"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and, yet forfeit his soul?"
Mark 8:36
One of the techniques that teacher’s often use to teach their students is asking questions. Teachers use questions in quizzes and exams but they also use them in their daily lectures, either as a way to review old material or to introduce new material. Well, as the Master Teacher, Jesus of course made good use of this particular method of instruction. In fact, the Gospels record the fact that our Lord used this technique over and over again as a way to help His disciples understand vitally important truth. In the weeks to follow we are going to look as some of the questions that Jesus raised as He taught His disciples.
One of the fascinating aspects about Jesus’ methodology of teaching was that He used stories and examples from everyday life. His parables or His sermons touched the nerve of the people because they could relate to it. Similarly the questions that He raised were also connected to a common man’s everyday life. Jesus drew His questions from the realm of nature [Matthew 6:27-28], He used humor to convey His point [Matthew 7: 3], He also used family relations as an example to teach [Matthew 7-9]. The other area that Jesus heavily drew from, was the area of commerce or business.
In our passage today Jesus asks a question where He use’s words such as profit/gain and forfeit. These are commercial terms, the disciples and the crowds would have immediately connected with these concepts. And so do we, even. All of us in our everyday affairs seek to get a good bargain. Whether it is haggling over price with the vegetable vendor or comparing prices from different shops. At the end of the day all of us want a good deal. Jesus in Mark 8:34-38, warns us that it is a bad bargain to gain the world and to lose our soul. Why did Jesus say that it was bad business sense to keep our eyes only on this world? I believe Jesus said this for two reasons.
1. First of all- Our world and the things of this world are temporary. It won’t last forever.
In I John 2:15-17, John draws a contrast between what the world has to offer, that which is temporary and will soon pass away with what God has to offer that which is eternal. Paul in the midst of his suffering and trails drew strength from the fact that what is seen is temporary [the world and its problems] but that which is unseen is eternal [Kingdom Of God]. [2 Corinthians 4:18]
Prior to Jesus’ resurrections, for the disciples, learning to live in this temporary world with their eyes on the eternal was one of the hardest lesson’s that they had to learn. Mark 8:31 is a pivotal point in the Gospel of Mark, because from this point on, Jesus began to speak plainly and directly to His disciples about his death and resurrection. He began to prepare them for what was going to happen to Him. He foretold of His journey to the cross. In Mark 8:32, Peter responded to this by taking Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. Peter did not want Jesus to go walk the road of suffering and death. Peter’s response needs to be understood in the context of what has happened before. Mark 8 begins with, Jesus’ miracle of feeding the four thousand, later in Mark 8 22-26; Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida. In the light of all these miracles, what Peter was saying to Jesus was “with all this power at your disposal you can rule the world, why talk about death and suffering?” Peter’s focus was on this world and on the gains of this world, where as Jesus’ focus was on His mission. That is-to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus came as the king but not of this temporary earthly kingdom but of the eternal kingdom of God. In John 18:36 Jesus declared before Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world…my kingdom is from another place”.
The disciples understood this truth only after they experienced Jesus’ resurrection for the same Peter who at one point of time rebuked Jesus for talking about the cross and suffering, wrote in his letter In I Peter 4: 13 “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is reveled”. Christian living is a call to live with our eyes fixed on the eternal and not the temporal. Jesus in Matthew 6:19 said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What are we investing our lives in today? What is driving purpose of our lives? What have we set our hearts on? If it is the things of this world then we are in for a bad deal because this world and its desires will pass away but those who do the will of God live forever.
2. The second reason why it is bad business to invest in the things of this temporary world is the fact that you and I are not temporary.
King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastics 3:11 “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” If there is anyone who knew how unsatisfying and frustrating it was in trying to fulfill our hearts desire by the things of this world, it was King Solomon. He had everything one would want. Knowledge, fame, wealth, sensual pleasure- you name it and he had it. Yet his journal as recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes is punctuated with this one remark “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless”
Human beings are created with an eternal bend of mind, and can never be satisfied only with the thing’s of this world. We are constantly looking for something bigger and higher than what the world has to offer. C.S Lewis once rightly said “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world” Things of this world may give us momentary pleasure, temporary excitement but ultimate satisfaction in life comes only by being connected with the author of life Himself. I John 5:11-12 says “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life”.
How does it affect our lives here on earth to know that the world we live in is a temporary –but we are not?
A) It alters our perspective on success.
It is said success is a moving target. Having achieved what we aimed for only leave us with a sense of wanting more. Those who live by the standards of this world measure success in terms of wealth, fame and prosperity, but those who live in the light of eternity measure success by a different standard altogether.
In Luke 10:17-18 we read about the seventy two disciples who were sent out to minister. They returned with joy having seen the tremendous results of their ministry, as they ministered in Jesus’ name and with his authority. They were elated by the victories they had witnessed, and Jesus shared their enthusiasm. He brought them to earth, however, by reminding them of their most important victory-that their names were registered in heaven. This honor was more important than any other accomplishment.
When we look at life from an eternal perspective, we learn to measure success not by our temporal earthly basis but based on God’s eternal standards.
B) It alters our perspective on suffering.
Peter who at one point of time discouraged Jesus from taking up the cross, now in his letter in I Peter 1:7 encourages his readers by saying that they must not just endure hardship but should actual rejoice in trails. Why this change of position? Having encountered the risen Lord, Peter has now seen the bigger picture. In comparison with eternity, all suffering would last only “a little while”.
Similarly Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17 say’s “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far out weights them all.” Paul was confident that one day his trails and suffering would be over and he would obtain God’s rest and reward.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us that there is life beyond the grave. And it is this hope of sharing eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that keeps us going even through the most difficult times. The poem entitled ‘End of Journey’ captures the spirit in which a Christian is called to live in the midst of difficulties.
End of the Journey
Light after darkness, gain after loss;
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears;
Home after wandering, praise after tears;
Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain;
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast;
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last;
Near after distant, gleam after gloom;
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss;
Right was the pathway, leading to this.
Keep what you can’t lose
It was Jim Elliot who once said “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” Jesus in His question “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?” Challenges us to consider what our priorities in life are? Are we running after the temporary or are we taking hold of that which is eternal?
Rev. Paras Tayade
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