1. OK…so this young man falls on his knees before Jesus. At first glance, this guy seems to be a humble guy.
2. Why do you think Jesus says what He says about being called a “good teacher”? Do you think it’s because he wants the young man to say that Jesus is more than a teacher, or do you think it’s because He thinks the man doesn’t realize who he is talking to?
3. The guy wants eternal life. Who doesn’t?
4. Notice Jesus’ initial response. He goes over a lot of the commandments. He skips all the ones that are God-focused and instead talks about the ones that are about how to treat other people. Why do you think He does that?
5. Do you think this guy actually has never done these things? I mean, Jesus is rewriting what murder and adultery mean. Do you think this guy has never hated, lusted, stolen, lied, or been disrespectful to his mom and dad?
6. Jesus loves this guy. Do you think that He chuckles when this guy makes this ridiculous claim about himself?
7. Jesus knows how to hit him where it hurts– his security. He tells him to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. That would be good. Hey, quick question…is this the way all of us reach eternal life, or is this just Jesus’ “remedy” for this particular guy?
8. That guy wasn’t so excited when he found out he couldn’t be loaded anymore. We don’t really know what he did after that because he left. What do you think he did?
9. Why would it be hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom? Isn’t about where you place your trust? It makes me think of Allstate. Their motto is “You’re in good hands.” Don’t you think that’s somewhat sacrilegious for an insurance company to take the idea of us being in “God’s hands” and saying that, because you have your finances in order with us, you are in good hands? Doesn’t that fly in the face of what Jesus is teaching here?
10. That would have to be one skinny camel.
11. I would think that we are all in trouble when it comes to this idea of wealth because I think we all have more than we could possibly need. I don’t know how many starving people have time to get on my Bible blog.
12. So…God makes it possible for us, for rich people, to have eternal life. How?
13. Peter pipes in that they have done what the young guy wouldn’t do– they gave up their lives to follow Jesus. But…would that really be enough, in and of itself?
14. Jesus says that they will be repaid for that they are doing, but did you notice that one of the promises that comes with this sacrifice is “persecutions”? That doesn’t sound like a reward. Then again, there is that eternal life at the end. What is eternal life? Why is it so precious?
