Where He Leads, Will I follow? Mark 10:32-34

Where He Leads, Will I Follow?

Mark 10:32-34

Introduction: Mark is presenting the story of Jesus, revealing that He is the one promised in the Scriptures, the Rescuer of whom the prophets spoke. He has been correcting the partial and inadequate understanding of who Jesus is by showing that He is the Son of God, God incarnate. Now, on this final trip to Jerusalem, He again shifts to his answer to a second question: Why did Jesus come? Here, for the third time in three chapters, Jesus explicitly details, before the event, what is going to happen in Jerusalem. Each of the three predictions includes the common thread of His death and resurrection, but each also adds something to the picture. What is being described is really the heart of the Good News that is the Gospel: Jesus came to carry out the Father’s plan, to lay down his life so that we could be reconciled to God, and experience new life, life as it was meant to be. Jesus said, "I came that you might have life, and that you may have it more abundantly..." (cf. John 10:10b).

The Context: For the third time Jesus explicitly tells the disciples what will soon happen in Jerusalem. Again, they don’t seem able to understand. The idea of a suffering, rejected, dying Messiah doesn’t compute – they seemingly can’t comprehend it, much less understand the prediction of His resurrection. Remember after the transfiguration, Jesus told them not to tell the others what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. The disciples didn’t understand, and were discussing among themselves what this rising from the dead might mean (Mk 9:9-10).

The Maine* Idea: The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience the victorious new life for which we were created. As we look at this passage we’ll see 1) Jesus as a Resolute Savior, His face is “set like flint” toward Jerusalem, where the Lamb will be slain. 2) We’ll see Jesus as a Faithful Teacher, as He heads toward His suffering, culminating in death and resurrection, He continues to train the disciples, preparing them for the mission that lay ahead. And, 3) We are reminded that He is the Omniscient Son, He knows exactly what is going to happen, what must happen, in Jerusalem.

I. A Resolute Savior: Fully aware of what would soon happen, what had to happen, Jesus leads the way to Jerusalem (32a,b).

“…And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid…

       Jesus and the disciples were on the road, “going up” to Jerusalem. We know that from the area of the Jordan River, which runs from the Sea of Galilee  (about 700 feet below sea level) down to the lowest point on earth [?], the Dead Sea (over 1400 feet below sea level).  Jerusalem is 13-14 miles west of the northern tip of the Dead Sea (and about 33 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea), and, is about 2,500 feet above sea level. The journey from the Jordan Rift would be quite an ascent for someone on foot, about 4000 feet, not counting ups on downs on the way. (That would be quite a few flights on your FitBit!). But when the Jews spoke of “going up” to Jerusalem, it was not only a geographical/topographical observation, it was also a spiritual affirmation. After all, Jerusalem was the City of God.

       Jerusalem was the chosen city, the place where God had chosen for his name to dwell. It was there that the Temple was built, the place of God’s presence in the midst of His people. And so, the psalmist could sing in Psalm 24:3,

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?”

To approach Jerusalem was to ascend the hill of the Lord. Have you noticed that Psalms 120-134 are called “Songs of Ascent”?  When we did our three-year series on the Psalms we called this group of psalms “Songs for the Journey.” They would be sung by pilgrims as they headed to Jerusalem for the pilgrim feasts. What was it that made Jerusalem the Holy City? It was the presence of the Lord. And now, Jesus, God incarnate, was heading toward the city to carry out God’s plan of redemption. The Temple was there, which was the place that the sacrifices were offered, all of which the writer to the Hebrews tells us were shadows and types, looking forward to the perfect sacrifice that would be offered in the fullness of time.

       The timing of this visit is important to that purpose. From the broader context of the Gospel, we know that this pilgrimage to Jerusalem was as Passover was approaching. Passover was one of the “pilgrim feasts” of Israel, which meant faithful Jews from all over were making the trip to Jerusalem, to remember the deliverance of the people out of Egypt, and to celebrate the deliverance of the first born from the final plague that first Passover. Remember what Luke tells us that Elijah and Moses spoke with Jesus about on the Mount of Transfiguration? His “departure,” that is His exodos, which would be accomplished in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Do you recall what John the Baptist said when he first saw Jesus coming? “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). They were going up to Jerusalem, where Christ, our Passover, would be sacrificed for us (cf. I Cor 5:7b).

