GETTING STARTED
There’s a famous saying in poker called “All In.” To go “all in” means you bet ALL your chips on one hand. If you win, you win it all! If you lose, you lose it all! In today’s passage, Jesus told a young man to go “All in!” with his money. At the heart of the passage is Jesus’ desire for us to trust him completely.
- With what areas of your life do you find it difficult to TOTALLY trust Jesus? What makes it difficult to let go of those areas?
READ THE WORD: MARK 10:17-31 (ESV)
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus,looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
DIGGING DEEPER
- Retell the story of Jesus’ interaction with the young man in your own words.
- How did the man respond to Jesus’ suggestion to sell everything he had and give to the poor? What does his response tell us about how he viewed his money, or what his money meant to him?
- In verses 23-31, we overhear a conversation with Jesus and his disciples about wealth and the kingdom of God. What do we learn about the relationship between the two? What challenges you about this section? What gives you hope?
- What do the way you live and the things that make you afraid tell you about what you are ultimately trusting in for satisfaction in life (money, relationships, your abilities)?
RESPOND TO GOD
Although this passage teaches us a great deal about the dangers of putting our hope in riches, it also helps us discover where we find our ultimate joy in life. Jesus saw that the man’s ultimate joy was in his wealth, and that his riches stood in the way of his finding eternal life. Jesus invited him to go all in and was willing for him to feel the pain of losing his wealth in order to experience the freedom and joy of relationship with God.
- Ask Jesus to show you the things you are trusting in instead of him.
- Respond to his leading by confessing to him your dependence on lesser things. Believe he is more than enough to satisfy.