Preparing for the Kingdom

This morning during our Men's Bible Study I found myself asking, "Just what does Jesus think he is doing?".  The passage that we dealt with is one of the more well known passages (Mark 10:17-31) and is the story of the rich man who asks, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

In a nutshell, Jesus seems to imply that this man is asking the wrong question.  This is the wrong question because the question is a self-centered one.  However, Jesus does answer his question honestly and clearly.  I believe that Jesus gives a straightforward answer because the rich man comes before Jesus with a straightforward question unlike the Pharisees who questioned Jesus to test him in the passage before.

After the rich man confirms that he has followed all the commandments, Jesus tells the rich man that he lacks one thing and says, "go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  The passage says that the man went away grieving.  So we are left not really knowing what the man did.

Over the course of the passage, Jesus is saying that there is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life.  He goes as far as saying that no one has the power to save themselves but adds that anything is possible with God.  All of this seems to suggest that only God is in charge of our salvation.

Again, I ask, "what does Jesus think he is doing?"  I hear Jesus inviting me to ask another question.  While I don't think it is necessarily the right question, I do find it helpful for me to think about in terms of discipleship.

What must I do to prepare for the Kingdom of God?

Jesus makes it clear that preparing for the Kingdom of God isn't just about following the commandments.  Jesus adds that preparing for the Kingdom means that we have to give up all those things that prevent us from following him.  For most of us, those things that prevent us from following Jesus are material possessions.

We learn elsewhere in scripture that God gives us everything we need in his Kingdom.  In God's Kingdom, we are completely free to rely on God for what we need.  Jesus is breaking into this world with this new kingdom and that means the source of life is completely dependent on God.      

I believe Jesus is doing a couple of things here.  First of all, he is showing us that his Kingdom is available now if we give up the illusion that we are in control of life and follow Christ who is the way to life.  He also warns us that because his Kingdom is not of this world then we might experience persecution because we will inevitably go against the grain.

Secondly, Jesus is teaching us how to live in the age to come.  He is preparing us for what is to come in the fullness of time when it is obvious that Jesus Christ is King and Ruler of all.  He is preparing us for what is to come in the fullness of time when it is obvious that greatness has nothing to do with wealth and power and has everything to do with unconditional service to others.

Like someone said this morning, we can't think of this passage as a road map to heaven.  Instead, this passage gives us a glimpse of what it means to live in God's Kingdom today and forever.