Mark 10:17-31
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up
and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" 18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me
good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: "You
shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall
not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'
" 20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my
youth." 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one
thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22 When he heard this, he was
shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus
looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those
who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were perplexed
at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to
enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26
They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be
saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is
impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." 28 Peter
began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed
you." 29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left
house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my
sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold
now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields,
with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are
first will be last, and the last will be first."
They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then
who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is
impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
·
A man runs up to Jesus just
after Jesus had blessed the little children. This man was obviously aware
of who Jesus was and he showed what we think would be proper respect to the “good
teacher.” He also showed that he had followed the Law and had obeyed the
commandments.
·
Jesus saw this man and “loved
him…” Then he told him what he didn’t want to hear: "You
lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." This
broke the man’s heart for he had many possessions.
I think what he did broke Jesus’ heart as well. Here was a fellow who had done
everything well. He had followed the commandments from his youth and he asked
the right question of the right person. He simply didn’t like the answer.
Neither had he heard what Jesus told his disciples about the little ones and
how the Kingdom belonged to them.
·
Wouldn’t it be something if the man
changed his mind eventually, gave up everything, and followed Jesus? Wouldn’t
it be something if he had heard what Jesus said next and decided to stay and
follow Jesus, then and there. Sad to say, we don’t have any such follow-up
stories to tell.
·
What Jesus said to his disciples is a
real two-edged sword. "Children, how hard it is to enter
the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
·
The disciples were “perplexed” by
Jesus’ words. All their lives they’d been told that riches were a blessing from
God and were a sign of God’s favour both here on earth and in what was to come.
Now this wasn’t so? Now they’re hearing that it was harder for a rich person to
enter the Kingdom of God than to shove a camel through the eye of a needle? "Then
who can be saved?"
·
Indeed! Who can be saved? If those who are poor feel they are far from God and
God’s Kingdom and if those who are wealthy are declared to face great
difficulties in entering the Kingdom, where do people go for inclusion in the
Kingdom?
·
The answer follows immediately: "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God;
for God all things are possible." It is the grace and mercy of God that is the deciding
factor.
·
Now, some people have said that there
was a gate in the city wall of Jerusalem called the Needle’s Eye. It was a gate
so tight that a skinny camel could just barely slip through. This is not
supported by the Scripture or by archeology. This explanation also smells of
do-it-yourself salvation. When Jesus is talking about camels and needles, he
talks about spitting, smelly camels and small sewing needles, just to emphasize
the impossibility of saving yourself or relying on anything other than God for
the Kingdom.
·
Martin Luther was never one to mince
words, for better or for worse. There is a quote from his writings that follows
this line of thinking: "The most
damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man is that
somehow he can make himself good enough to deserve to live forever with an
all-holy God."
·
Neither riches nor ritual nor a
strict morality can make us good enough for God’s Kingdom; it all depends on
grace.
·
In our own day, there are those who
still see riches and power as signs of the favour of God. There are those who
believe themselves to be closer to God and closer to the Kingdom because of the
gifts they have been given by God. Riches really are a gift from God and a gift
given in stewardship; treasure held in trust as it were. The young man who
turned away from Jesus grieving for he had many possessions may
not have seen his wealth in this way. Because of that, he couldn’t hear the
Good News that it is God’s grace for the poor AND for the rich that brings both
into the Kingdom. It may be hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom, but it is
neither riches nor poverty that makes the difference, but the grace of God.
·
Peter goes on to say "Look,
we have left everything and followed you." Jesus replies that
those who have laid aside all else to follow him will receive much more than
they left, as well as eternal life in the age yet to come. Their grace-inspired
sacrifice would not be forgotten.
·
And one more thing – all these things
would come “with persecutions…” Opposition is part and parcel to
Christian discipleship and the Kingdom of God. Jesus never said this would be
easy. Although we are fully dependant on God’s grace and mercy, entering the
Kingdom would not be easy and remaining in the Kingdom would not be easy.
·
Worthwhile things rarely are.
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the kingdom of God."… "For mortals it is impossible,
but not for God; for God all things are possible."
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