Kempsey Baptist: Prepared for Persecution - Mark 13:9-13

Kempsey Baptist Church

Sunday 27 December 2015

Prepared for Persecution - Mark 13:9-13

Introduction
The passage of scripture before us in Mark gospel is a continuation of instruction given by Jesus to his disciples on the Mount of Olive after leaving the temple. The disciples asked Jesus, when will it happen and this is part of that reply.
What do you think of when someone mentions the word “persecution”?
Do we think of oppression, victimisation, ill-treatment, mistreatment, abuse, discrimination, witch hunt, harassment, intimidation and bullying? What about pain, torture, hate and fear?
A few days ago on the 20 December reported in the Christian News about Chinese Students to be expelled for Private Prayer Group in China’s eastern Shandong. The group had been photograph by a mobile phone user and the picture was handed over to the police. The current policy the school must expel any students gathering for religious activities in groups of three or more. This was simply five students in prayer on the school grounds, doing no harm but perceived a threat and contrary to the rules that are in force.
We are reminder in the Beatitudes which is recorder in Matthew’s Gospel as part of the Sermon of the Mount. Just after Jesus calls his disciples and they went about sharing the Good News of the Kingdom in the synagogues and performed healing. We pick up the story that when Jesus saw a crowds gathering, he climb a mount and began to teach them. The last verse we hear the following, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matt 5:10 NLT).
Apostle Paul reminds Timothy to “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim 2:3 NLT). Paul exalts us to endure in our faith and hope for the future reward in obedience. In doing what is right is a testimony to our faith and hope that is in us and the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. Jesus point out that “all who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right came to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (John 3:20-21 NLT). Doing what is right is doing what God wants. This is righteousness of God at work in us to bring others to the everlasting grace of God into the Kingdom of God.
Just a couple of days ago, we celebrate our faith and hope in the birth of Jesus, who came down from heaven and dwell with humanity. It is the future events of this person that the baby Jesus will become and we accept him as our Saviour and the promise Messiah that brings us into the Kingdom, which allows us to have a relationship with God.
Bible Reading: Mark 13:9-13 (NLT)
“When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Jesus tells his disciples to get ready for three inevitable challenges.

1.     Get ready for persecution (9-13)

2.     Get ready for desolation (14-20)

3.     Get ready for deception (21-23)

Today I will be focusing on the first challenge of getting ready for persecution.
This first challenge I will suggest there are five ways that persecution can be helpful. There are explosive outcomes for the defence of our faith and hope of the Gospel message as a consequent to the implosion of persecution.

1.     Persecution as a means of testimony (9)

Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4, they faced the religious council to explain what happen with the healing of the lame man at the Temple.
We pick up the story after Pentecost has just happen when the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers. Peter and John were on their way to the temple to participate in the afternoon prayer service. As they approach the Temple a lame man converse with them and ask for some money. Peter advise him that they did not have money but they have something more to give and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6 NLT) The lame man was healed and went into the Temple with them.  The lame man was so ecstatic and worshiping God. The people went towards the commotion and noticed who this person was. Peter noticed what was occurring and began testifying about Jesus. Next day saw Peter and John again testifying about Jesus and this time they were arrested, taken before the religious council. The council demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” (Acts 4:7) Peter replied to their inquiry and after hearing their response, they ordered them out of the council chambers. The council member discussed the event amongst themselves, they could not deny the healing of the lame man, a public witness had occurred. The council called Peter and John back in and instructed them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. This was to silence them from spreading their faith and hope that exist in them and they then warned them further of harsher punishment if they failed to observe their direction.
We know what has happen with their rejection to observe the direction given and so what Jesus was presenting was that all sort of persecution is going to happen because of being his followers. He warned them they will be arrested and taken before the religious council, be beaten in the public square and branded as a traitor. They will also be taken before the civil authorities to stand trial because being a follower of Jesus. Our defense will be the testimony of our faith and hope we have in Jesus.

