Ezekiel 8-10
Hebrews 13
“As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before Him. ‘Good Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Mark 10:17
In Matthew 19:16-22 and its parallel passages in Mark 10:17-22 and Luke 18:18-23, a man came up to Jesus asking, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). From these three accounts, we learn three things about this man: he was rich, he was young and he was used to getting his way as a ruler. The question that he posed was in the attitude of an acquisition. The young man had a successful life, living large and in charge, and now, he wanted to acquire what was seemingly beyond his reach.
What the rich young man was asking was not odd as Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart….” Humanity is conscious of its own mortality and this awareness creates all kinds of emotional turmoil. In fact, this awareness is what separates us from the rest of life on earth. I (Brett McBride) have a dog at home and, as far as I can tell, he is not staying up at night pondering the meaning of life or what life after his death looks like. He is concerned primarily about what is happening now.
The rich young ruler was asking one of life’s deepest questions, which was not a bad thing to ask. The problem, though, was that he was asking the question in a wrong way. Did we notice that he did not ask Jesus about knowing God, understanding who God is or what is God’s desires? The man was not looking to deepen his relationship with God. Rather, life had been good to him and he wanted to know how to extend it as long as possible and he thought that Jesus could provide answers to his question.
It is true that Jesus is divine, the One through whom all things were made and the One who sustains all things by His powerful word. And while Jesus is uniquely positioned to provide answers that this young man sought, He humbly replied, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good” (Matthew 19:17). The question that Jesus asked revealed how the young man did not know who Jesus was, and worse, the young man did not even understand who God was.
Although Jesus never answered the rich young ruler’s question explicitly, He gave us the answer in John 17:3: “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” The only way to eternal life is to know God and believe in Jesus.
Dear God, thank You for the gift of eternal life. I ask that You deepen my understanding of and relationship with You. In Jesus’s name, amen!
Hebrews 13
“As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before Him. ‘Good Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Mark 10:17
In Matthew 19:16-22 and its parallel passages in Mark 10:17-22 and Luke 18:18-23, a man came up to Jesus asking, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). From these three accounts, we learn three things about this man: he was rich, he was young and he was used to getting his way as a ruler. The question that he posed was in the attitude of an acquisition. The young man had a successful life, living large and in charge, and now, he wanted to acquire what was seemingly beyond his reach.
What the rich young man was asking was not odd as Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart….” Humanity is conscious of its own mortality and this awareness creates all kinds of emotional turmoil. In fact, this awareness is what separates us from the rest of life on earth. I (Brett McBride) have a dog at home and, as far as I can tell, he is not staying up at night pondering the meaning of life or what life after his death looks like. He is concerned primarily about what is happening now.
The rich young ruler was asking one of life’s deepest questions, which was not a bad thing to ask. The problem, though, was that he was asking the question in a wrong way. Did we notice that he did not ask Jesus about knowing God, understanding who God is or what is God’s desires? The man was not looking to deepen his relationship with God. Rather, life had been good to him and he wanted to know how to extend it as long as possible and he thought that Jesus could provide answers to his question.
It is true that Jesus is divine, the One through whom all things were made and the One who sustains all things by His powerful word. And while Jesus is uniquely positioned to provide answers that this young man sought, He humbly replied, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good” (Matthew 19:17). The question that Jesus asked revealed how the young man did not know who Jesus was, and worse, the young man did not even understand who God was.
Although Jesus never answered the rich young ruler’s question explicitly, He gave us the answer in John 17:3: “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” The only way to eternal life is to know God and believe in Jesus.
Dear God, thank You for the gift of eternal life. I ask that You deepen my understanding of and relationship with You. In Jesus’s name, amen!
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