Freedom from Materialism as a Prerequisite to Entering the Kingdom of

God
The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke were composed somewhere around
the 60’s C.E, although Luke’s gospel may be composed in another decade or period.1 2 In
the stories presented in the passages, the location in the story of the “Rich Young Man”
seems to be in Judea while the story of “Zacchaeus the Tax Collector” is in Jericho.3 4

Both stories occurred during the roman empire, probably during the reign of roman
emperor Tiberius Caesar.5 Also the tax system of the Roman empire during the time that
the stories occurred involves collecting the income taxes.6
What seems to be strange between two passages is that in the passage of the Rich
Young Man, Jesus implied that the kingdom of God is only open for those who have given
up their possessions. Yet in the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came
to seek and to save the lost.”7 This verse may loosely imply that Jesus comes to save the
sinners. This creates a tension between the two passages because they seemingly
contradict with each other regarding who gets to be saved and who will be denied
salvation in the kingdom of God. In order to deal with the tension and reconcile the two
passages, it is important to make some distinctions. The story of the Rich Young Man
talks about what it takes to achieve the end goal of salvation and entering the kingdom
of God. In the Story of Zacchaeus, Jesus mentions that it is his mission to save the sinners
through his ministry and his great sacrifice.8 In saving the “lost,” he promotes genuine

1
“Gospel According to Mark,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.),
accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-According-to-Mark.
2
“Gospel According to Luke,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.),
accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-According-to-Luke.
3
Luke 19:1 (NIV)
4
Mark 10:1 (ESV)
5
“The Bible Journey | Roman Emperors in the New Testament,” accessed September 30,
2021,
https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney1/21-the-romanojewish-world-of-the-n
ew-testament/roman-emperors-in-the-new-testament/.
6
“Roman Taxes,” Ancient Rome History at UNRV.com, accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php.
7
Luke 19:10 (NIV)
8
Jack Zavada, “Meet Zacchaeus: A Dishonest Tax Collector Who Turned to Jesus,” Learn
Religions (Learn Religions, February 13, 2019), last modified February 13, 2019,
accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.learnreligions.com/zacchaeus-repentant-tax-collector-701074.

1
repentance and sacrifice so that the sinners can get to redeem themselves from sin and
to change their lives for the better. So in one story, it talks about what one must do to
enter the kingdom of God. In another story, it talks about Jesus’s mission to invite people
to repent and to change so that they can redeem themselves to gain eternal life.9 Both of
these passages point out to one message which is that Jesus is open to our repentance
and he invites us to change the center of our life from materialistic attachments to God.
It is on us to repent and make the necessary changes and sacrifices in order to redeem
ourselves from sin and to achieve the end goal of entering the kingdom of God.
The pattern that can be drawn in the passages is that both passages talk about
giving up possessions. In the passage about the Rich Young Man, Jesus told the rich
young man in the story, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…”10 In the
passage of Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back
four times the amount.”11 This pattern of giving up possessions may imply that Jesus is
inviting us to a better life devoid from fixations to material possessions.12 Only those
who enter the kingdom of God are the ones who break free from the shackles of
materialism and leave behind one’s wealth and possessions in pursuit of the said
kingdom. The pattern may also imply that freeing oneself from materialism is an
important course of action that people must take in order to follow “the only way to
salvation” which is “to place their hope, their identity, in the only one who can save:
Jesus.”13 From the pattern, certain themes arise in this exegesis such as the themes of
repentance and the earthly material values and things. The passages point out that even
if a person follows all the commandments, it still will not be enough for him/her to
obtain salvation when he/she still puts his/her “faith and trust” in his/her “wealth and
accomplishments.”14. It is a must for a man who seeks salvation to put God over material

9
Jack Zavada, “Meet Zacchaeus: A Dishonest Tax Collector Who Turned to Jesus,” Learn
Religions (Learn Religions, February 13, 2019), last modified February 13, 2019,
accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.learnreligions.com/zacchaeus-repentant-tax-collector-701074.
10
Mark 10:21 (ESV)
11
Luke 19:8 (NIV)
12
Jeffery Curtis Poor, “Lessons from the Rich Young Ruler (3 Powerful Truths),” Jeffery
Curtis Poor, last modified April 19, 2021, accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.rethinknow.org/rich-young-ruler-camel-through-eye-of-a-needle/.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.