       Notice too that Mark tells us that “…Jesus was walking ahead of them…” He was leading them on the way. Typically, a rabbi would walk alongside his disciples, conversing with them, teaching them on the way. But as Luke said, “His face was set [like a flint] toward Jerusalem…” (Lk 9:51, 53; cf. Isa 50:7). We see that determination to go to Jerusalem here in Mark as well. He is leading the way. The disciples, Mark tells us, “…were amazed…” That seems to refer to the twelve, to those closest to Jesus. We know from John’s Gospel that they expressed concern about traveling down to Judea and Bethany, near Jerusalem (Jn 11:8). When Jesus affirmed his determination to go, Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (Jn 11:16). They knew the intentions of the leaders, and so it seems that were “amazed” at Jesus’ determination to go, despite the obvious danger.

       Others, perhaps some followers who had not been with them the whole time, perhaps some pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for the feast, and just now caravanning with Jesus and his closest followers, these unnamed others, “…were afraid…” Did they hear the disciples discussing Jesus’ prediction of what would happen when they got there? Or, perhaps, did they anticipate that the arrival of this messianic figure might precipitate conflict when they arrived in Jerusalem? Wouldn’t the messiah go to war with Rome?  Remember back in Mark 8 Jesus said that if anyone would be his disciple, he needed to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. Jesus is showing the attitude of a servant, going before them, despite the cost He was willing, even determined, to do for us, what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. As Paul told the Philippians, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..." (cf. Phil 2:3ff.).

       That’s the Maine* Idea: The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience the victorious new life for which we were created. And so we see Jesus as a 1) Resolute Savior, and also as…

II. A Faithful Teacher: Jesus continued to prepare the disciples for their future mission (32c). “…taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him…”

      Jesus is not surprised by the spiritual dullness of the disciples, their apparent inability to understand the plain meaning of His words. Even so, He persists. After all, He is planning to launch His church on a mission on Pentecost! He knows that the day will soon come when the “Helper,” the Holy Spirit, will come in a more present and permanent way, and their minds would be opened, as we read in John 14:26…

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

And then, in the very next chapter, He says in John 15:26, "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

       The Parakletos, the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit, will teach and bring to remembrance the things Jesus had said the disciples.  That ministry of revelation and illumination will be of foundational importance to the church. Notice also that the ministry of the Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God to humans, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Him. As Peter will say, “There is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

       Think about what this prophecy concerning what is coming, reveals about Jesus.  As the prophets gave some broad strokes about the coming messiah, along with some particular details, Jesus is preparing the disciples by revealing ahead of time what will soon come to pass. Some of the psalms spoke about a king, who would be betrayed, rejected, and suffering (e.g. Ps 22,69). Isaiah too spoke of a Suffering Servant, who would be cut off from the land of the living, and who would bear the sins of many (Isa 53). As the day and hour approaches, Jesus has been teaching his disciples of what must come to pass in Jerusalem. As the prophecies came to pass, the disciples would be able to look back and see how the unfolding story was not a defeat, but ultimately a confirmation and vindication of Jesus’ identity and mission.

      By the way, Jesus also knows the tribulation that the disciples would face (cf. Jn 16:33; Mk 10:38,39). So, as a faithful teacher, leading them to Jerusalem, He was also calling them to count the cost of discipleship. According to tradition, all of them, save John who died in exile, would die as martyrs for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. But the day will also come when they will be raised to life and sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28). If you know Him, you too have a part in that Kingdom! You will reign with Him. That points to the Maine* Idea: The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience the victorious new life for which we were created. And so, we see Jesus as a 1) Resolute Savior, 2) A Faithful teacher, and also as…

III. The Omniscient Son: Knowing what would happen, in every detail, He obediently carried out the Divine Plan (33,34).

"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.  ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise."

       This is the heart of this paragraph. It’s what the Faithful Teacher is sharing with His disciples on the way. This is what the Resolute Savior will accomplish this Passover Week in Jerusalem.  For the third time in three chapters Jesus clearly predicts His betrayal, death, and resurrection.  In this case, His omniscience is further revealed in that more detail is given about what will soon happen. Notice in the progressive unfolding of the predictions and the detail that was added …

8:31	9:31	10:32-34
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.	"The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."	"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.  34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise."

