The Rich Man
Today we have a guest entry from a listener of the What If Project. His name is Matt Dunlap and he’s here to share with us some thoughts he’s recently had about the Gospel of Mark.
Enjoy!
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It is widely recognized that in the Gospel of Mark, many of the characters never fully understand Jesus and his message. The author, the reader, the demons, and a select few do understand Jesus and his mission, but most of the characters, including Jesus’ closest followers just don’t get it.
It intrigues me, as the gospel of Mark is considered the earliest (and most authentic?) account we have for the life of Jesus.
In Mark’s story Jesus often speaks in parables, which the disciples find hard to understand. It seems as though he is confusing them on purpose (see chapter 4 verses 11-12) even though they have been invited to follow him. All of Jesus’ followers eventually abandon him when the going gets tough. In the end he is abandoned by everyone.
The crowds turn on him.
He is forsaken by God.
The disciples have run away, leaving him to die alone. They never fully understand what has happened.
Read Mark’s gospel and see it for yourself. In the earliest and most reliable manuscripts of the gospel of Mark, the disciples never learn that Jesus has risen from the grave.
To follow Jesus is a difficult task (chapter 8:34-35). In the gospel of Mark, whenever Jesus uses the word “gospel,” the surrounding text illustrates a character having given all that they can; even suffering for the cause, sometimes to the point of death.
In the story of the rich man (chapter ten) we are told that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples hear this, they are “amazed” and ask “then who can be saved?” Jesus has told the rich man to sell everything, give the money to the poor and “follow me.” The rich man walks away sad because he had great wealth. And we are left to assume that this is the end of the rich man’s story.
The poor guy is doomed.
A camel just cannot get through the eye of a needle.
BUT, Jesus says that “all things are possible with God!”
Fast forward to the last week of Jesus’ life … In the gospel of Mark, and ONLY in the gospel of Mark, we are told about a mysterious naked guy who runs away when Jesus is arrested. Mark 14:51-52: “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”
Who is this guy?
Let’s go back to the rich man in chapter ten - I would like to think that the rich man DID give away his possessions and DID follow Jesus. Yes, I’d like to think that the rich man and the naked guy are one and the same (the linen garment would imply that the naked guy is wealthy). The rich man did it! He did what Jesus told him to do!
… Almost.
He gave away everything, even the shirt off his back, and followed Jesus ALMOST all the way to the end, but he didn’t quite make it. To save his life, he had to lose it (Mark 8:35) but just like the rest of the gang, he failed.
Shucks.
Maybe NOT ALL things are possible with God?
We have been told that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The rich man has shown us that it is easier to give away your possessions, to give up life as you know it than it is to give up YOUR LIFE.
Would any one of us be able to give up life as we know it and follow Jesus all the way to the cross?
Am I like the rich man?
Are you like the rich man?
Could you lose your life to save it?
You don’t have to. Here’s the gospel: Jesus did it for you. He gave his life as a ransom for many. The temple curtain has been torn in two. All things are possible with God.
Only once in the Gospel of Mark is it directly stated that Jesus loved a person. And that person is: the rich man.
Matt