Bible Questions Answered:
“In mark 10:17 the rich young ruler called Jesus good, what did he mean by that?”
Luay/ Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Bible Answer:
Mark 10:17-23 KJV (Matthew 19:16-22/ Luke 18:18-24 KJV)
17 And 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?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me Good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 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 mother.
20 And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 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.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
(The 5 commandments the Lord asked.)
19 Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14 # 7)
Do not kill (Exodus 20:13 # 6)
Do not steal ….. Defraud (Cheat.) not (Exodus 20:15 # 8)
Do not bear false witness....(Exodus 20:16 # 9)
Honor thy father and mother. (Exodus 20:12 # 5)
Our Lord never asked thee other 5 commandments of the Rich Young Man, because He knew- that he was guilty of not doing them.
What obedience had “wealth,” blocked out of his life?
(The 5 commandments our Lord did not ask him.)
Commandment #1 Exodus 20:3 KJV
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Commandment #2 Exodus 20:4-6 KJV
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
Commandment #3 Exodus 20:7 KJV
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
Commandment #4 Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Commandment #10 Exodus 20:17 KJV
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
Now although this rich young ruler (Luke 18:18 KJV), had everything, yet still there was something which he yearned for.
Mark 10:17 KJV
“...there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
This young man, was on a Spiritual Quest, he came running, and knelt to Jesus. Oh that everyone was that eager, that spiritually hungry, to come to the Lord!
"Our Hearts are Restless Until They Rest in You"
From the Confessions
Saint Augustine of Hippo
This young rulers' self righteousness, had left him flat, and he knew it. Surely, there must be something more, and he desperately need and wanted it. Oh that self-righteous men everywhere would come to the same conclusion.
Addressing the Lord, he said, “Good Master*” (Mark 10:17 KJV).
Master-Greek-Didaskalos (Did-as-kal-os): An instructor: doctor, master, teacher.
Master or teacher was a title reserved for a Jewish Rabbi.
By adding “Good,” he was saying in effect, that Jesus was more, much more honorable than a Rabbi.
Mark 10:17 KJV
“...what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
Mark 10:18 KJV
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me Good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
What was Jesus saying here?
Jesus did not “reject,” the reference to His being called good. In effect, the young man was referring to Jesus as God, for truly only God, can be said to be good.
This Jesus did not refuse.
Acts 4:10-12 KJV
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead...
11 This is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the Head of the Corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Mark 10:19,20 KJV
19 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 mother.
20 And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Pick and choose religion, did “not,” originate in our day, as hard as that may be to believe, for the young ruler was a prime example of his living, what suited him.
Our Lords task was to unmask his sin of greed, and in so doing, turn him to the living bread, who both knew everything about him, and who loved him, this He did.
And what then was the young man's response?
Was it amazement mixed with wonder, that “yes this was God, and He has shown me how I have been living, and how I must change! Then and only then, will my soul be satisfied.”
No......perhaps unrealized before by him, the young ruler was actually looking for a God, who would bless his selfish ways, while meeting his spiritual hunger. This he did “not,” find.
Instead, he found the Living God, who knew him through and through, who had come to lovingly correct and save him. This he did not want, for even though his spiritual hunger would be quelled, yet it would be at the expense of his very rich and pleasing way of life, a custom that he could “not,” live without.
Luke 15:16-24 KJV (The Prodigal Son.)
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Is it hard to believe, that many though in dire spiritual hunger, “will not,” leave the pig pen of fleshly desires and return to the father? Whether hard to conceive or not, how oft it is true.
Mark 10:21-23 KJV
21 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.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
“Pastor, if God thought I was doing wrong, and not fit for heaven, He would let me know, He would not let me be lost!”
Listen, listen........................do you hear it?
Do you hear it?
God is speaking, He is speaking through His word.
To hear Him, read His word.
He is warning many, but they are “not,” listening, or if they do hear, they reject His word.
The rich young ruler, had come away, with his encounter with Jesus with much, much, much more than he had hoped for.
He had come for recognition and blessing with hopes of spiritual fulfillment.
But, he left with his conscience ablaze, and his darkened way forever self determined.
Isaiah 64:6 KJV
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Our living God, wants to “speak to you.”
And He will if you open up His word, to hear what He has to say.
Isaiah 30:21 KJV
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Matthew 7:21 KJV
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
James 1:22-25 NLT
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