       First of all, notice that Jesus is still describing Himself using the third person, and the title the Son of Man, as He did in the previous two passages. He is teaching the disciples, who have already confessed Him as the Messiah, so it seems that His intent is to reinforce the messianic implications of the title. He wants them to understand what will soon happen, but also to look ahead to the victorious Second Coming envisioned in Daniel 7:13,14…

¹³ I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus is that Deliverer, the One who will establish an eternal, world-wide kingdom and rule the nations. But He is the Passover-King, and the forensic basis for the deliverance that will one day result in the Kingdom on earth must first be laid. Humans are separated from Holy God by sin, and as a consequence, are by nature children of wrath. Soon the transaction described by Isaiah would unfold,

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all… (Isaiah 53:4-6).

     In our context in Mark 10:33,34, the Lord says the Day of His suffering was drawing near. Jesus now describes what is about to happen, He lays out two stages: 1) Being delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes and being condemned by them, and 2) Being delivered over by them to the hands of the gentiles who will mock, torture, and execute Him. That is pretty specific. Not a spontaneous stoning as Stephen would experience in Acts 7, or being thrown off a cliff as the crowd tried to do at Nazareth. Specifically, being delivered to the leaders of the Jews (cf. 9:31), condemned to death, and then being handed over to the gentiles, where He could be mocked, spit upon, flogged, and executed.

       Being "delivered" to the leaders could refer to His betrayal by Judas. Remember Judas is still one of the twelve. He has been present to hear Jesus’ teaching on what would soon happen, now for the third time predicting His death and resurrection. Considering Jesus’ determination to carry out the plan of God, I can’t help but think of the words on Peter on Pentecost, in Acts 2:22,23…

²² "…Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-  ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men…”

Human responsibility and divine sovereignty go hand in hand. Peter says, “You crucified Him by the hands of godless men." They are responsible for rejecting Him, and handing Him over to the Romans for execution. Even so, He was “delivered up according to the definite plan [the predetermined purpose] and foreknowledge of God…” God has a plan, He is sovereign, in control. Humans are responsible for their actions. How does that work? God’s over-arching sovereignty is guiding His story according to His will. Within that story we are responsible for the choices we make.

What is God saying to me in this passage? And so, we see Jesus as a 1) Resolute Savior, 2) A Faithful teacher, and 3. The Omniscient Son… We see a little more about who He is. We see some details about would He would soon do. Will you follow Him? The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience the victorious new life for which we were created.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? The Gospel of Mark began with the statement, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The Gospel is “good news” because God, in Christ, was reconciling us to Himself. Paul described our desperate need and God’s indescribable gift in Eph 2:1-7,

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-  ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved-  ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

That is Good News! Do you understand that we owed a debt that we could not pay? Even so, the price has been paid, by Christ. Jesus came as our substitute to take in His sinless body the punishment for our sin. Because of what He has done for us, we who believe, those who call Jesus Lord and believe that He died for us and rose again, have peace with God! And even more, we call Him Abba, Father (cf. I Jn 3:1). Do you believe? Is your trust, your hope, in Christ alone?

       In this passage, Jesus is leading the disciples toward Jerusalem. He’ll tell them more in the upper room about the promise of the Spirit, and also more about the persecution that would follow. But He has already said, if anyone would be His disciple, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Do you believe Him? Will you trust Him? Will you follow?  AMEN.

Kingdom Blessings - Mark 10:28-31

The Riches of Poverty (or, Kingdom Blessings)

Mark 10:28-31

Introduction: What does it mean to follow Jesus? The Lord has cautioned would-be followers to count the cost of discipleship. Scholars are fairly convinced that Mark is writing his gospel to Roman Christians who are experiencing persecution. What we know about the brutality of Nero makes it clear that believers there were experiencing cruel and barbaric treatment at his hands. They knew there was a cost to discipleship – they were seeing and experiencing some of that every day. During this final trip to Jerusalem, Jesus has been teaching His disciples about the cost of discipleship, but they seem a little slow to grasp what he is saying. Even as He explicitly told them in chapter 8 and chapter nine about His approaching rejection and death (along with the promise of His resurrection), they seem incapable grasping the plain sense of His words. It was too much of a contradiction it seems—the Messiah was to be a deliverer, a savior, how could His revealing end in death? It didn’t add up. It’s like Jesus is saying “laurel” and all they can hear is “yanni.” (Ok, maybe it’s not exactly like that!). They couldn’t yet understand, but they will, in time. But now Jesus balances the “theology of suffering” by inviting the disciples to consider the already/not yet kingdom blessings that come to those who follow Him.

