The rich man and the beggar

Mark 10: 21, 22; And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, One thing lackest thou: go, sell whatever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, [taking up the cross]. But he, sad at the word, went away grieved, for he had large possessions.

Mark 10: 51, 52; And Jesus answering says to him, What wilt thou that I shall do to thee? And the blind [man] said to him, Rabboni, that I may see. And Jesus said to him, Go, thy faith has healed thee. And he saw immediately, and followed him in the way.

These two men that I’ve read about, I realise I’ve read about them before, and more than once, but I’ve some certain measure of sense of constraint to read about them again because of what’s entered into our day; certain touches we’ve had as to God’s concern about humanity, about the race, the whole history of the race, the feelings of God in respect of the race. And then the need of the race, the need of every person in it. And I’ve read about these two men because they, in a certain sense, represent the whole scope of the race as to their conditions. We’re not told what their nationality was, we’re not told what their race was, what their colour was, we’re not told about their ancestry. But we’re told enough about them to know that they represent in a certain sense the whole span of the race. The first man was rich. One of the gospels writes about him, speaks about him, as a ruler, a young man and a ruler; and it’s clear from the testimony in each that he was possessed of large territory. He had large material possessions. He was what we’d call a very rich man. It would seem only reasonable to conclude that he was completely satisfied with what he had. He wasn’t asking for more than what he had, and you can only conclude from that that he had everything his heart could have possibly wanted. I thought of that man in Ecclesiastes. He had the power to do that, too. And he got everything his heart was set on. He could do it, he had the means for it. And this man was like that.

The second man, it’s clear that he had nothing, he had nothing. He was a beggar, sitting by the wayside begging. He had other disabilities as well; he was blind. And it doesn’t seem as though anyone was taking much interest in him. That’s not to be unexpected. It’s not to be unexpected that men generally would have very little interest in a blind beggar sitting by the wayside. It’s just remarkable how Scripture can compass humanity just in two men. It’s the same with women. It’s not a question of men or women, it’s the same thing. So every one of us here fits in somewhere in this scale. You fit in somewhere. And each had a need, you see, each had a need, but their approach was totally different, totally different. They came in touch with Christ. Couldn’t have had a greater opportunity, couldn’t have been in a position of more advantage in the universe than to come into touch with Christ. Think of who He is, you know; just think of who He is. The Mediator of God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; that’s who He is. There’s only One. There could only be One, could only be One, and this is He.

Think of what He is as Creator, upholding all things by the word of His power, keeping it going; all these wonderful hills and mountains and valleys and rivers and streams; they never looked so lovely. Jesus is keeping it going, you know. He made it and He’s keeping it going. When He’s finished with it He’s going to wrap it all up and put it away, it’s served its purpose. How many are using it for present pleasure to eternal loss. Think of that. Think of taking advantage of what Christ has provided in His infinite wisdom for men. That’s how He made it, that’s why He made it; He made it for men. Why? To gain their hearts, to win men’s hearts. He came, you see, He came for that purpose, to secure what was due to God. And what happened? He was cast out, rejected, crucified, done away with. Man was so content with having the world as it was, without God, that he cast out the Prince of life, the Saviour of the world; cast Him out, wouldn’t allow any place or space for Jesus. Have you ever been like that? Have you ever found out from soul experience that that’s what you’ve been doing? Thinking only for self and of self, no room for Christ, no provision for Him? Have you ever been like that, ever come to that in your own soul’s experience?

See, this first man, he calls Him, Good Teacher. The Lord wouldn’t accept that, the Lord wouldn’t accept that. Why callest thou Me good? See, he was just patronising the Lord. You can see him, can’t you? He was just patronising the Lord: Good Teacher. The second man didn’t say that. He said, O Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me, have mercy on me. This man was at the very depths of human wretchedness: a beggar. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever in any time in your life, have you ever felt that you were the very epitome of human wretchedness? You won’t really get the full blessing till you do, beloved. You say, Well, that’s a very miserable picture. Not really! It’s the only way of hope. You see the contrast between these two men. The first man didn’t ask Jesus for anything, he didn’t say, Lord, will You give me something? All he said was, You tell me how I can earn eternal life. I suppose he thought he could do anything. If he had to pay for it, he could have paid for it. Ever met anybody like that? That’s this man. He didn’t ask the Lord for anything. The second man, the Lord asked him what He could do for him. He says, What wilt thou, What wilt thou that I shall do to thee? He didn’t ask Him for money. He could have asked anybody for money. Very, very few people have got no money. Just a coin, just toss a coin; I wouldn’t despise it. You wouldn’t notice it. It would add up to something, wouldn’t it? He didn’t ask Jesus for money, he didn’t ask Him for eternal life, he didn’t ask Him for any possessions, he only asked Him for one thing, a need that only Jesus could fulfil.

Have you ever felt that way? Knew you were wretched, knew you were at extremity, wasted every opportunity, resisted every appeal, every approach, every offer of help, refused it, rejected it, steeled yourself against every overture that was made to offer help. Ever felt like that? And then suddenly something happens, you see, something happened. He heard that this Jesus was passing by. And this man threw away his garment. He wanted no more of it, he wanted no further connection with what had marked him, what had distinguished him. He threw it away, came to Jesus. And the Lord says to him, What wilt thou that I shall do to thee? He says, Rabboni, that I may see. He knew, he knew what he needed, and he asked Christ about it. And the result is so fine. He says, Thy faith has saved thee. Go, thy faith has healed thee. And he saw immediately, and followed Him in the way. It’s so beautiful.

The other man, the Lord said, One thing you’re lacking, only one thing you’re lacking. Would you like the Lord to say that to you today? He’s looked over the whole situation, all the circumstances, and He says, One thing lackest. I think it’s Luke says, One thing lackest to thee yet. It’s still outstanding. What did He say? Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me, follow Me. Do you think he’d have a need? Do you think he would ever have been in want, in company with Jesus? See, you can’t have eternal life without Jesus. This man wanted eternal life by himself, to enjoy his possessions, so as he’d never have to leave them. You couldn’t have eternal life without Jesus. Can’t possibly. You could get the whole world, and you still couldn’t have eternal life without Jesus. And if you had Jesus in eternal life you wouldn’t want the world. That’s the secret, beloved, of salvation. It’s possible to so come into touch with Jesus that He can so meet the need of my soul that all these other things are unwanted.

This man followed, this blind man, he’s not blind any longer. It doesn’t say anything about him begging. He didn’t go on begging, he followed Jesus in the way. O beloved, let’s get to grips today, in company with Christ, with the depth of my need, that He’ll put His finger on, He’ll touch it for every one of us. What it may be, He’ll know, and He’ll make you know what it is. But submit, just submit; at whatever cost, submit to His scrutiny, to His counsel. Come into the gain of it today, and you’ll find you’ll go a free man or a free woman or a free child, you’ll be trustworthy. The Lord told him to go, you’ll notice, told him to go. But he didn’t go; he stayed and followed. That’s a trustworthy person. Have you ever known what it is in your life to come to a depth of extremity and wretchedness, and then found an answer in the person you’d most been set against, and find that that’s the answer? This man found it in Jesus; Rabboni, that I may see. O beloved, let’s today submit to His scrutiny, to His probing, to His searching. Let Him put His finger right on it, and submit, and find what it is to be in the enjoyment of eternal life in the company of Christ. For His name’s sake.

John Hales

Other booklets are available from Christian Doctrine and Gospel Publishing, Chelwood House, Cox Lane, Chessington, Surrey KT9 1DN, UK