(Mark 10:17-5217And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. 20And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. 28Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. 32And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 33Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 34And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. 35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 46And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Mark 10:17‑52).)
THERE is a very striking contrast in this scripture, between the question of the rich young man to the Lord, “What shall I do?” (vs. 17), and the question of the Lord to the poor blind man at the close of the chapter, “What wilt thou that I should do?” (vs. 51).
The young man was a ruler, and he was rich; but, ruler though he were, and rich also, the question of the possession of eternal life had not been settled satisfactorily in the history of his soul. Clearly, he was an earnest young man, for he was running: “There came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (vs. 17). Evidently he thought seriously of eternal things, and the question crossed his mind as to how eternal life was to be obtained. He had it not; he wished it. He wanted it, and desired, seriously and earnestly, to know bow he was to get eternal life. Do you also?
Till our eyes are thoroughly opened to see where we are, the same kind of question as this rich young man put to the Lord, would be put by us. He says, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Do you suppose that eternal life is to be inherited by doing? We have all thought so, at some time. But, someone says, does not the Lord answer him, and bid him do certain things? No doubt He does; but the Lord, when this young man comes to Him, says, as it were, I will find out what you are prepared to do. And what comes out is this—he was not prepared to do that which would have given him eternal life, had it been obtained by doing. That is clear. In reality, he was tested.
This ruler came to Jesus, apparently in immense earnestness, for he ran, and knelt to Him. Have you ever knelt to Jesus yet? to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God? I do not mean as a form, but with a sense in your heart that there was an immense need, which only He could meet. “He kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” No more important question could fall from his lips, and I am sure the Lord took a deep interest in him, for we read, “Jesus beholding him, loved him” (vet. 21). Beautiful words, “He loved him!”
But he came with this thought, you see, that he must “do” something. We have all thought similarly. When we think of possessing eternal life, the first thought always is, “What shall I do?” The Lord does not answer this question straight; He puts another question to him, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.” That ought to have smitten his conscience at once with the sense, if there be none good but one, I am not that one, and therefore I cannot do any “good thing.’ Another gospel tells us that he said: “Good Master, what good thing shall I do?” (Matt. 19:1616And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (Matthew 19:16)). Do you think you can do any good thing? I sometimes hear men talking about doing better, nay, I have even heard them sometimes talk about “doing their best.” What folly!
The Lord Jesus Christ says here, “There is none good but one, that is, God.” And Scripture says, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Here Christ asks, “Why tallest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.” I think the Lord gave him the opportunity of saying, “But thou art God.” Had he really known, and clearly discerned the Person of Jesus, he would immediately have said, “Thou art God.” But, I take it, he saw no more in Christ than that He was a teacher of religion, hence when the claims of the Lord on him are presented to him, he does not rise to them. He could not, so he turned away sorrowfully.
First of all, the Lord says to him, since he came on the ground of doing, “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and thy mother.” The Lord presents to him that table of the law which bean specially on his neighbor, and what he was to his neighbor. He replies, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” That is, his outward conduct toward man had been perfect. But, my friend, let your conduct, be never so perfect outwardly before man, that does not put you right before God. That does not fit your soul, for God; and this young man felt he was not right before God, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (vs. 21). The heart of Jesus was deeply interested in this apparently anxious young man. Your conduct has been beautiful, He seems to say, but “one thing thou lackest.”
Matthew’s gospel tells us, that when the Lord had put the details of the law before him, he replied, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (19:20). He himself, conscious of deficiency, propounds the question, “What lack I yet?” I will tell you what he lacked. He lacked the real knowledge of Christ, and, my friend, if you have not Christ, no matter how beautiful and moral your life may be, you lack everything. Let a man have and be what he may in this world, if he do not possess Christ, he lacks everything really worth having. The man who is not right about Christ, is wrong about everything eternal; be certain of that. The man who is right about Christ will be the man right about most things.
The Lord knew his condition, and expressed it in the words, “One thing thou lackest.” And what was lacking? Attachment to Himself. You have not attached yourself to Me, and there are certain things in the road which hinder you so doing. “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” No man likes to take up the cross.
I pray you to carefully note that I do not think the Lord desires to teach you or me here, that eternal life is to be got by our giving up earthly things; that is not the way the gospel speaks. The gospel does not say we must give up in order to get. No, men are “turned to God from idols,” as Scripture says (1 Them. 1:9); and turned to know Christ through grace, and possess Him; then, as they possess Him as their Saviour, what they are engaged in drops from them as autumn leaves. The reason why the Lord presented the truth as He did in this narrative, was because the young man came upon the ground of doing. He, so to speak, says, I must test you, whether you are prepared to do that which will at least put you on the way of getting eternal life. “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou halt, and give to the poor;” because, observe, he took the ground of loving his neighbor.
