Preaching Series on Stewardship/Generosity (Week 2 of 3)

Week 2: August 26, 2018

Preaching text: Mark 10:17-31, emphasis on grief, treasure in heaven
Accompanying text: Psalm 51:10-12

There is an old riddle that goes, “What does a rich man lack, that a poor man has in abundance?” The answer is, of course, is “Nothing.” The context of “treasure in heaven” in Mark’s Gospel is not Jesus preaching, but a rich man asking Jesus a question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ initial answer is relational, pointing the rich man to the commandments that are meant to order human life together -- the “second table.” When the man says that he has kept all of these commandments since his youth, Jesus doesn’t challenge that claim (which in and of itself is striking!), but then identifies the one thing that the rich man does, indeed, lack, the state of having nothing. “Go, sell everything, and give it to the poor.”

This takes the commandments to ...