Sell What You Have Key Text: You lack one thing; go, sell what you have,

and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me' (Mark 10:21) Important Information Pericope (Mar 10:17 - Mar 10:31) (KJV) (15 verses, 173 words) Book Context for Mark (KJV) (678 verses, 1679 words) Chapter Context for Mark 10 (KJV) (52 verses, 358 words) The background demands there is a meeting between Christ and a man. The man is said to be (a) young (Mt. 19:20-21); (b) a ruler (Luke 18:18), a person of quality. The story indicates: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) He came running to Christ, an indication of humility He came to Christ when he was in the way in the midst of company: he did not insist upon a private conference with him by night, as Nicodemus did, though like him he was a ruler He kneeled to him, in a token of the great value and veneration he had for him His address to him was serious and weighty Christ encouraged this address The young man bid fair for heaven, having been free from any open violations of the divine commands Christ had a kindness for him

Then there is a sorrowful parting between Christ and this young man a) b) Christ gave the young man a command of trial, by which it would appear whether he did in sincerity aim at eternal life, and press towards it Upon the command he flew off (v.22)

Finally, there is Christs speech with his disciples where Jesus took this occasion to instruct his disciples in two things: a) b) How hardly shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of God (v. 23) The greatness of salvation of those that have but a little of this world, and leave it for Christ

This is what the context presents before us. But come back to the text Mark 10:21 to dig it a little deeper and you notice: a) The man to whom these words were spoken certainly found them hard. Consider his age (youth), his social status (a ruler), his economic status (wealthy); if we contemplate the feeling he must have absorbed, the hopes he must have entertained, the habits he must have formed, the change proposed to him must have been frustrating and demanding in the extreme. To exchange wealth for poverty, ease for trouble, respect for disrespect, this was hard. To the question asked by Jesus: do you know the commandments, the man answered that he had kept all these from early days - presumably ever since the age of thirteen, when he became bar mitzvah, personally responsible to keep the commandments. But he plainly expected Jesus to say something more: he did not come to him just to learn that keeping the commandments was the way to life. And the something more that he waited for came quickly: 'There is one thing you haven't done', Jesus said, 'and you can do it now: sell your property, give the poor the money you get for it, and come and join my disciples. You will get rid of the burden of material goods, and you will be laying up treasure in heaven.' It
consists of a series of five imperatives which fall on the mans ears like hammer blows: go, sell, give, come, and follow. The issue: rich young ruler lacked one thing. Jesus then told the rich man to do three things: sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him. Of these three things the overriding idea is the call to become a disciple. The words come, follow me are the same words Jesus had used to invite Simon and Andrew (1:17), and they repeat the universal invitation to become Jesus disciple (8:34). Go and liquidate your assets and give the proceedings to the poor.

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c) d)

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f) g)

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i) j)

Jesus means you lack one thing: you do not have a relationship to God. The thing that was hindering you from the relationship is riches. One thing you lack. The young mans love of riches (v. 22) and refusal to give them up to follow Jesus shows that he has broken the greatest commandment of all: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deut. 6:5; cf. Matt. 22:37). But the man found this advice too hard to accept. It is sometimes called a counsel of perfection, from the way in which another evangelist phrases it: 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor' (Matt. 19:21). But this does not mean that keeping the commandments is the duty of all, whereas giving all their goods to feed the poor is the privilege of those who would attain a higher level of devotion. Paul reminds us that even giving all our goods to feed the poor is worthless without love in the heart (1 Cor. 13:3). Matthew's wording might be rendered: 'If you want to go the whole way in fulfilling the will of God, this is what you must do.' Its worth noting that Jesus did not give that same advice to every other rich person He encountered. But it was a requirement for this young ruler. Those who wish to treat the teaching of Jesus seriously and make it their rule of life, this is still a hard saying.
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It is easy to say, 'This is how he tested one man's devotion, but he did not ask all his hearers to give away their property in the same way.' It is true that those who joined his company and went around with him as his disciples appear to have left all to follow him. But what of those friends by whose generosity they were maintained - those well-to-do women who, as Luke tells us, 'provided for them out of their means' (Luke 8:3)? They were not asked to make the sacrifice that our rich man was asked to make; it might be said, of course, that they were doing something of the same kind by supplying Jesus and the twelve out of their resources. When Jesus invited himself to a meal in the house of the chief tax-collector of Jericho, no pressure apparently was put on Zacchaeus to make his spontaneous announcement: 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor' (Luke 19:8). It is usually inferred that this was to be his practice from that time on; it is just possible, however, that he meant that this was what he regularly did. Either way, Jesus recognised him as a 'son of Abraham' in the true sense, a man of faith. But he did not tell him to get rid of the other half of his goods as well, nor did he suggest that he should quit his tax-collecting and join his company, as another tax-collector had done in Capernaum at an earlier date. Jesus's advice to the rich man is not isolated; it is a regular feature of his teaching. The same note is struck in words appearing without a narrative context in Luke 12:33-34: 'Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.' Matthew includes the same message in his version of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:19-21), in a rhythmical form which may have been designed for easy memorising: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

This teaching go and sell what you have and give to the poor was not given to one special individual; it was intended for Jesus's followers in general. n) Jesus insisted them to have the right priorities, to seek God's kingdom and righteousness above all else (Matt. 6:33). o) But it is very difficult to do this, he maintained, if one's attention is preoccupied by material wealth. Experience shows that some wealthy men and women have promoted the kingdom of God above their worldly concerns that they have, indeed, used their worldly concerns for the promotion of his kingdom. But experience also shows that their number is very small. There is something about concentration on material gain which not only encroaches on the time and energy that might otherwise be devoted to the interests of the kingdom of God; it makes one less concerned about those interests, less disposed to pay attention to them. p) Naturally so: Jesus was stating a law of life when he said that where one's treasure is, there the heart will be also. He would clearly have liked to enrol the rich man among his disciples, and up to a point the rich man was not unwilling to become one of them. But the sticking point came when he was asked to unburden himself of his property. Ask Jesus to search your heart. He is able to give you what you lack. The thing that is blocking you from having a relationship with God. Then request that Jesus removes it from you. Jesus will help you to: discover to the corruption m)
of his own heart; detach you from self-confidence and self-dependence; lead you to the salvation provided for you in the Gospel.

Think:
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How dangerous is the state of many, who yet think themselves safe! How awful is the condition of those who have no concern for their souls! How blessed are they whose hearts are right with God!