       What you might leave behind when you follow Jesus is real and could be difficult or even painful. In our context in Mark, for the Rich Young Ruler, it was too high a price when Jesus exposed his love for his possessions. The disciples knew only in part what it would cost them to follow Jesus. They had left their livelihood, the close connections with families and friends, but, even though they had been warned by Jesus, they didn’t know what still lay ahead, in terms of persecution, suffering, exile, and even martyrdom.

The Context: The departure of the rich, young ruler gave Jesus opportunity to warn against the idolatry of materialism.

The Maine* Idea: The high cost of discipleship pales in comparison to the blessings that are, and will be ours, as kingdom citizens. We’ll look at this from three perspectives: 1) Consider the Cost (28); 2) Count the Blessings (29-30); and 3) Christ our example (31).

I. Consider the Cost: There is a cost to consider if we would follow Jesus (28).

“Peter began to say to him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you.’”

       As we have been working our way through Mark’s Gospel, he has selectively chosen events and teachings from the life of Jesus to answer for us three life changing questions: 1) Who is Jesus; 2) Why did He come; and 3) What does it mean to follow Him?  In this section, chapters 8-10, the third question has come front and center as Mark draws out aspects of discipleship.  The rich, young ruler rejected the call to follow Jesus, unwilling to come to Him on His terms.

       Look back a few verses in Mark to set the context of Peter’s statement. The young man who came and knelt before Jesus, asking about what He yet lacked, was unable to cope with the answer Jesus gave him. He was devastated when, with a single requirement, Jesus exposed the idol that had grown in his heart: “Sell all that you own and give it to the poor, and come, follow me…” He had great possessions, give it all up? He went away, despondent, saddened, because he knew, at least at that moment, he was unwilling to trust Jesus and to let go of what he probably didn’t realize until that moment had enslaved him. The cost was too high.

       One of the most difficult things for us when we accepted the call to go to Brazil was the prospect of separation from our extended family. For us the cost of international flights was high and we realized that it would likely be years between times when we saw some of our family again—if ever. I had, taped in the front cover of my Bible, this quote from Max Lucado’s book, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior. It refers to times when it may be necessary to leave for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, as when missionaries are sent to a foreign field (as was Lucado!)…

It seems that goodbye is a word all too prevalent in the Christian’s vocabulary. Missionaries know it well. Those who send them know it too. The doctor who leaves the city to work in the jungle hospital has said it. So has the translator who lives far from home. Those who feed the hungry, those who teach the lost, those who help the poor all know the word goodbye.

     Airports. Luggage. Embraces. Tail-lights. “Wave to Grandma.” Tears. Bus terminals. Ship docks. “Good-bye Daddy.” Tight throats, ticket counters. Misty eyes. “Write me!”

     Question: What kind of God would put people through such agony? What kind of God would give you families and then ask you to leave them? What kind of God would give you friends and then ask you to say goodbye?

     Answer: A God who knows that the deepest love is build not on passion and romance but on a common mission and sacrifice.

     Answer: A God who knows that we are only pilgrims and that eternity is so close that any “Goodbye” is in reality, “See you tomorrow.”

     Answer: A God who did it Himself.

       Separation was something we experienced being thousands of miles from family. Our first term in Brazil wound up being five years for practical reasons. The hardest part wasn’t language learning or fitting into a new culture. For us the hardest part was being so far away from family. It is no doubt harder still for people who are rejected by their family when they recognize who Jesus is and choose to follow Him. For Muslims or Orthodox Jews, it might mean being considered “dead” to the family, complete rejection. In certain countries and cultures the cost might be still higher, even their lives. There will be a cost to following Jesus (John 16:33).

