Read Together: Mark 10:17–31

We saw on Sunday that the Kingdom of God is a treasure that is worth the joy of recklessly abandoning everything else. There may be a cost to following Jesus, but the gain is infinitely greater than anything we give up: Jesus himself. In Mark 10, we see the same truth put forth in the negative example about a rich young man.

This man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus calls him to sell all he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow him. This way he will have treasure in heaven. Yet, this young man who ran to Jesus eager to learn the way to eternal life now turns around and leaves discouraged. It is clear that he does not view Jesus and his kingdom worth that kind of sacrifice.

The rich young man did not really think Christ and his kingdom worth the cost of selling all his stuff. He was the opposite of the man in Jesus’s parable who sold all to obtain the treasure hidden in the field. This young man did not leave with joy to sell all he had but left sad to hold onto his stuff. His valuation of things was all messed up. He viewed his wealth as having greater value than Jesus.

The point of this story isn’t to guilt trip us into selling all our stuff. It’s to convict us that we can tend to be just like this rich young man and fail to see Jesus as the greatest treasure. We tend to view Jesus as an add-on to our lives. Or we view him simply as a means to an end. Yet, we must come to treasure him above everything else, to the extent that we could joyfully abandon everything else if it meant gaining him. Following Jesus may cost us everything, but he is always worth it.

Discussion Questions

1. What was the one thing this rich young man lacked?
2. According to Jesus, why is it more difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom?
3. Does following Jesus mean we literally have to give up all our stuff? If not, what’s the big idea of Jesus’s words to this young man?

Ideas for Younger Kids

• Read “Treasure Hunt” in The Jesus Storybook Bible (pages 250–55). This is a retelling of the parable of the treasure in Matthew 13. Highlight for your kids that Jesus and his kingdom is better than any other treasure.   

Memorization: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8 ESV)

Song: Listen to “How Rich a Treasure We Possess” (Matt Boswell). “The sum of all created things are worthless in compare / For our inheritance is Him whose praise angels declare.”  

Pray Together

• Praise God that in Christ we gain the greatest treasure in the universe.
• Confess before God that we often value and treasure lesser things and fail to grasp the true value of knowing Jesus.   
• Give thanks to God for his grace in opening our eyes to even just a little of the value of knowing Jesus.  
• Pray that God would help us to grasp more truly and deeply the surpassing worth of knowing King Jesus and being a part of his Kingdom.

Go Together

• As Pastor Jerry mentioned Sunday, we need to pray that God would give us a greater sense of the worth of Christ and his greatness. Commit to pray together this week that God would help you grasp the true value of the Kingdom and the greatness of the King. Consider using Ephesians 1:15–23 as a template for your prayers.  
• Discuss together what you tend to treasure. Ask each other: If Jesus were to walk into our home and ask me to give up something, what wouldn’t I want him to say? How you answer that reveals what you’re treasuring. Commit whatever you tend to treasure to the Lord with open hands, asking him to help you treasure Jesus above everything else.