Title: Misfortunes from Ignorance / Mark 11:17-22
Contents
It's an old story. A farmer bought a mirror from the market. This farmer looked in the mirror and was so curious that he would hide it, and when bored he would take it out and laugh. One day, the wife was suspicious of her husband's behavior and took out a mirror from the closet. Then there was a young woman in the mirror. The startled wife runs to her mother-in-law and weeps. "Mother, can this be like this? Doesn't your husband hide his girl secretly and meet him every night and whisper?" The mother-in-law listened to her daughter-in-law and took the mirror and looked into it. Then he left the room and said: "You idiot, what are you going to do with the old old man?"
Browning called ignorance "a sin that is not pure", and Shakespeare said, "There is no darkness greater than ignorance." There are happy people and unhappy people among the love in this world today. What, then, is the life of an unhappy person? Are you referring to a person who has failed in marriage or a person who has failed in business? From a human point of view, of course, you could say so. But we cannot say that the failure of a home or business is bad luck. Because the failure of marriage or business, which is expressed as unhappiness, has an opportunity to recover.
So what is the real misfortune? It is the expectation and hope that ends in disappointment, frustration, and sadness. “As Jesus was going on the way, a man ran up to him and knelt down and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ (verse 17) and went away” (verse 20), we can see the tragic aspect of humanity in which expectations and hopes have been turned into sorrows and worries4.
One day, as Jesus was going out, a man ran up to him and knelt down and asked. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” "Why do you say that I am good? There is no one good but God. You know the commandments, do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, do not deceive yourself, honor your parents "At this time, this person said, "I kept them all. Seeing this, Jesus spoke with a heart of love. “You lack one thing; go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and follow me.”
This text says that the true tragedy and misfortune of man is to leave Jesus. Even if you have all the riches and respects of the world, even if you have all the honor and power, it is unfortunate and tragic to leave Jesus. Because in Jesus there is life, there is eternal life, and there are conditions for all human happiness.
Nevertheless, why are many people leaving Jesus today? That's Sochi from ignorance. Napoleon said, "The only conquest that leaves no regrets is the conquest of man's ignorance." That's right. Therefore, the way to conquer ignorance is the way to overcome misery and tragedy.
In the text, the reason the person who came to Jesus with a positive attitude to know the way of eternal life had to turn around with sorrow and worry without fulfilling his wish is in his ignorance. Then, let's think through the text of what factors drive life into misery and tragedy.
First, the true misery and tragedy is not knowing Jesus.
“As Jesus was going on the road, a man ran up to him and knelt down and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (verse 17) “Teacher, I have kept all these things since I was young” (20). section)
We see in the passage above that this man called Jesus the Good Teacher. This man who came to Jesus was a man with many strengths in faith. He was a man with the passion of faith running toward Jesus, and he had the humility of faith to kneel before Jesus. He was also a man with a spiritual desire and longing to ask Jesus how to gain eternal life. The fact that a person has the passion, humility, and longing for faith is an essential quality in the life of faith. The problem with this man was that he did not know who Jesus was.
This man who appeared in the text only knew Jesus as a good teacher for free. A good teacher is called 'Agados ditas kalos' in Greek, which means a kind teacher and a virtuous teacher. This means that this man only knew Jesus as a virtuous teacher and did not know that he was the Christ, the Savior of mankind. This was his tragedy and misfortune.
In Acts 3:17, when Peter was preaching to the Jews and talking about the Jews crucifying Jesus, he said, "Brothers, you did this because you did not know it, and I know that your rulers did the same." Both the words of Acts and the main text emphasize the fact that 'ignorance is a sin', as Browning said.
Why is the world full of idols today? Why are there still so many unbelievers? It is because they do not know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who saved mankind from sin and death. In this way, not knowing Jesus is the cause of the greatest misfortune and tragedy.
Second, unhappiness and tragedy lie in not knowing one's own shortcomings.
Jesus said this to the man who came out to ask for the way to eternal life. “You know the commandments, do not murder. Do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not get deceived, honor your father and mother” (verse 19). “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth” (verse 20).
The above statement shows how confident he was with his answer. He assures us that he has kept all the commandments that Jesus said from his youth. But this man did not realize that he lacked one thing. “When he saw him, he loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor” (verse 21). These words show that this man had no heart for the poor who had pity on the poor. A heart that cares for the poor means a heart of love. When Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, he was emphasizing that love is the essence of the commandment by saying that if you do not keep the commandment of love, even if you keep all the laws, it is wrong.
We know that the same content as the text is also recorded in Matthew 19 and Luke 18. If you look at this content, you will find out that this man who asked Jesus for the way of eternal life was a powerful ruler and a wealthy man. And you can see that he is a young man with a strong ability to search for the truth. We see here that he lacked nothing in the outward aspect. But he lacked the spirit of love for the poor. The real tragedy lies in not knowing that the spirit of love is lacking.
Gentlemen, it is true that we need soaring ambition and youth. We know that the power to shake the world is also good for us. We also know that we need wealth to buy anything. But what is needed above all is the spirit of love. That's what Jesus taught this man.
Finding one's own tribe is not for everyone. Often people are unaware of their lack and boast of their strengths and good points. But a true Christian will have to look for his own shortcomings.
"Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was able to speak and act" (Acts 7:22). Moses was a very capable man. When Moses received God's call from God on Mount Horeb in the wilderness of Midian after forty years passed, he said that he was unable to carry out the Lord's mission because he had a stiff mouth and dull tongue. Here, we learn that the deeper a person becomes spiritually, the more he realizes his own shortcomings. This is the reason why people who have received more grace are humble.
Third, true misery and tragedy is the inability to give up.
When Jesus told the man to sell all his possessions and give to the poor and follow Jesus, the man went away grieved because he had a lot of money. Here we learn that this man's misfortune and tragedy lie in his unwillingness to give up in his mind and spirit. This person did not give up his greed for material things, or more fundamentally, for material things. Eventually, he gave up his eternal life and left Jesus. Why did Jesus tell this person to give up material things? He had a strong love for material things than anyone else, and his attachment to materials was stronger than anyone else, so he told him to give up material things.
In 2 Timothy 4:10, there is a saying, "Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and went to Thessalonica...". This saying that he went to Thessalonica because he loved the world means that he went out into the world because he could not give up on it.
The things of this world are not seized just because I hold on to them. In Exodus 3, Moses is on the top of Mount Horeb, and Matthew God calls him from the flames of a bush. And he tells you to take off your sandals. To take off your shoes means to give up on the past. Aren't shoes meant to be worn by people on their feet and to drive sheep to earn money? God was telling Moses to give up his real life and start anew for the exodus of Israel from Egypt. To get one like this, you have to give up the other. You can't get both at the same time.
We've been told today what the real misery is and why these tragedies happen. It comes from not knowing Jesus, not knowing our lack, and not giving up. Now, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will know Jesus, realize your own shortcomings, and be able to give up on the world that should be abandoned.