which Satan has led thousands to destruc- tion-” . I m , ate 'T 'H E occurrences of this lesson followed • immediately the events studied in the lesson o f last Lord’s Day; namely, as Jesus was journeying through Peraea on.
His way to Jerusalem to attend the last Passover, at which time He was- cruci fied. V.' 17. "And as He was going forth into the way, there ran one to Him, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher,
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” One record says that this young man was a ruler and another one adds the additional information that he was a rich young man. Evidently he saw in Jesus, proof that He was at least a man of God, if not the Messiah. With this conviction
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