2.     Persecution as a means of Gospel expansion (10)

Where there is persecution, there is Gospel expansion occurs. In Acts 8, the chapter pick up the story of Saul who had just witness the stoning of Stephen. Stephen had just declared the Good News of Jesus to the religious council. Saul was on a mission to eradicate the followers of Jesus and he had the blessing of the religious council. A great persecution began to happen commencing in Jerusalem and the believers were scatter for their own safety while the apostles remain. The great commission recorded by Matthew began to happen with the scatter believers in Judea and Samaria. The Good News of Jesus went with these believers as they settle into new areas while Saul was rounding up believers to destroy the church from house to house. He drags them out and placed them into prison.
Even today we are to stand firm. As we draw nearer to the end of time, we can expect persecutions against believers to increase.

3.     Persecution as a means of Spiritual Inspiration (11)

In our persecution there will be a promise of help with the Holy Spirit. The disciples found themselves in situation where they need to defend and give an explanation.
This is seen in Peter and John’s response to the religious council, Acts 4:6-22. This same promise was fulfilled when Paul stood before Felix, Acts 24:10-21 and before King Agrippa and Festus, Acts 26:1-29.
The verse gives assurance at a time of “when arrested”, which indicate no time for planning a defense; we are to trust God, and allow his Spirit to work in and through us.
One of the great reformers, Martin Luther on April 17, 1521 stood before a Roman Catholic council to answer charges of heresy – against the doctrines of the established church. As Luther stood there that day, he spoke as a man directed by God Himself. Luther said, “Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”
Those words, among others spoken that day, led the council to condemn Luther as a heretic. He was persecuted, but the protestant reformation was launched by those same words.

4.     Persecution as a means of Clarifying Allegiance (12)

We have come to an awkward verse and that it involves family relationship where persecution will take place and will clarify allegiance of our faith and hope. The strong bonds of family will be tested and erode – we pray that they will have the same faith and hope that we have in knowing the Good News of Jesus. We should not be surprised by this revelation of Jesus to his disciples. It is a warning of those who are close, are the one most likely to betray and a tragic event that causes the family unit breakdown.
Remember it was one of Jesus’ disciples called Judas that betrayed and lead Jesus to be arrested. Also self-preservation will trumps for survival as indicated by Peter denying Jesus three times when challenge, after advocating that it will never happen.
We are clearly witnessing events in the Middle East where we hear of a family member convert to Christianity and they are betrayed by their own family.
We see this today, too. Christians are being persecuted in huge numbers and with great severity around the world, especially the extremist Muslim called ISIS. They are expelling those who do not bow to their claim and push them out of their homes to flea across the borders. Oppression is greatly experience as we meet today.

5.     Persecution as a means of Provoking Endurance (13)

We like to live in peace to those around us, with our neighbours but because of our faith and hope, hate will creep in.
In Jesus’ day, people took names seriously – as a proxy for the person. To wear the name of Christian was to invite trouble. In many places today, that is still true.
Jesus warned His disciples that just as the world hated Him, they would hate those who follow him, John 15:18-21 NLT

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ¹⁹ The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. ²⁰ Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. ²¹ They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.

But are how are we to endure, it is by preparing yourself through God’s Spirit, knowing what you believe, learning to give thanks and learn from others. It is by being together as a community of believers, upholding one another, sharing in each others burden. This was demonstrated by the early church as an expression of the faith and hope that we share in common with each other.

Conclusion  
In closing my advice and that of the scriptures is to trust in God means living a life expectant and hopeful for Christ’s return; it need not be consumed by explaining every world affair in terms of God’s super-plan.
The lesson is basic to our faith and hope in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Persecution will come our way and those who know the Lord Jesus will empower us to stand.

Kempsey Baptist: Jesus and The End Times - Mark 13:1-8

Kempsey Baptist Church

Sunday 29 November 2015

Jesus and the End Times - Mark 13:1-8

Prayer

Heavenly Father and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - help us to grow, show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth.  Amen