      Peter, on seeing the departure of the young man and hearing Jesus’ teaching about the poverty of riches, responds to Jesus’ words. Mark says that “Peter began to answer and said to Him…” Again, as often has been the case, Peter is the spokesman for the group, he is the one who speaks up. (Remember, according to tradition, Mark is writing his gospel based on the reminiscences and teaching of Peter). I don’t think Peter is questioning in an argumentative way (one translation says “Peter began to argue with him…” but it seems to me that is reading too much into the text). He seems to be searching for confirmation that he and his “band of brothers” are on the right path. He essentially asks, “What about us?”

       Peter says, “Look! We have let go of everything and have followed you!” It’s like Peter is saying, “Sure that guy walked away, he wouldn’t let go of his wealth and follow you, but here we are, we’ve left everything behind!” It is interesting that though Peter says that, he does seem to still have a house and a fishing boat (1:29; 3:9; 4:1,36; cf. John 21:3). So, it seems, Peter hasn’t literally left everything to follow Jesus. We know that later, after the resurrection, Peter does decide to “go fishing.” That scene in John 21 is when they again encounter Jesus, and the Lord asks him three times, “Do you love me?” Here, Jesus doesn’t question Peter’s statement. It reminds me of the rich young man’s declaration, “all these things I have kept from my youth…” Jesus didn’t challenge him on his failings, Mark tells us He loved him.

       The idea probably is that the disciples had indeed done what Jesus had asked of them.  They had left their fishing boat with their father and the hired hands, or left behind their tax booth or whatever previous occupations they had, and followed Jesus, committing themselves to learning from Him and about Him. They heard His voice, and they followed Him. Remember a vow of poverty isn’t required of followers of Jesus. He isn’t going to ask many of us to sell everything and give it to the poor. Money or possessions aren’t a problem, unless they come between us and God. It’s the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. He knows our hearts. Remember Jesus asking Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” Are we willing to love Him more than the idols that vie for our attention? The high cost of discipleship pales in comparison to the blessings that are, and will be ours, as kingdom citizens.

II. Count the Blessings:  Whatever we must leave behind when we turn to the Truth in Christ, will pale in comparison to what we gain in Him (29,30).

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 lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

      There is unquestionably a high cost for those who would follow Jesus. We should not minimize what Jesus himself taught about the cost of discipleship. Sometimes, it is not that we “leave” people behind, whether family or friends, but they leave us when we choose to follow Jesus. It isn’t personal. The world is at enmity with God, and if God is in us, they may withdraw… there is too much light! Jesus doesn’t minimize the cost, nor should we. Sometimes we can be guilty of giving the impression that once someone decides to follow Jesus, everything is going to be smooth and easy after that. Peace and joy and love. Yes, but let’s not forget to tell them that they are going to war! In another context Jesus said,

³⁴ "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  ³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.  ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it… (Mt 10:34-39).

Jesus didn’t hide the truth, neither should we!  But he does tell the disciples that other side of the story. Yes, you will lose some things, even some people, in this fallen world because the world is at enmity with God. Yes, there will be persecutions (see Mk 10:30, “…with persecutions…”). But you will gain a hundred times more.

       First, you become part of a new family, that is bigger and deeper than you can imagine. You become a child of the King, and somehow, a joint heir with Jesus.  As a part of that family, we have a foretaste of the kingdom blessings that yet await us. Have you ever experienced that when you have traveled? You visit a new city (or another country!) and meet someone on the street or in a church, and find they are a believer in Jesus—and immediately there is a connection, you have found a brother or a sister! That is God’s design, after all, we have the same Father! We are children of the King, He is Lord of the universe! A royal wedding across the pond is getting a lot of attention these days. Think of this – you have an engraved invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb! We have “family blessings” now, a foretaste of the future, and in the age to come, eternal life.

       Matthew includes the detail that Jesus told the 12 that they would sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Paul told the Corinthians that they should be able to handle civil matters between themselves, didn’t they know that one day they would judge angels? Paul said to the Romans, “The suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in [to] us…” (Rom 8:18). The high cost of discipleship pales in comparison to the blessings that are, and will be ours, as kingdom citizens!

III. Christ the Example: The stunning reversal in the age to come will exalt those who have come to Christ in humility and faith (31).