2
possessions in his life. The passages also point out that when one seeks repentance for
sinning through materialistic indulgence, one must make the necessary sacrifices (such
as material sacrifices) in order to truly repent for one’s sins and to focus on working
towards the end goal of entering the kingdom of God. In the story of the Rich Young Man,
the rich man walked away disheartened after being told to sacrifice his material
possessions because “his emotional attachment to his wealth and status overrules his
willingness to heed the words of Jesus.15 Because of his refusal to change himself
through material sacrifice, he will not be able to obtain eternal life.16 Unlike the rich
young man, Zacchaeus has shown willingness to give up his possessions and to pay back
four times to the victims of his fraudulence as repentance for being a sinful tax collector.
Because of his eagerness to accept Jesus’ invitation to repent and to change, he is
welcome to the kingdom of God.17
The exegesis of the passages affirm my knowledge of the faith that repentance
and changing oneself as part of repentance is essential in redeeming oneself and
obtaining salvation from God. It also reminds me of what I learned from contemporary
catholic teachings which is to avoid dwelling too much on the earthly material things
and values. I happen to be a Catholic who does not even live the life of a true christian. I
have not attended mass since the start of the pandemic and I center my life on Youtube,
Procrastinating in School, Pro Wrestling, and lustful urges (like watching porn,
masturbating, and viewing other sexual content). As an insincere Catholic who is
corrupted with sin, the exegesis speaks to me by challenging me to prioritize less on the
comforts and pleasures of earthly material things and values and to prioritize more on
developing relationships with God and with my loved ones. It challenges me to repent

15
“The Rich Young Man and Attitudes to Wealth and Status (Mark 10:17-31),” Theology
of Work, accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/mark/economic-issues/the-rich-you
ng-man-and-attitudes-to-wealth-and-status-mark-1017-31.
16
Derek Long, “Oak Grove Church of Christ,” News, last modified May 12, 2018, accessed
September 30, 2021,
https://www.oakgrovechurchofchristjenningsflorida.com/resources/articles/2018/05/
12/the-rich-ruler-or-zacchaeus.
17
Jack Zavada, “Meet Zacchaeus: A Dishonest Tax Collector Who Turned to Jesus,” Learn
Religions (Learn Religions, February 13, 2019), last modified February 13, 2019,
accessed September 30, 2021,
https://www.learnreligions.com/zacchaeus-repentant-tax-collector-701074.

3
for my sins and to even sacrifice my indulgence in lustful activities in order to be closer
to the kingdom of God.
The challenges of living out the faith that the exegesis presents to me and my
community are to stop depending on material goods and services as a source of our
happiness in life. The exegesis challenges us to not be controlled by our consumerism
for luxurious items and unhealthy foods and beverages because it will make us lose sight
of the kingdom of God. The exegesis challenges us to not be so fixated on the acquisition
of good and wealth and to prioritize more on doing good deeds, fulfilling our purpose in
life according to God’s plan, repenting, and strengthening bonds with God, family, and
friends. Another challenge that the exegesis presents to me and the immediate
community is to combat our unhealthy addictions. Whether it be addiction to phone,
alcohol, porn, drugs, masturbation, cigarettes, gaming, or even being a workaholic, we
are challenged to overcome such addictions in life that we may have because the
addictions mentioned may not only cause an imbalance in life but it leads us to sin and it
leaves us with little to no time left to develop our relationship with God. Even most, if
not, all the mentioned addictions may harm our bodies and thus degrade the temple of
the holy spirit.

4
References:
“Gospel According to Luke.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica,
inc., n.d. Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-According-to-Luke.
“Gospel According to Mark.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica,
inc., n.d. Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-According-to-Mark.
Long, Derek. “Oak Grove Church of Christ.” News. Last modified May 12, 2018.
Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://www.oakgrovechurchofchristjenningsflorida.com/resources/articles/2018/05/
12/the-rich-ruler-or-zacchaeus.
(Luke 19:1 [NIV])
(Luke 19:8 [NIV])
(Luke 19:10 [NIV])
(Mark 10:1 [ESV])
(Mark 10:21 [ESV])
“Roman Taxes.” Ancient Rome History at UNRV.com. Accessed September 30,
2021. https://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php.
“The Bible Journey | Roman Emperors in the New Testament.” Accessed
September 30, 2021.
https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney1/21-the-romanojewish-world-of-the-n
ew-testament/roman-emperors-in-the-new-testament/.
“The Rich Young Man and Attitudes to Wealth and Status (Mark 10:17-31).”
Theology of Work. Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/mark/economic-issues/the-rich-you
ng-man-and-attitudes-to-wealth-and-status-mark-1017-31.
Zavada, Jack. “Meet Zacchaeus: A Dishonest Tax Collector Who Turned to Jesus.”
Learn Religions. Learn Religions, February 13, 2019. Last modified February 13, 2019.
Accessed September 30, 2021.
https://www.learnreligions.com/zacchaeus-repentant-tax-collector-701074.