There are two tables of the law. The first is that summed up in, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” (Luke 10:2727And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. (Luke 10:27)). And the other table is, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Had he loved his neighbor as himself? He had not committed adultery; he had not murdered; he had not stolen; he had not borne false witness; he had not defrauded; and he had honored his father and this mother. He was moss estimable; but did he love his neighbor as himself? Certainly not. Why? Because he was wealthy If he had loved his neighbor as himself, he conic not have been wealthy.
Let us take an illustration! If I have got £1,000, and I love my neighbor as myself, I shall give him half of it. I cannot keep it to myself. If I love him as myself I must give him a share equal with myself. Why, you say, you will be stripped. That is the point. The Lord does not take a long time in reaching it. He says to the rich youth, If you mean to get eternal life on that ground, you go right away, and sell all you have, and give it to the poor; and thus illustrate the principle of the man who loves his neighbor as himself. Further, you will then have got rid of that which is a hindrance to your coming after Me.
Alas! he loved his money more than his soul. He loved his riches more than eternal life. He loved more, what he had got, than what he might have got —that is, Christ. The test was too great. What was he told? “Come, take up the cross, and follow me.” What does the Lord mean by this? I am the rejected Saviour. Do not you shut your eyes; let no man delude, or deceive himself. It is a rejected Saviour that is preached today. Jesus is not popular. He could not be. The cross is not popular. It could not be. Oh no! “Take up the cross, and follow me,” was a hard saying, although coupled with “and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” He had treasures on earth, and they entangled his heart. What do we then find? “He was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (vs. 22). He said to himself, I. cannot part with my money, my being something on earth, even though promised blessing in heaven, so he “went away grieved.” He was simply, tested; and I believe we all get tested. I have been tested, and you will have to be.
But if I address one who wants eternal life, do I tell you, that you have to give up everything to get eternal life? I do nothing of the sort. That is not the gospel. The incident of this young man is a good illustration of the sad fact, that man is wrapped up in what makes much of himself, and further that he will not drop the thing that is seen and temporal, for what is unseen though eternal. He will not give up the present things, seen and temporal, for what is unseen and eternal. The young man loved his money better than Christ; he loved what he had got better than what he might have got. He loved the bounties Providence had given him, and he clung to earth, to its wealth, to the things of time. He was as near salvation as you are today, but alas! he missed it. Do not you miss it. He was very near getting it, when coming to the feet of the Saviour, and hearing Him say, “Come, and follow me.” What is his answer? No, I cannot do that. He goes away with a sad heart. He kept his money, and his lands, but he parted with Christ, and, as far as Scripture tells us, never met Him again. I gravely question whether you and I, if we be found in everlasting glory, with treasure there, by-and-by, will find that young man there.
Mark what the Lord says now: “Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples. How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished.” Then again He says: “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into 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 into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?” (vers. 23-26). That is a grave question, “Who then can be saved?” If these earthly things come in as such insuperable difficulties, who can be saved? Let me reply. You may be saved if you will have salvation in God’s own way. If you are going on the tack of doing good, so as to give God a meritorious reason why He should bless you, then you will never get it. If you take the place which the man in the end of the chapter takes when he comes to Jesus in his need, you will have it.
You will be struck with the contrast between the rich man who comes and asks, “What shall I do?” and the man in the end of the chapter, the poor blind beggar, to whom Jesus says, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” What a difference between the “What shall I do?” of the sinner to the Saviour, and the “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” of the Saviour to the sinner. Who can be saved? Anyone who lets Jesus save him; any man who will let Jesus play the Saviour’s part —that is the man who will be saved. If you have not been saved, why not? Do not you want to be saved? Are you not desirous of being saved? The disciples may anxiously inquire, “Who then can be saved?” What is the answer, — Everyone who takes his place as one incapable of doing that which will save himself; and who feels that he cannot earn eternal life for himself; and who will draw from the Saviour’s grace, and fullness, and goodness. You come to Jesus; you heed the lovely voice that calls you, and come to Him, and you will have treasure in heaven. Who can be saved? The man who hears the voice of Jesus, comes to Him, trusts Him, and gets all that His blood can purchase for him, and all that the Saviour’s heart can minister to Him. The man who will let Jesus bless him, that is the man who will be saved.
“Who then can be saved?” the disciples exclaimed in wonder. “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.” You ask, What does that mean? It is not possible for you and me to be saved by our own efforts. Why is it impossible? Because we are sinners, and cannot save ourselves. How can you meet the claims of God in righteousness? You must be more than a man to do that. You may think your case is not a bad one. It is not the verdict of the sinner as to his own condition that settles it. You are no judge of your case. God has judged you and me, to be sinners in our sins, lost, and undone. He has judged us to be what we are, incapable of extricating ourselves from the condition in which sin has landed us; and, the thing which is not possible with us, is possible with Him. “Who then can be saved?” said the disciples. Well, says Christ, “with men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Whom, then, am I cast back upon? I am cast back upon God. How can you be saved? You must let God save you. You must bow down before God, and let Him save you. You say, How? It is very simple. It is by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by the atoning work of the Saviour. There is no other way.
