What to do to inherit eternal life — Mark 10:17-22
Imagine the golden opportunity you’ve been praying for. There’s the guy you work with. There’s the girl that you go to school with. You know that they’re not Christians and you’ve had some good conversations about superficial things. But you’ve been praying for an open door to speak freely and openly about the gospel. Then one day it happens. They come up to you out of the blue and say, “What do I have to do to get into heaven?” The door has opened. What would you say?
Something similar happens in our text from Mark this morning. No, we’re not told whether Jesus had any previous interactions with this person. We don’t know if our Lord Jesus had been praying for him in any particular way. But we do know that the question is the same: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
As we’ll see, the question has some issues sticking to it. But the tenor or direction of the question is crucial, critical, correct. It’s really one of the most important questions a person can ask. How can we get into the life that lasts forever? How can one live with God forever? These are questions that the gospel answers.
