Do you want Earthly or Heavenly Treasures?
Mark 10:28-31
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
28 Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." 29 Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the Gospel's sake, 30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 "But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."
The early church used the idea of free stuff when a person came to be a follower of Jesus. It is documented that the early followers of Jesus had to give up everything they owned to the general community. This passage has Jesus telling them to do this. Giving everything to the community was to be rewarded with a more significant amount of possessions. This made Christianity attractive, especially to peasants who owned very little. The idea of rewards in the present age is still used today by the church. One will not receive a significant material gift because they came to know and love the Gospel. They will receive treasures in heaven because they will start to act following the Gospel.
People join the church and profess their faith in salvation through Jesus and appear to receive material possessions. I cannot deny that this happens. Some people came to Christ in the early days and did prosper; however, for the most part, they did not. The people were promised that if they came to faith in Jesus and gave their possessions to the church, they would prosper. Yes, the church did offer materialism prosperity.
That is not what Jesus promised us in this passage. I have to tell you that this is one of several places in the Gospel in which the original words of Jesus were changed. Suddenly you are surprised that I would make such a claim. Heresy! It is not heresy but rather a proven fact that the Gospels have been altered over the centuries. Prof. Bart Ehrman at the University of North Carolina has study fragments of the Gospels for years and claims there are at least 50,000 textual problems with the various pieces. When St. Jerome translated the Bible and the Latin for the church, he made notes of what he changed. His Bible is called the Vulgate, and English translations of the Vulgate are still used in many Catholic churches today. Therefore, it is not out of reach to say that the Gospels had been changed over time.
In this narrative, Jesus is not promising material gains for discipleship. The Peshitta, the original Aramaic version of the New Testament, says that a disciple will not receive a hundredfold of material possessions. It says that Jesus told his disciples that their reward in heaven will be a hundredfold bigger because of their devotion to spreading the gospel message. That is the true reward of the Gospel!
Jesus spoke about storing treasures in heaven. Why would he change the message and tell the disciples that they would receive earthly possessions instead? Logically, Jesus said that we do not receive earthly treasures but rather heavenly treasures. Again, I am not saying that you might not receive some earthly material reward. Perhaps you have over your life that is great. However, suppose the only reason you have faith in Jesus and attend churches is to receive an earthly compensation. In that case, you are here for the wrong reason.
Heavenly treasures are so much more important than earthly possessions. In heaven, we are all going to be equal. Since there are no physical materials in heaven, we must accept if any treasurer awaits us, it must be a spiritual treasure. Jesus said that we are to follow the laws that are in the Torah and the prophets. When we do that, we are performing a mitzvah. A mitzvah is defined as a righteous act that a person does that pleases the Lord. Jesus said we need to follow the laws of the Lord., Thus, observing mitzvot and storing spiritual treasures in heaven is what we must do.
Ask yourself why you have faith in Jesus Christ and why are you listening to or reading this message? To be a follower of Jesus Christ means to follow the laws of the Lord in the way that Jesus teaches us in the Gospel. It is a beautiful way to live. It is a way of showing your love for Jesus' direction and teaching. The ultimate spiritual gift of salvation is what you will receive. Salvation is worth more than all the treasures and materialism of this world.
Come to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ because you want to live a moral and ethical life as defined by the Lord and demonstrated by Jesus Christ. Let Jesus be your instructor and store heavenly treasures especially the ultimate treasure we call salvation. Let Jesus take over your life direction because you want to join him and the Lord in heaven!