Bible Reading: Mark 13:1-8

Introduction
It is generally accepted that the gospel of Mark was written from Rome and to the Christians in Rome which represent the physical church as a record of the early advents of the life and teaching of Jesus. It is also assumed that the writer is John Mark who was a traveler with Peter and Paul. The gospel is about capturing the oral accounts of eyewitnesses and recorded for the Roman community in Rome.
Chapter 13 of Mark is also referred to in Christian tradition as the “little apocalypse.”  The term ‘End Times” is commonly known as part of the study called “Eschatology” and “apocalypse” falls within along with the return of Jesus.
Very early in the gospel, Jesus announces in Mark 1:15, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” The phrase, “The kingdom of God is near,” forms the end times ideas which Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) and Charles H Dodd (1884-1973) had major influence in developing concepts about eschatology and I will highlight their ideas latter on.
Let us take a step back to the time of Jesus and recapture the expectation of the Jewish community and the hope of the future. A central part of the Jewish religious aspirations for generations was the promised Messiah and the kingdom of God which they saw in King David.
The Jewish nation lived under the domination of an imperial force of Rome and they had two burning questions:

·        How could the nation be restored?

·        Who would be the divinely appointed instrument?

This was the picture of the Jewish hope but not the hope that Jesus was unfolding. Jesus was using language they understood but he was redefining to something else.
One of the early fathers was Augustine of Hippo (354-430) alluded that the “kingdom of God” referred to “the organised structures of the church, regarded themselves as legitimate successors to the Roman empire with a political mandate”  (Drane 2011). This became the public image and with the church solely had the Scriptures; this was their interpretation of “the kingdom of God”. This was the mindset that the public were taught in the homily that Rome was the authority for both politically and spiritual matters. This operated for a numbers of centuries until the period of reformation made inroads into matters of faith and daily living.
How do we understand the events of the end times and “the kingdom of God?”
We need to understand that “Jesus never talks about the future without it also firmly rooted in the here-and-now.” We will see this more clearly when we look at the passage in Mark’s gospel.
To understand some thinking about the end times, we be looking at two scholars who made inroads about end times ideas.
The first person is a German musician and theologian, a medical missionary in Africa. Would anyone like to suggest who that person is? (Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965) Albert promoted the idea that Jesus was obsessed with what he called “futurist eschatology.” What does he means?

·        Jesus held roughly the same expectation as the apocalyptic writers of Albert time.

·        Albert believed God was about to intervene immediately and dramatically in the affairs of humanity.

·        Albert owns life’s work was to be the decisive climax of history.

Albert believed in a future end time event when the kingdom of God would come and intervene. It was something to hold onto, the hope of our salvation, a new earth and a new heaven as the writer in Revelation writes.
The second person is a Welshman, a New Testament scholar who had an opposite view to Albert is Charles H Dodd (1884-1973) but believe the kingdom had already arrived in Jesus.
What was happening in the community following World War 1 was a generation that had experienced the horrors of war and they were beginning to ask question whether the human race really was as advanced as had been supposed?
So Charles was a promoted that Jesus brought the kingdom of God and we can have that experience now. Remember that Jesus ascended, so that the promise Spirit can come and be our guide in the new relationship, restored into fellowship with God. Is this the kingdom that Jesus was promoting?
I do not know where you sit but there is consensus among scholars today is that there are elements of truth in both ideas and commonly known as “inaugurated eschatology” (Drane 2011 p74)
Both Christians and Non-Christians alike are fascinated by the “end times.” (Akin 2014)
As we shall see from this passage there is skepticism that is ripe in our world where erroneous predictions of so many pseudo-prophets and prognosticators flourish.
What a dramatic time in our national and global life. The intensity of issues regarding politics, religion, race, violence, economics, migration, terrorism, and war fill the headlines of blogs and posts, newspapers and news sites all day, every day. Our world teems with vivid and profound need. Much of it understandably leaves us silent. (Mark Labberton, President Fuller Seminary quoted in a message on 20 Nov 2015, “Hope and thanksgiving in a season of suffering.”)
Deception is coming, so do not Be Led Astray – Mark 13:1-8
The story is picking up with Jesus leaving the temple for the last time. The magnificence structure has caught the eyes of one disciple and commented. The temple shows splendour, great architectural wonders to the world, rebuilt by Herod. The structure comprised of large white stones and gold decoration which could blind when the sunlight rays hit.  To the Jewish people, God was external to them and the temple held the very sanctuary of God but Jesus tells the disciples, “Do you not see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
We find that Jesus was leaving the temple with his disciples when the observation was made, it was something tangible, and the stones will be dismantled. No long a place of worship for the Jewish people or for God to be housed. Mark records the party now at the Mount of Olives which is situated 826m above sea level on the Judean Mountains at the city of Jerusalem and 80m above the temple complex. This is where we have Jesus with Peter, James, John and Andrew. What Jesus said stirred up questions, when will this happens and what are the signs. They were looking for fixed events but Jesus doesn’t answer their question of time or define events. Instead he gives numerous warning.

