Introduction
‘Why do you call me good?’ Another of those simple, yet unbelievably complex, questions of Jesus’. What does good look like; for us personally, as worshipping communities, as a society?
Mark 10.17–31
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ‘ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’
Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’
Questions:
- ‘Why do you call me good?’ How much do we yearn to be called good?
- ‘he was shocked and went away grieving’. What might God be asking of you that feels too hard?
- How does this passage challenge your attitude to your material possessions and wealth?
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
There’s a theory, probably a myth, that “the needle” was a narrow gate in Jerusalem which a loaded camel couldn’t pass through. Whether true or not, the imagery from Jesus is striking. How about a game of human “Buckeroo” where a willing volunteer is loaded with more an more things and then attempts to walk down a narrow aisle like an eager dog trying to carry a long stick through the door.
How do children respond to this passage when put against the encouragement they hear to “be good, work hard, get good grades, get a good job, earn lots of money?”
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