Eternal Wisdom from Christ Jesus
1. To answer: What will my wealth do?
2. To answer: Who can be saved?
Mark 10:23-27 Then Jesus looked around and said
to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the
kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But
Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those
who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 "It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God." 26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among
themselves, "Who then can be saved?" 27 But Jesus looked at them and
said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all
things are possible." (NKJV)
As we continue in the Gospel of Mark where we
left off last weekend, we encounter one of the most familiar illustrations in
the Bible – a camel going through the eye of a needle. This is such a striking
thought by Jesus – we wonder what prompted Him to use this imagery. Well, it’s
possible that, when speaking to that culture, the eye of a needle was the
smallest opening they knew of, and the camel was the largest animal they knew
of. So, in that sense, it was a contrast between two extremes, which would have
further emphasized Jesus’ teaching point.
People who know little to nothing about the
Bible often have heard this expression before. This fact is even apparent today
as both the Islamic Koran and the Jewish Talmud, two holy books from religions
outside of Christianity – contain this same illustration. It’s so strange that
a camel and a needle would be considered in the same thought, and yet it
endures as a lesson for all people. True enough, we don’t know why Jesus chose
these thoughts, but He knew what He was doing.
But, obviously, this phrase wasn’t always so
well known. When Jesus first told the disciples, they were astonished. It
wasn’t common for them. It shocked them. They couldn’t figure out what He meant
by it. And this puzzle wasn’t in some lesser area. It caused the disciples to
ask, “Who then can be saved?” This thought posed by Jesus was directly related
to life with God – to eternal salvation – and therefore, critically important.
Even though we are more familiar with this
phrase today, its impact should not be lost on us. God doesn’t want us to be
shocked or surprised, but rather to be deeply impressed and appreciative of the
wonder of salvation He has given us in Christ Jesus. We should not view the
astounding nature of that miracle in any lesser light than the disciples did.
For we too, at times in our lives, have moments of trial and plight when we
also ponder, “Who can be saved?”
As with all areas where God alone can provide,
the problem is always easier to see than the solution. The
problem that Jesus was getting at in this section was about the influence of
riches and wealth on faith. This is where the story connects back to what we
studied last weekend – Jesus’ conversation with the wealthy young man. That
account ends with the young man walking away sadly because he was unwilling to
part with his wealth. Now, Jesus launches into a more detailed, private lesson with
the disciples – but the overall thought is the same – how easily wealth can
detract from faith.
You see, that problem is easy to understand,
but sometimes we struggle with it because we don’t always see the problem for
what it is. Take the disciples as an example. They knew that greed,
covetousness, and selfishness were wrong. They would have been taught from
early on, as many are, to keep far away from these attitudes. But, they didn’t
yet make the connection between these vices and the materialism and wealth of
the world. This is probably because many of the disciples were poor. It’s hard
to grasp a concept that you haven’t yet experienced.
Perhaps we’re in the same boat. Most of us
aren’t wealthy when compared to the rest of the world. We probably live pretty
ordinary, maybe even meager lives, when compared with the rich and the elite.
And so, perhaps we minimize the warning of Jesus’ words at times. Like the
disciples, we know that greed, coveting, selfishness and all the other
money-related sins are wrong; but, as obvious as the problem is, we’re not
always keen to it because sometimes we don’t think of it as the problem we
have.
Maybe we are inexperienced in wealth, as we
stated, but it could also be due to our mindset. The disciples were astonished
(twice, in fact) when Jesus warned about money and its effect on one’s faith.
Why? Well, what is clear in theoretical terms in sometimes harder to perceive
in real time. That’s part of the reason Jesus further explains the young rich
man’s situation to the disciples.
Stop for a moment to consider it yourself, and
you can understand why the disciples were surprised. Despite what we know about
God’s clear warnings of the danger of money, there are basic natural
conclusions that we convince ourselves of when it comes to wealth. In the
Jewish culture it was believed that a person’s wealth was a sign of God’s favor
toward them. Therefore, the assumption was: the wealthier you are, the better
you’ve been before God. Isn’t that kind of thought common today as well?