·        Watch out that no-one deceived you (5)

·        Wars and rumour of wars (7)

·        Nation against nation & kingdom against kingdom (8)

·        Earthquakes and famines (8)

Jesus refers to these as “the beginning of birth pain” (8) and also Matthew 24:8. There is a sense that the whole creation will experience agony, deceivers claiming to be the one, do not be alarm by wars. These two things, deceivers and wars must happen but the end is yet to happen. Matthew, Mark and Luke contain this incident but only Matthew and Mark refer that the incident will be like “the beginning of birth pains.” But I am told the birthing pain is something like having kidney stones or is it like an impinge nerve pain. This is one area that I am not an expert and maybe the reason no commentators have elaborated on the phrase, “the beginning of birth pain.”
When I look at these 8 verses, it is talking about events that will happen external to me. It maybe personal, different opinions, claiming to be the one that can help, the media are full of them which can develop into war and nation against nation over ideology or religion, different policy. The standards are dropping as we become more secularised.
These verses demonstrate an uncovering of events that is called, “little apocalyptical” and outlays the beginning of the end times. All these four events are taking place and have been for a long time. I am constantly reminded that we surely are in the last days and the scripture reinforce that we do not know the time but we must be ready.
Conclusion  
In closing my advice and that of the scriptures is to trust in God means living a life expectant and hopeful for Christ’s return; it need not be consumed by explaining every world affair in terms of God’s super-plan.

Let me pray:
Heavenly Father, you know all things before they came into being and as we consider the lesson about the end times. Help us to keep our eyes focus on Jesus you Son and we ask that the Spirit be near and guide as we walk in your way. AMEN

Resources
Akin, Daniel L. 2014. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark. B & H Publishing Group: Nashville, Tennessee
Drane, John. 2011. Introducing the New Testament. Third Edition. Fortress Press: Minneapolis. pp 72-75; 187-191
English, Donald. 1992. The Message of Mark: The Mystery of Faith. The Bible Speaks Today. Inter-Varsity Press: Nottingham, England. Pp 202-210
Hurtado, Larry W. 2011. Mark: Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Bakers Books. Pp 211-227.

Kempsey Baptist - The rich Person and the Kingdom of God

Kempsey Baptist Church

Sunday 11 October 2015

The Rich Person and the Kingdom of God

Good morning, let us come to God in Prayer.

Heavenly Father and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - help us to grow, show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth.  Amen

Bible Reading: Mark 10:17-31

Introduction
The story of the rich person and the Kingdom of God as recorded no less than three times in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark and Luke and has tremendous lesson for us to take note, sit up and listen. The commandments Jesus listed makes up our duty to our neighbours. There are three lessons we can glean from this passage.

·        The self-ignorance of man (our heart and mind attitude)