[Jesus said] “But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

       In the near context, following this event and Jesus’ third explicit teaching about His impending betrayal, death, and resurrection, Jesus will teach again about humility and service. We read in 10:42-45,

⁴² And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  ⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  ⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Christ is our example. Are we called to suffer if we follow Him? For a season, yes. Should that surprise us? We live in a fallen world, surrounded by people who are born sinners, in rebellion against God.  Satan himself has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. The world rejected Jesus and put him to death. In the upper room Jesus warned the disciples, “Don’t be surprised if the world hates you. It hated me first!” Be assured, if we call Jesus Lord and seek to live in obedience to God’s revealed truth, we will experience persecution at some level. We are in a spiritual battle. In some parts of the world it could mean your life to declare your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. But look at what He did for us!

       Ironically, Jesus’ willing self-humiliation, His submission to the eternal plan of the God-head, also became His vindication and exaltation. And so, in John’s Gospel, we see the double entendre of “lifting up” as both suffering (on the Cross) and exaltation (as His messianic identity is confirmed, and His death becomes the means of saving a people for himself).  He came in humility as the Suffering Servant. He will reign in power as the King of Kings. One day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord!  Jesus’ victory means hope.

       Do we sometimes wonder if God is good, and if God is all-powerful, why is there so much injustice in the world? Why do good people suffer and the unrighteous seem to prosper?  We need to step back and see the bigger picture. Remember the story that Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus? It begins…

¹⁹ "There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  ²⁰ And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,  ²¹ who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.  ²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried,  ²³ and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  ²⁴ And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'  ²⁵ But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish… (Luke 16:19-25).

Complete reversal. The first, last. The last first. We see the same idea of reversal when we realize that eternity is at stake, and after 10,000 years the suffering of this present age will not compare to the blessings God has for those who love Him.

What is God saying to me in this passage? The high cost of discipleship pales in comparison to the blessings that are, and will be ours, as kingdom citizens.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Could it be that the story of the rich, young ruler has shined light into your own heart, and exposed some area of your life that you are withholding from the Lord?  It is not likely that the Lord would ask you to sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and to come and follow Him. But He does want you to follow Him, and He will not tolerate idols, things that we are unwilling to release to Him, to put in proper perspective, and to submit to His lordship. Hear this: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added onto you!               AMEN.

Mother's Day 2018 - Titus 2:3b-5

[I borrowed the basic outline for this message, and a couple of illustrations, from a Mother's Day message by Alistair Begg at truthforlife.org . I take full responsibility for the final form of this study. SN.].

Mother’s Day 2018

Titus 2:3b-5

Introduction: Washington Irving said of mothers,

“…when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she [mother] cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” 

When God designed the family, He formed men and women, each designed with unique characteristics and abilities. Walter Chantry (cited in a sermon by Alistair Begg) wrote,

“What is involved in motherhood? After birth pangs bring children into this world there come years of life pangs. It is a mother’s task and privilege to oversee the forging of a personality in her sons and daughters. For this she must set a tone in the home which builds strong character. Hers is to take great Christian principles and practically apply them in every-day affairs—doing it simply and naturally. It is her responsibility to analyze each child mentally, physically, socially, spiritually. Talents are to developed, virtues must be instilled, faults are to be patiently corrected, young sinners are to be evangelized. She is building men and women for God. Results may not be possible until she has labored for fifteen or twenty years. Even when her task ends, the true measure of her work awaits the full maturity of her children. Moses would be much more than an Egyptian rebel and an obscure shepherd, but Jochebed (his mother) would not live to observe the consequences of her motherhood.

The proverb says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it...” (Prov 22:6).  That is a principle that speaks to an investment in a human life, for the glory of God. Over a hundred years ago Woodrow Wilson signed a decree making Mother’s Day a national holiday. Of course 3500 years ago or so, when God gave the Ten Commandments one of them said “Honor you father and mother…” That wasn’t a suggestion! And it wasn’t just one day. This day as we honor mothers, I am using the basic outline of a message I heard from Alistair Begg (so if it is at all controversial, I’ll go ahead and give him the credit!).  We’ll consider 1) The privilege of a godly mother; 2) The priorities of a godly mother; and 3) The potential of a godly mother. We’ll see that in a unique way…

The Maine* Idea: Mothers can impact the next generation for Christ!

