Mark 10:17-31
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?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 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.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 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.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 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!” 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! 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.” 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.” Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 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, 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. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
So what if Jesus means it? What if it really is harder to enter the kingdom of God when you are wealthy? What if the only ones who enter God’s kingdom are the ones who, quite frankly, want to, even need to, because they have nothing else with which to secure their hopes?
Then who can be saved?
This isn’t just the disciples’ question, it’s also ours. If those who seem most blessed, most special, in everyday life will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God, then it’s understandable that the disciples would ask who can be saved.
But we ask the same question, even if for slightly different reasons. For us the question isn’t simply about wealth, it’s about anything we might seem required to do. If the rich man must give away his wealth to enter the kingdom, then what must we do? I mean, if there are things required of us, is it still a matter of grace?
Which is where Jesus’ answer comes in: “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God. For God, all things are possible.”
Here’s our situation: none of us, by our own merit, can be good enough to enter the kingdom. Only God, as Jesus says right up front, is truly good. For us, it is impossible. Yet for God all things are possible. God can save any. God can, indeed, save all. For God all things are possible.
This is the very core of the Reformation insight and teaching that we are justified – that is, found to be acceptable – by grace through faith. It is not about what we have done, might do, can do – it is about what God has done and is doing through Jesus: namely, calling each of us beloved and acceptable out of love.
But doesn’t that introduce a certain tension? Isn’t there a way that this teaching erases what Jesus said earlier about it being difficult to enter the kingdom, about wealth getting in our way? I mean, if we say it’s impossible for us but not for God, why do we even worry about questions of wealth? Doesn’t stressing grace sort of make us take Jesus’ earlier words less seriously, just like we wondered about before?
These are important questions that faithful Christians have wrestled with down through the ages. And, to be honest, I’m not sure I have the answers. But, for what it’s worth, here’s what I’m thinking at this point in my journey:
1) Yes, God accepts us not for what we’ve done but only and entirely because God loves us. In this sense, God is entirely like the loving father Jesus calls God, a parent who accepts and loves his children not because of what they’ve done or not done but simply because they are his children.
2) And, out of that same love, God desires that we not be led astray, trusting in wealth (or accomplishments or power or fame or whatever) rather than trusting in God. God sees how insecure we can be, and God sees our penchant to put our trust in things rather than in God, and for these reasons God calls us away from these false promises. In the case of this man – and we can conclude, any and all who trust in their wealth – God calls us to give what we have to those in need to escape being possessed by our possessions and restore us to a deeper humanity by drawing us back into relationship with our neighbors.
3) All of this suggests, I think, that the kingdom of God isn’t just something way off in the future. The kingdom of God starts now and is here, all around us. But it is a different kind of kingdom. It is a kingdom where those who are in need are honored precisely because of their need, and those who have much are invited to discover their purpose and meaning in using what they have for the good of others. It is a kingdom, as Jesus has said, where diseased children are admitted easily while the rich and powerful struggle to enter. It is a kingdom, finally, where grace and love rule, where vulnerability is cherished, and where a peace born of justice reigns. In comparison to the kingdoms of the world – built always on power and violence – you might even call this the anti-kingdom. And if Jesus is king, then he makes a very strange king indeed and reigns from the most grotesque of thrones.
Yes, there is a tension between Jesus’ invitation for the man to give his wealth to the poor and follow him, on the one hand, and his promise that for God all things are possible, on the other. But it is the tension of the kingdom of God. A tension, I think, that we cannot finally resolve but only embrace, living in it and with it until this most peculiar of kingdoms comes once and for all.
Prayer: Dear God, we do not understand your kingdom, because it is so far from anything we have experienced here. Bring it anyway, and bring it soon. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thank you for this series on a very inportant, but relatively short passage. I enjoyed your insights and explanation of some of the words that have been translated in one way, but could also have other meanings.
This study of Mark has been kept me involved and interested. Hve you thought about treating another book in a similar manner?
Thanks a lot for this inspired message. what baffles me is the fact that a lot people will blame the young man. For him to have passed the first stage by keeping all the commandment tells us that we have a long way to go.
Yes we do have a long way to go but I’m going to be better for the most high