·        The love of Christ towards sinners

·        The immerse danger of the love of money

Mark’s passage speaks more than about a rich person; it talks about the treatment in carrying the commandments towards others. It is about our social compassion towards others but let us go on a journey back in time and how fourth century CE Christians view of this passage. Then we will look at the passage and view the concept of self-sufficient, security and self-assurance. The end of the passage deals with what we are doing now will determine our hope and future assurances. Is it us or Jesus?
I am taking you on a journey back in time to when a form of Christian religious saintliness existed as desert monasticism in Palestine around the fourth through the seventh centuries CE. We no longer say “AD” but “CE” which stands for Common Era – reference to Jesus is no longer seem valid, only that we live in the common era after the Jesus event.
You are part of the group and drawing on stories of Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. You are one of many people in the thousands of devoted Christians journeying into the wilderness to seek the presence of God in solitude.
This journey into the wilderness occur when the Roman Empire declare that Christianity become the official religion. No longer are the need to hide because of your faith in God, no need to struggle for survival to live your faith but you are now worrying because of the suffocation brought about by the commonplace of an official, politicised religion.
Through the monasticism lifestyle, among your fellow Christian held that you could engage in the imitation of the life of Christ. The literal acceptances of the Scriptures underscore some of Jesus’ teaching and the reading we had plays a role; to abandoned all their possessions and families to live a life of chastity, fasting and self-denial in the desert. Our time was spent in prayer, meditation, ritual worship and study, eking out a sparse existence in the desolate wastelands. It was all about self-existence within the confines of the community and some of our Christian travelers formed communities that had castle like fortresses for protection. Not all communities sever ties with civilisation and actively engage in discussion about religious and political issues that was facing us in our living. Some of our communities established hospitals for the sick and motels for pilgrims. These are positive developments of journeying into the desert.
Everything was okay then an invasion occurred by the Arab Muslim in the conquest of our country Palestine from the Roman Empire in the 7^th Century CE. Some of our desert monasticism decline under the pressure which saw people converting to Islam.
Certainly in the minds of the people who choose to live as desert monasticism that verse in the Gospel of Matthew 5:3 rang like a bell in the tower.

God blesses those who are poor and realise their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (NLT)

Some translation renders the beginning as “poor in spirit”.
The perils of the poor are well established and so are the riches have their perils. It is more easily to have a false sense of security, self-assurance and self-sufficient. In our capitalist society we do go after these things to ensure our survival as a member of the community. Our government and its politics is promoting self-sufficient against dependence. The early Church in Acts 4 see part of their obligation as a community to look after the needy and in Acts 6 the Apostles established social services towards those who were neglected. The church was growing and commission leaders for the care of the people while they focus on the preaching the Word of God.
In the story of the reading, we have a rich person going to Jesus, questioning how he could inherit eternal life, to have an authentic life. This person is an example of one in the community eking a lifestyle, does all the right things, pay his dues, a good role model and the community looks up to him. He doesn’t have problems with the assumption of needs to live and has a peace of mind. Who doesn’t want that lifestyle, no worrying about the next meal or to get through today?  
The passage of Scripture in Mark is an incredible “passage which stresses the importance of the commandments and their relationship to a concern for social justice, a view rooted in Scripture”. (Crossley. 2005)
Jesus replies to this rich person in a way that he wasn’t expecting.

Looking at the person, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven”. Then come, follow me. Mark 10:21 NLT

This person had put his life together, to be told to “go and sell, give away”.

Treating life as grace-as a gift to be given away, a gift available without price-threatened the essence of his being. So he turned away. After all, if it is all a gift, there is no entitlement. Sharing, passing on to others, humility and thanksgiving replace hoarding, self-sufficient arrogance and smug pride, wrote a commentator.  (Carder. 1997)

The story doesn’t stop there with the person turning away sad. Jesus continues to teach his disciples.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is hard (for those who trust in riches) to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, 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!” (Mark 10:23-25 NLT)

The use of terminology “a camel to go through the eye of the needle” by Jesus suggest three possible scenario.
First scenario there is a “wicket gate or other entrance into Jerusalem that was commonly known as the Needle’s Eye for it narrowness,” as Matthew Henry write in his commentary, (Henry.1662-1714) the camel would need to be unloaded to pass through. So the idea of being unloaded with no package are left behind to enter through the Needle’s Eye and the second scenario is the translation of the word “a camel” sometimes refers to a strong, thick rope or that John the Baptist vestment of clothing, made from camel hair. The idea is the rich is like a thick rope trying to be threaded through the eye of the needle while the poor are a single thread, easy to go through. If the camel hair is entwined and twisted will be difficulty in trying to go through the eye of the needle. A third scenario is simply accepted what one reads, a camel and a needle as a comparison for “some who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God” (v25). The picture of the needle’s eye and the camel, there is nothing we can do to make it happen, no matter what programs we run to support the camel to go through, it will not happened by us.
The imagery of whichever view we adopt, requires us to be unloaded of our cares and concerns, our luggage need to be left at the cross of Jesus. Jesus is the only person who has made it possible for us to enter the Kingdom of God.
This teaching that Jesus was implying shook the disciples in amazement and stirred Peter to asked a question, “Then who in the world can be saved?’ (Mark 10:26 NLT)
Can we save ourselves or others? We would like to think that it was our involvement in presenting the Gospel message but we are reminded that it is the Holy Spirit who stir and convict a person to repentance and not us. All glory belongs to God through Jesus.  Clearly Jesus answered them and to a certain intention of Mark was the future hope for mankind through the works of Jesus on the cross, where he bored our sins, to provide a way forward, to be restored to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God, Everything is possible with God.” (Mark 10:27 NLT)

