[Mark 10:17-22] As [Jesus] was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You 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.’” 20And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
God Alone Is Good
A man ran up to Jesus, knelt before him, and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He’s not asking insincerely or as a trick, as some did. This man runs up – showing desperation – and falls on his knees before Jesus – much like those many others who had desperate need, leprosy, or loved ones in peril.
This man is not in physical need. He’s not sick or poor. In fact, he’s doing quite well for himself. And, it seems, he hasn’t fallen into any obvious vice or great outward sin. He’s not among the sinners and prostitutes who, in great numbers, found their hope and peace in Jesus.
This young man is a good kid who’s doing well. A good life. Yet there’s something wrong. He lacks the peace that, as far as he can tell, he should have. His life is in order, but his soul is in peril. “What is it that I lack?”
So, he runs to Jesus and asks that question, “What must I do?” “Good teacher, what must I do?” Jesus responds strangely, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone?”
Which brings up this question: If God alone is good, can I look to my own ‘good life’ for peace? Will the list of what I’ve done right ever be enough? Will the comparison of what others have done wrong ever be enough?
The man asked what he must do. Jesus presents him with the list. “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.”
The tax collectors, notorious sinners, and prostitutes would have found their answer right away: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” [Luke 18:13]. But this man doesn’t see in himself that he’s fallen short: “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
But certainly, he has fallen short. You all heard from the Sermon on the Mount last Sunday: “You’ve heard it said, ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment… and to the hell of fire.”
“You’ve heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [Matthew 5:21-30]
All the commandments, including “Do not steal, do not defraud, don’t bear false witness, honor your father and mother”, command not just your outward behavior but your heart and soul, mind and thoughts, desires, intentions, and words – spoken and unspoken.
God is judge of the whole person and His commands apply to your whole person. Certainly, each of us – each of the thirty people in here this morning – fall short. “You know the commandments”, and the list doesn’t help any of us. It accuses us.
You have looked with lust at someone else’s wife or husband, or someone not your wife or husband. You have been angry with your brother or sister, and you have not been peaceful in your heart.
You speak of the faults of God’s other children – with your excuses to justify such talk – as if life is a courtroom and God has called you as witness. But it’s not and God hasn’t. If that kind of talk isn’t gossip, what is? Our excuses don’t excuse us.
Lust is adultery, anger is murder, gossip is false witness, and falling short of using the blessings God has given me in life – blessings of money, ability, time for words, care, attention – these forms of wealth – falling short of using and giving your forms of wealth for those God has placed around you who would benefit from you, this is stealing.
There are many people God has provided for by providing them with you, but you’ve kept these goods for yourself. God calls this fraud and stealing. Defrauding God’s house, defrauding brother, sister, or neighbor, by not doing or being what we should be to them.
“All these I have kept from my youth.” No, I’m sorry, but you haven’t. But Jesus didn’t get angry at the young man. Listen to this. It says, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Jesus loves him and is determined to show him his need for the Savior he has right in front of him.
The man can say he’s kept all the commands – or that he’s kept them well enough – but he cannot deny the false idol that he’s holding right in his hand once Jesus shows it to him. He has great possessions. And he can’t let go of them because in them he has placed the fear, love, and trust of his heart.
Perhaps he’s kept the other commands, but he’s not keeping the first: “You shall have no other gods” – because that good life he has has become his god.
So Jesus says, “If you would be perfect” [Matthew 19:21] – if you would be good – “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” That is the measure of being good, and he lacks it. He is confronted with what he cannot do, and he goes away sad and disheartened. For now.
“Who then can be saved?” the disciples will ask next week. “With men”, Jesus will say, “it is impossible. But with God all things are possible” [Mark 10:26-27]. “God alone is good.”
When Jesus says, “No one is good except God alone”, He is talking about Himself. Jesus is God who has become Man. He alone is the Good Man. Jesus is the Good Man who has done for you, His poor neighbor, the very thing He commanded to the rich young man. Jesus gave it all.
God is Good, and He became “God-with-us” in the person of Jesus [Matthew 1:23].
God became Man and looked upon you, His poor neighbor, and expended all the wealth of His righteousness and goodness upon the cross – and paid with His life, offered in place of yours for what you lack – to save you and make you a rich inheritor of His heavenly kingdom.
On the cross, Jesus gave all to pay the price for poor sinners, those who are not good enough. With God, it has become possible for you to be saved, and you are.
Why am I still making that list then? Why am I still telling myself, or others, that I do this and do that good thing – that I haven’t done wrong, it wasn’t me – I’ve done the right things, and therefore… What? And why do I still make that negative list about others?
When I’m still making that list, it’s because my heart is set on “What I must do” mode instead of “What my Savior has done for me” mode. What Jesus has done for sinners is what gives peace.
So, put your lists away. Set your eyes always on what Jesus has done. Your Savior alone is Good. What He has done, not “what must I do?”, is the basis and foundation every day of a life together of seeking His commandments and doing His will.
Not “What must I do” but “What Jesus has done” calms the troubled mind and is the beginning of new life every day. Thanks be to God who alone is Good. Amen.
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