A favorite Parable

OK. I'm excited about this one. This is a Parable of Jesus from Mark 10.

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?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’"

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

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."

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "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 man to enter the kingdom of God."

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."


Here are some questions to chew on:
1. Why does Jesus make such a big deal about the guy calling him "good teacher?"
2. Jesus lists 6 of the 10 commandments (found in Exodus 20). What do the 4 that he didn't list have in common? What point was Jesus trying to make?
3. Can rich people go to heaven? How do they get there?
4. What do you think Jesus meant when he said that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Comment on one or all four...or leave another question.

The Blessed Man

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says:

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and it never fails to bear fruit."

I read this verse last week and was struck by some of the simple truths in it. I think that this is amazingly profound and could easily be a 20 minute sermon...but I'll just keep my thoughts really, really brief.

1- a person who trusts in the Lord positions themself close to the Lord (the tree was planted close to the water)

2- it still gets hot for the tree close to the water- hard times WILL come...even if you trust in the Lord, but the Lord always provides and you will make it through the heat

3- there will be dry times, even for Christians. There will be times when you feel distant from God and your relationship feels dead. Yet even in those times God is still at work in you (the tree never fails to bear fruit...even in a drought). How is this possible? It is possible because even in the drought, even though the tree thinks it hasn't received water in weeks, deep down under the soil the roots are still receiving water from the stream. Even in our drought times, if you position yourself close to the Lord, you will receive nourishment from God.

I hope one of those three things can encourage you today.