One Thing
Jerry Watts
Mark 10:23-25 / Mark 10:17-22
Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’’ What a teaching! Obviously, the disciples weren’t ready for that. ‘‘They were astonished.’’ (Jesus has a way of doing that to you). Why? These Jewish men had been taught all their lives that ‘wealth was a sign of God’s blessings.’ (Abraham, etc) Don’t feel too bad at the Jewish culture, because the American church culture has fallen in line with this thinking of, ‘‘If you’re well off, it must be God’s blessing and if you’re poor - well, Back to the text:
Verse 24 says the disciples were astonished (astounded, amazed, stunned, shocked, dumbstruck). Jesus sees the look on their faces, the color drained from the disciple’s faces. so what does He do? He raises the ante by saying, ‘‘Kids, this is serious business, (Watts translation), Read Vs 24b-26 ‘‘THEY UNDERSTOOD.’’
I begin with a note, then a question, and then let’s unpack this difficult truth.
First, both of the ‘how hard it is’ phrases end with an exclamation point. Even today, we know what that means? Next, how do one define a wealthy or rich person? Many will use terms like Millionaire or Billionaire, and certainly by the world’s metrics, this would be true. But having been raised in a family where dad was raised by a sharecropper and coming to understand how hard Dad worked just to make sure our needs (not wants) were met, I would offer that a person wealthy by this world’s standards is a person who wants for little. In other words, ‘when you want something, you go get it, order it from amazon, or buy it through the latest Facebook ad,’’ In other words, they have no real needs, rather they are working on their wants. This could well be us. Why is it that we struggle so much buying gifts for Christmas and a birthday? What do you get seems to have it all?
Personally, I remember the days of wishing and wanting for ‘things ...
Jerry Watts
Mark 10:23-25 / Mark 10:17-22
Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’’ What a teaching! Obviously, the disciples weren’t ready for that. ‘‘They were astonished.’’ (Jesus has a way of doing that to you). Why? These Jewish men had been taught all their lives that ‘wealth was a sign of God’s blessings.’ (Abraham, etc) Don’t feel too bad at the Jewish culture, because the American church culture has fallen in line with this thinking of, ‘‘If you’re well off, it must be God’s blessing and if you’re poor - well, Back to the text:
Verse 24 says the disciples were astonished (astounded, amazed, stunned, shocked, dumbstruck). Jesus sees the look on their faces, the color drained from the disciple’s faces. so what does He do? He raises the ante by saying, ‘‘Kids, this is serious business, (Watts translation), Read Vs 24b-26 ‘‘THEY UNDERSTOOD.’’
I begin with a note, then a question, and then let’s unpack this difficult truth.
First, both of the ‘how hard it is’ phrases end with an exclamation point. Even today, we know what that means? Next, how do one define a wealthy or rich person? Many will use terms like Millionaire or Billionaire, and certainly by the world’s metrics, this would be true. But having been raised in a family where dad was raised by a sharecropper and coming to understand how hard Dad worked just to make sure our needs (not wants) were met, I would offer that a person wealthy by this world’s standards is a person who wants for little. In other words, ‘when you want something, you go get it, order it from amazon, or buy it through the latest Facebook ad,’’ In other words, they have no real needs, rather they are working on their wants. This could well be us. Why is it that we struggle so much buying gifts for Christmas and a birthday? What do you get seems to have it all?
Personally, I remember the days of wishing and wanting for ‘things ...
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