1. Title: Rich Young Ruler
Big Idea: We should live authentic Christian lives – as real on the inside as we appear on the
outside.
Desired Result: To see that it is easy to say the right things, be in the right places, and to look
good on the outside, but that true obedience and devotion to Christ means removing any and all
barriers that we have on the inside.
Intro: Apple Story…when I was in High School, we often went to the movies on Friday night. I
remember one time when my best friend and I stopped at the grocery store prior to our heading
to the theater and I decided that I was going to buy an apple and eat that instead of candy or
popcorn. So as I stood in front of the apple bin, I looked for the best looking apple. And I found
it…oh, it was bright red, and shined! I paid for this and headed to the movie. Once the movie
started, I began to polish my apple on my shirt. I got it so shiny that I could watch the movie on
the skin of that bright red apple. When I finally decided to bite into that perfect apple, I was met
with the worst taste of my life - the whole inside was completely rotten and disgusting. To this
day, I cannot bite into an apple without flashing back to that day.
You see, on the outside, that apple met everything that I was looking for. It was bright red and
shiny, it was firm and looked healthy, it was the perfect shape for an apple; but inside – where it
really mattered – a worm had gotten in and had made quite a nice little home for himself.
Trans: “Just like that apple, we can look really good on the outside and still be completely rotten
on the inside.”

2. Main Text: Mark 10:17-27
“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good
teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give
false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom
of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said 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
a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are
possible with God.”
Background: These accounts are found in all 3 of the synoptic gospels.
Question: How can you look good on the outside, but still be rotten inside?
I. You can ask the right question.
A. It can be sincere. (Mark 10:17)

3. 1. The young man was searching
a. He was running around the countryside looking for Jesus!
2. The young man was sincere
a. He knelt in front of Christ and used honorific title to address Him.
“Why do you call me GOOD TEACHER?” Jesus is essentially asking this man if
he is ready to accept that Jesus is God’s Son. You see, if He is merely a teacher,
then what His words teach would only be as worthwhile as any other teachings
the young man could receive from anywhere. But, if Jesus is the Creator of the all
things – then what He teaches would be ultimately serious.
3. The young man asked a question
a. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
He showed urgency and respect, and we can understand all that we need to of his
intentions because of the response Jesus gave him, “He loved him.” Ultimately,
the young man sought to ask Jesus an important question because he saw a need
in his life. He asked the right question.
But
B. It can be deceitful. (Matthew 22:34-40)
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an
expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in
the Law?”

4. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your
entire mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
1. The Pharisees also were searching
a. They wanted to trap Him!
2. The Pharisees were deceitful
a. They also used honorific title, but to test Him.
3. The Pharisees questioned Jesus
a. “What is the Greatest Commandment?”
They showed treachery and contempt for Christ, but still asked the right question.
Illustration: In the book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a computer named Deep Thought was developed to learn
the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. The designers of this computer
asked it to find the answer, and the computer said that it would take 7 million years to run that program. After 7
million years, the people gathered around the computer with much fanfare and anticipation of finding out this
answer, at which point the computer stated, “The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and
everything is 42.”
Application: Unlike in science fiction, if we ask questions of the Creator of the universe, regardless of our intention,
we will be shown the truth of the matter. Any room can look clean when illuminated by a candle, but turn on a
100w bulb and you will see the true mess. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in
the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4 & 5) This is what Christ does for all life, not just
those who want to seek Him. His light is the life that is in all of Creation, and it shows all their true state. Will the
questions asked of Christ today in your life show a sincere intent? Or will it show areas in your life that you would
rather keep hidden?

5. Trans: As we can see just asking the right question is not enough. The young man asked a great
question out of sincerity. But the Pharisees also asked a great question, though this time out of
deception. So, how else can we look good on the outside, but be rotten on the inside as my
apple?
II. You can get the right answer.
A. It can come from Scripture. (Mark 10: 19)
1. “Ten Commandments” – What is he talking about? (Ex. 20:1-17)
a. First Tablet – How we relate to God (I-IV)
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
“You shall not make for yourself an idol…”
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God…”
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…”
b. Second Tablet – How we relate to each other (V-X)
“Honor your father and your mother…”
“You shall not murder.”
“You shall not commit adultery.”
“You shall not steal.”
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
“You shall not covet your neighbor…”
Notice that Jesus only mentions the commandments from the second tablet when
discussing this with the young man. The young man confidently replies, “I have

6. been doing this my whole life.” As we already have seen, there is nothing that
should lead us to believe that this young man is lying or boasting. Jesus looked at
him and loved him…this man was following those commandments.
2. “One thing you lack” – What is the answer?
This young man looked at external obedience, whereas Jesus looks to the inward
obedience. By the question that he posed, “Which ones?” we can gain insight into
his misunderstanding, he believed that there are greater and lesser
commandments. Jesus explains that though the young man has followed the
second tablet, he has broken the first. He has a ‘god’ that he has placed before the
Lord.
We can see this with more clarity by looking again to what Jesus taught the Pharisees.
B. It can come in personal interactions with Jesus.
1. “Greatest Commandment” – Satisfies the whole law (Mk. 12:28-34)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given
them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord
is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no
commandment greater than these.”
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no
other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your

7. strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and
sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom
of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
The Pharisee had sought to trap Jesus, but Christ used the opportunity to teach
them, and to confront their misunderstanding of what God really wants.
a. “Shema” (Deut. 6:4-5) Love the Lord with all you heart.
If we love the Lord with our whole heart, then we will naturally follow the rest of
the first tablet. If we truly love God, then of course we wouldn’t use His name in
vain, we would honor the Sabbath, and certainly we would not bow before other
gods.
b. “Royal Law” (Lev. 19:18) Love your neighbor as yourself.
As with the “Shema,” if we truly love our neighbor as ourselves, then we of
course wouldn’t murder anyone, wouldn’t lie, and wouldn’t covet.
2. “You are not far from the kingdom of heaven” – what are they both missing?
We can look really good to the world, by how we walk and how we talk, but we
can also have a dirty dark compartment inside of us, where we keep hate, lust,
pride, and selfishness out of sight. Just as the Pharisees looked good, with their
robes and their learning about the Law…just as the young man looked good, with
his youth, his riches, and his position, both were missing the goal.
3. “Guilty of all” – (James 2:10)

8. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Illustration: When architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the interior of Windsor Town Hall
near London in 1689, he built a ceiling supported by pillars. After city fathers had inspected the
finished building, they decided the ceiling would not stay up and ordered Wren to put in some
more pillars. England's greatest architect didn't think the ceiling needed any more support, so he
pulled a fast one. He added four pillars that did not do anything -- they don't even reach the
ceiling. The optical illusion fooled the municipal authorities, and today the four sham pillars
amuse many a tourist.
Application: So just like our apple which is pleasing to the eye but rotten to the core, the pillars
that looked good, in reality do nothing for us. When Jesus taught the Pharisees about following
the Shema and the Royal Law, He was directly attacking the ‘sham pillars’ that they had created
in their lives. See, just attending church on Sunday is not enough. It will look good on the
outside, but God desires true worship. Remember that the Law says “Do not murder” and “Do
not commit adultery” but Jesus teaches that to look lustfully at a woman is the same as adultery,
and that to show hatred is the same as murder. As we have seen in James 2:10, if we break any
one of the laws, we are under the condemnation of all. Jesus engaged the young man and the
Pharisees at their level of understanding not to show them HOW TO BE SAVED, BUT TO
SHOW THEM THAT THEY NEED TO BE SAVED.
We know that Jesus is the Light that brings life, but Jesus is also the giver of Grace and Truth.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1: 17
Truth is given to us in that Jesus illuminates our need for salvation, and grace is given to us in
that Jesus paid the price for our need.

9. Trans: What we have seen is that to look good on the outside is not enough, because ultimately
the only thing that matters is what you choose to do on the inside.
III. You can make the wrong choice.
A. You can choose to love other things more than God.
1. The young man walked away!
The young man went to the right Person…he knew he needed something more and asked
the right question. He was given the right answer…and he walked away. He was sad,
because he had found the answer that he was looking for but after weighing the cost, he
choose to love other things before God.
2. The young man was unwilling to give up his idol.
In the end he left saddened because even though he was missing something, and
especially after he was shown that he had placed material things before God, he was
unwilling to get rid of it and fully love God.
B. You can choose to love other things more than your neighbor.
1. The Pharisee refused to ask any more questions.
The Pharisee that engaged Jesus was so close…he asked a good question of the author of
Truth, but just when he began to understand, he refused to proceed further. In the end,
with the one person who would be able to teach the most, the Pharisees decide that they
didn’t want the answers from Jesus.
2. The Pharisees refused to apply his knowledge.

10. The Pharisee made the choice to reach a point where he was fine with his level of
understanding. He had insight, but where was the action that resulted from his
understanding?
Illustration: According to Nike company lore, one of the most famous and easily recognized
slogans in advertising history was coined at a 1988 meeting of Nike’s ad agency Wieden and
Kennedy and a group of Nike employees. Dan Wieden, speaking admiringly of Nike’s can-do
attitude, reportedly said, “You Nike guys, you just do it.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Application: * “Just do it” – (James 1:22)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
We have to be doers of the Word. The sad part of these stories is that the young man and the
Pharisee were so close! They had heard the truth proclaimed, and demonstrated the beginnings
of understanding…but they didn’t follow through with turning that knowledge into action.
Remember, Christ was not telling them HOW to be saved, but that they NEEDED to be saved.
The only way for salvation is in accepting the free gift that Jesus Christ offered with His death,
burial and resurrection. The reason that the young man walked away sad was because he finally
knew! He had asked the right question: How do I inherit. And then he was given the Truth: he
had a god before God. And he decided to walk away. Interesting that when he was questioning
the need in his life he ran to Jesus, but when he found the answer, he walked away. He chose to
remain spoiled on the inside. He chose to keep his worthless pillars up. He chose to base his life
on a foundation that was worthless.

11. But you can choose differently! You can choose to allow Jesus to not only illuminate your life,
but renew it as well. After witnessing that the young man walks away – a young man that looked
so good on the outside – the disciples asked who then can be saved? (Mark 10:27) Jesus
answered them, “With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Jesus is
saying here that when we trust our lives to Christ that the rotten inside that we have will be made
new again. When the truth presents itself to us, are you going to walk away? Are you going to
refuse to listen anymore? Are you going to be satisfied with just hearing the right answer, or are
you going to choose to use the right answer to make a change in your life today?
Consider all the application possibilities for this lesson. Spend a few minutes on discussion of these applications, try
to guide the discussion into to practical application of real world issues. I.e, “keeping up with the Jones'”,
pornography, fishing/hunting alone.
Group will work to collectively identify the areas that we commonly find ourselves struggling with. What are steps
that we can take to begin to give these areas completely to God?
As a group we will identify a verse from today's study that all will work to memorize as a means to remind ourselves
throughout the week of the need to show on our outsides what is going on truly in our insides.