Another basic idea that comes to mind is that life is easier when you’re rich.
You have what we want. You don’t worry about money. You have more pleasure and
happiness. But, we don’t even need the Bible to dispel this notion, experience
teaches us that money often creates more problems, and one’s greed often
increases with one’s wealth. On top of this, even the richest people in the world
still long for the joy and fulfillment that a little child with no money
possesses naturally.
Factor into all this the tendency of money to
bind our attachment to material possessions, rather than thinking about God,
and you have a recipe for not only astonishment on the surface but a great
danger toward your faith.
Consider some other Scriptures on the danger of
money:
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, "Take heed
and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of
the things he possesses."
Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and
steal. 21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without
covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Proverbs 23:4-5 Don't wear yourself out to get
rich; stop giving your attention to it. 5 As soon as your eyes fly to it, it
disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root
of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their
greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
It’s simple, right? Maybe too simple. Perhaps
it’s so abundantly clear to us that we numb our consciences to the threat. There
are the obvious reasons why wealth can be dangerous to faith, some we’ve
mentioned already: Greed, materialism, misplaced priorities, coveting,
discontentment, selfishness.
But bear in mind that there are less obvious,
but equally dangerous, reasons too. The pursuit of money shapes your life in
that it causes you to make poor decisions (where to live, what occupation to
pursue), it changes the way you think of others (means to an end), and it leads
you devalue what is most important: relationships, family, obedience to God,
accountability of self in addition to freedom of self-expression.
These are all reasons why Jesus’ unique
illustration lasts to this day – why even two other non-Christian religions
adopted it. It’s sound wisdom. Truly, as Jesus said, “How hard it is for those
who have (and trust in) riches to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
But as enduring as it is, that’s not even the
greatest thing Jesus said in this section. The last verse is the conclusion of
it all: "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all
things are possible." What a profound thought. We may sit in
astonishment with the disciples on the wisdom of Jesus’ illustration and
warning, but this final thought is on an entirely different level.
When we think of the power of God, we probably
consider first his miracles – the acts of supernatural power over the creation.
The “wow” moments of Jesus’ ministry. These were the things that attracted the
crowds, that the kings and rulers of the earth begged to witness with their own
eyes. It’s hard not to feel like we’re missing something important when we
weren’t part of the generation that was blessed to see such things.
But, keep in mind what Jesus is addressing
here, all the way back to the thoughts of last week. He is teaching about
eternal life – the kingdom of heaven. This is not about signs and wonders on
the earth. It’s about the glory and bliss of heaven. It is within this
context that Jesus tells His disciples that anything is possible for Him. It is
with this intention, not to heal a disease, not to hold authority over a storm,
not to dictate power to the natural world, not even to raise the dead (though
all these things are in Jesus’ power). It was for the purpose of trusting Jesus
for salvation that He concluded with this thought.
The disciples were puzzled about who could be
saved. What an answer from Jesus! Salvation is not in one’s works or efforts
under God’s law, nor is it a matter of who is wealthiest or most powerful on
earth. Salvation is about God’s ability to accomplish what is impossible for us
to do for ourselves. So, who can be saved? Anyone that has sinned, because
Christ has saved sinners. 1 John 2:1-2 But
if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-- Jesus Christ the
Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for
ours, but also for those of the whole world.
As amazing as Jesus’ wisdom in condemning greed
and materialism was, this thought holds predominance over the entire text and
over our entire faith. Jesus Christ saves sinners – all sinners. He is able. He
has the power. He has done it.
Here, at the end, is where we see the greatest
difference between the one who trusts Christ, and the one who trusts in their
own wealth. The one who trusts in their wealth believes that they come to God
to be accepted – fully expecting to be welcomed into God’s good graces. The one
who trusts in Christ comes in shambles – broken, guilty, and distressed. Out of
options, hopeless and desperate – fully expecting to be turned away in pain,
like all other eventualities in this life. One believes they make it possible,
the other believes they’ve made it impossible.
It’s an astonishing thing isn’t it? One might
say, almost as shocking as a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Jesus makes the difference. Our impossibility
is made possible in His name, by His power, and through His grace. Amen.
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