As [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Mark 10:17
He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone…
Mark 10:18
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. ” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.” Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.” They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.” Peter began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more, now at this time— houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions— and eternal life in the age to come. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Mark 10:19-31
Share a time when what you read in the Bible wasn’t necessarily what you wanted to hear, but was for sure what you needed to hear? How did you respond?
In Mark 10:17 a man (a “rich young ruler”) asks Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What do you think is his actual question? What are some similar questions (i.e. “what is the purpose of my life”) people tend to ask in our culture?
What is the “one thing” you are tempted to believe will provide satisfaction in your own life?
In Mark 10:20 the man states that he believes he has kept all the commandments of the law since he was very young. How would you evaluate your own life if you compared yourself to the commands you see in the Bible?
Read Mark 10:21-26. How could this passage be misinterpreted? What do you think Jesus is really saying about money and wealth?
Read Mark 10:29-31. What is the eternal promise for those who decide to follow Jesus? How should our lives be different in the meantime?
What would you like to do or how would you like to think differently as a result of hearing the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler?
