Preaching Daily - December 31

Today's Devotional Insight...

Go Thy Way Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

Jonathan Spurlock

Based on a message preached at First Baptist Church, Glasgow, Mo.; not an exact transcription.

Background

When an event in Scripture is recorded once, it’s clearly important. This event was mentioned in three of the four gospels! This event took place shortly before the Lord Jesus Christ made His final journey to Jerusalem, there to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45) and three days later rise from the dead. In fact, this may be one of the last conversations or encounters with a seeker prior to Him going to Calvary.

The text is from Mark 10:17-22 (key verse is 21): "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, 'One thing thou lackest: Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come, take up the cross, and follow Me.'"

Introduction

Jesus, as we’ve seen, is heading for Jerusalem, and He’s fully aware of what’s going to happen in just a matter of days. Now we see a contrast: Jesus walking toward His destiny, and someone running to see Him! Reading in the gospels, we learn that many people came to Jesus, some bringing others (such as the friends who let a sick man down through a roof). However, few actually ran to meet Him. Let’s take a look at the conversation:

I. The Young Man’s Question and Jesus' Reply

Remember this man was one of the few mentioned in th Bible as running, and one of the very few who knelt before Jesus prior to our Lord going to Calvary. Apparently, the young man still was kneeling when he asked his the question. No doubt he was sincere and probably didn’t let his own status as being young (Matt. 19:22), rich (Luke 18:23) or a ruler (perhaps a leader in a synagogue) (Luke 18:18) stand in the way of wanting to find an answer to his question. He wanted to know! Don’t you wish more people wanted to know how to receive eternal life?

So, he asked a profound question: “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

Nobody ever had asked Jesus that question before! Think of all the times when people had asked Jesus various questions or made different kinds of requests. This is the most sincere question in the Bible, and it’s rooted in a very sincere, albeit misguided, frame of mind.

(Read the full article here.)

Today’s Pastoral Resource...

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