December 17, 2023

Mark 10: 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (NIV)

While Jesus was known to have called folks to give up everything they owned . . . [i]t was not a universal call to poverty.*

Yesterday, we talked about contradictions in Scripture – and we’re going to do it again today. This time, we are going to look directly to Jesus for our examples.

Today’s verse is from a story that appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They tell of a rich ruler who came to Jesus, asking him what he should do to inherit eternal life. Only Jesus knows if the man was sincerely seeking truth or merely hoping to confirm what he thought he already knew, but Jesus answered him respectfully, saying that he should keep the commandments. The man claimed to have done so since he was a child (though not likely!), so Jesus gave him one more step to complete the process: sell everything he had, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jesus.

And here is where we find contradictions in what Jesus required of his followers. This man was told to give up everything. Others were told to leave their families. But Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were faithful followers who got to hold on to their home and possessions, and keep their family intact. In John chapter eleven, we find Peter, who had initially left his fishing nets to follow Jesus, back at work in the family business. 

Sometimes, Jesus seemed to be trying to terrify his disciples by telling them of what they would have to give up and suffer if they were going to follow him. But in Matthew 11: 28-30, he promises rest for our souls because his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

While Jesus may appear to be sending out mixed signals, a closer look reveals that what he demanded of his followers then is no more contradictory than what he requires of us today – not in order to be saved, but in order for us to be his followers. Each person’s call is unique to that person, from one extreme to the other: from those who have given up possessions and left family to serve on a mission field; to those whose wealth allows them to give generously to the cause of Christ. And all the rest of us in-between.

All that Jesus really wanted from the man in the story is what he wants from us: to acknowledge that Jesus is worth losing everything for. And to humbly obey if he asks it of us.

As Christians we should . . . focus on seeing ordinary faithfulness as an extraordinary calling.*