What follows is very interesting. The Lord was going up to Jerusalem, to die; and He tells the disciples, as they were going up, what things were to happen. He went before them, and I doubt not the disciples were very much astonished at the Lord going out of their company, and going ahead. They followed and were afraid. Then He took them apart and showed them the things that should happen to Him. “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes: and they shall condemn him to death.” If you and I are to live, Christ, the holy man, upon whom death had no claims, must go into death; and here He unfolds, in the most distinct way, that there is no way into the glory of God, except through His own death. There is no way to get eternal life but through His death. If we are to possess eternal life, it is not by any doing on our part. It is by His dying. The Jews, He says, “shall deliver him to the Gentiles: and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.” He was rejected of the Jews then, and He is a rejected Saviour still, for Christ is as much rejected in the twentieth century as when He spoke these words. You stand for Christ, believe on Him, and be a man for Christ, and you will find this out. But what will He give you? His support. It is such joy to be on the Lord’s side. It is a blessed and a wonderful thing to be on the side of the rejected Saviour.
But in the moment when men rejected Him, He in love gave Himself for them. He died, and His work accomplished, He has gone to the right hand of God, where He is now glorified. There He sits; but He is the same Jesus today, as when He passed Bartimæus that day, in the chapter before us,— the same tender Saviour, though now in glory. Get you to the feet of that risen, ascended, victorious Saviour, and let Him bless you. If you want Him, you will find Him just as did the blind man. There he was, poor fellow, sitting by the wayside. He heard of Jesus, and so have you, my friend. He was sitting there, hoping to get a little money, and as he heard the crowd approach, I have no doubt he said to himself, “I shall have a prosperous day, and get a good deal of money from this passing multitude.” But He was curious to know the meaning of that crowd. He was told, “Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.” No doubt he had heard of His miracles, and of how He had opened other men’s eyes, and he concluded He could open his.
In a minute the filling of his purse, and the getting of money are forgotten, and his voice rings over the crowd: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” That is what he says. The people said: “Hold your peace, be quiet; do not make a noise. Do you think He will stop for you?” But we read, “He cried the more, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And that voice of need falls on the Saviour’s ear, and touches His heart, and Scripture says, “Jesus stood still.” He was on His way to Jerusalem to perform the wonderful work of the cross, of which I have spoken, but the cry of need arrested Him. He is now in heaven, in glory, but the voice of need touches Him now, just as the voice of misery and need touched Him then. “Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the Blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.”
And what do we then find? “And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” The thing that hindered him, he cast away. Picture to yourself that blind man, sitting by the roadside, with the people all around him. When his cry is heard he felt, If I am going to get to Him through that crowd, I must cast off my garment—it will but hinder me; and so he cast away his garment. He got rid of the thing that hindered him. Every man has hindrances. Do you likewise get rid of your hindrances, and come to Jesus. Read it again: “And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” He was in earnest; he came to Jesus. He got through the crowd, until he stood in the presence of Jesus. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” That is the point: “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” “The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.” He wanted to see; he wanted his sight, and he got it.
What do you want? Your sins forgiven; your soul saved; pardon, love, and acceptance with Him? You may have all. What Christ does, is to put down a blank check, with His name at the bottom, and you can fill it in for any amount you like. He says to you today, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” What is it you desire? That you may see the Saviour, the Son of God, who died but rose again? “Lord, that I might receive my sight,” said the blind man. “And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight.” His eyes were opened, and what was the first object he saw? Jesus! And that is what happens when the eyes of the sinner are opened. He sees Jesus.
The Lord says to him: “Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” He did what the rich young man did not do. Jesus said to the rich young man, “Come, take up the cross, and follow me.” And he went away sorrowful. To this man with his eyes now open, what did Jesus say? “Go thy way.” Observe the Lord never makes a man follow Him. He would not make him a compulsory follower, if I may so speak. He who follows Him must love to follow, and that is just Bartimæus’ case. What do I read? “He received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” He quickly made up his mind that henceforth the way of Jesus was to be his way. He followed Jesus. That was right. There is no compulsion. Did I tell you that you must follow Jesus, you would not do it. But you may follow Jesus. If you learn His love, you will follow Him. You will say from this hour, Christ for me, and I am going to follow Christ, through evil report and good. I am going to be for Jesus, and to follow Him in the way.
You have true discipleship here. The Lord help you to follow Him too. That is the right and wise thing to “do.”
W. T. P. W.