Life is a gift to be humbly and joyfully received, not a commodity to be purchased or a prize to be earned. (Carder.1997)

That is our assurance; with God nothing is impossible, for he is the Creator. There is nothing in the disciples’ hand that they can do; it is only God who can bring us into the Kingdom of God, to have eternal life.
There is a contrast here, when Peter pipes up and says to Jesus, “We’ve given up everything to follow you.” (v28)
Let us hear the words that Jesus answered;

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, 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 hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mark 10:29-31. NRSV)

If we are fulfilling our duty to Jesus and the Gospel message being central, we will receive a hundredfold now, and in the world to come eternal life. Jesus doesn’t dispute the disciples have given up everything “but his statement in verses 29-31 contains both the assurances of God’s favour for those who make such a sacrifice and warnings that there is more testing ahead to be faced before  a final judgement is given by God.” (Hurtado. 2011)
The needs of the disciples now and the future will be supplied by God but persecutions will happen now.
This story about the rich person is not about having wealth but the attitude towards wealth and the use of wealth to alleviate the poor but let us think about wealth.

Wealth becomes additive, luxuries becomes necessities. As one who remembers; life without indoor plumbing, no television, no computers, no telephones, no VCR’s (video cassette recorders) and no microwaves. I know how easily things once considered luxuries of the few became necessities for the masses…. Satisfying our appetite for more has devastating consequences for those who have less. It depletes their resources and relegates them to life’s margins.” (Carder. 1997)

Another commentator reminds us:

Let us watch against the love of money. It is a snare to the poor as well as to the rich. It is not so much the having money, as the trusting in it, which ruins the soul. Let us pray for contentment with such things as we have. The highest wisdom is to be of one mind with Paul, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11 (Ryle. 1977. Pp210-211)

Conclusion
As I said at the beginning, this passage of Mark teaches us a lot more than the rich person walking away after being called to follow Jesus. It goes on and lays the foundation upon which to enter the kingdom of God, to have eternal life. The early Christian choose to live in the desert to enable to have fellowship with God in a solitude lifestyle but communities grew and began to be a social service unit in providing care through hospitals for the sick and motels for the travelers. The passage teaches about the kingdom of God and what we should be doing for Jesus and the Gospel’s message with the assurance that with God all things are possible. Jesus must be centre, the focus of our life and to bring others into a relationship with him. We must entertain the sick and the traveler in a caring, compassionate relationship and in doing so, we will receive our reward in the life to come.  Through this, Mark shares with us the valuable lesson of receiving eternal life and who is the giver.
Let me pray:

Resources

Crossley, James G. The Damned Rich (Mark 10:17-31). The Expository Times (2005): 397-401, doi: 10.1177/0014524605056801

Kenneth, L. Carder. 1997. "The Perils of Riches." The Christian Century, (Sep 24-Oct 1): http://0search.proquest.com.prospero.murdoch.edu.au/docview/217208773?accountid=12629.

Hamblin, William and Daniel Peterson. 2012. “Monastic Life in the Judean Wilderness.” Deseret News, (Jun 30): http://0-search.proquest.com.prospero.murdoch.edu.au/docview/1022695148?accountid=12629

Hurtado, Larry W. 2011. Mark: Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Bakers Books. Pp 159-169.
Ryle, J.C. 1977. Ryle’s Expository Thought on the Gospel: Matthew – Mark. Volume One. England: Evangelical Press.