I. The privilege of a godly mother: Discipleship in the family and the church (3b-4a).

³Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,  ⁴ and so train the young women…”

      The older women are to “teach good” to the younger. I recently related to you that during my time teaching at the Baptist Seminary in Brazil I would commute with a southern Baptist colleague to the school. He and his wife are Texans, and often times, as we were leaving the house, she would shout to us, “Y’all teach ‘um good!” I always had a little interpretive dilemma with that statement. Did she mean we should teach them “well,” or did she mean we should teach them “good things,” i.e. the Word? I think there may have been an intentional double entendre – a dual sense, to her words! Do a good job teaching them the “Good Book”!  We’ve looked quite a bit at the meaning of the word “good” in the context of the work and word of God. In creation, step by step, day by day, God pronounced “good” His creative work.  As we move on in the Scriptures we see “good,” [Heb. Tov] used to refer to the abundant life of blessing promised to the covenant people of God.  So here the older women are being encouraged to teach the younger about Christian living, specifically as we’ll see, God’s design for the family. It fits in to the bigger picture of our calling to “make disciples.”

      All are teachers, and learners! Verse 3 begins with Paul addressing “older women.” My first thought was, “Be careful Steve, you can really get in trouble with this!” How do you define older women? That probably depends on how old you are!  You can say that all woman have responsibilities in both directions. One young mother who had just turned 30, said, “I am starting to feel my age!” Since some of us were twice her age we wished we felt her age! You can be thirty, and you are still an “older woman” to the 18-year-old who just graduated high school! Or even to the 25-year-old who just had her second child. You are “older” than they are, and in a certain sense you are potentially, by virtue of your experience in life, an example and role model to them. You have been through some of what they are experiencing so they can ask you, “How did you do it? What helped you on the way?” In the same way, a 75-year-old who has been an empty-nester for 25 years, can give advice to the 50-year-old “younger woman” whose last child has just left home. This illustrates the idea of the church as a family, as God’s family. Jesus is the head, God is our Father, and we, as brothers and sisters, have responsibilities to one another.

       Teaching by word and by example.  You might think, well I don’t have the gift of teaching, I could never stand in front of a classroom.  This isn’t referring to leading a Sunday School class or giving a seminar. It’s the kind of teaching that happens as we live life together. It is our example as well as our words. I love this adaptation of I Corinthians 13, entitled, A Mother’s Prayer…

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper—not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness - not godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart. Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.  As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love—

The writer is not known, but isn’t that great? Mothers of every age can impact the next generation for Christ! That is a good transition into our second point…

II. The priorities of a godly mother:  Paul lists a few of the things that older women are uniquely positioned to teach younger (4b-5). I, as a pastor, can offer some advice to a young woman, but in those quiet times of conversation and sharing, the insight and experience of an older woman can be more personal and impactful than anything I have to say. So, they can teach them, by word and example…

…to love their husbands and children,  ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands…

      Let’s look at the content of Paul’s exhortation: First, they are to love their husbands. This is an interesting phrase here, in that this word is a compound word, “one-who-loves-her-husband.” It is an adjectival form, a word that describes something that should characterize the life of a younger woman. I think I have been guilty of saying that husbands are commanded to love their wives, but wives are never commanded to love their husbands. I obviously missed this verse! Since it is something that is to be taught, it clearly involves a choice, a commitment. Before the Fall, remember, God step by step pronounced creation “good.” The one thing that he said pre-Fall that was not good? It was not good for the man to be alone. So… God created the perfect complement for him: Eve. That is God’s design, and it is good! We’ve had a quite a few 50+ year anniversaries in our church. Ladies, at every age, you need to teach the younger women the lessons you have learned about biblical womanhood, including choosing to love your husband, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, sharing with them the story of God’s work in your life.

       That command is followed by another, the older women are to teach the younger to be one-who-loves-her-children. Both words, filandros [“one-who-loves-her-husband] and filoteknos [one-who-loves-her-child] appear on memorials, they were cherished aspects of the woman’s character and testimony. It was what described them to people they knew. In our context in Titus, it is something to be taught, by word and by example, by women to women. Love for children, like love for a spouse, is a choice. We may not always feel loving! To be sure, there are times when parenting can be a challenge, so much so that under the weight of day-to-day responsibilities a mom might feel a like Erma Bombeck the morning she wrote this:

“It hits on a dull, overcast Monday morning. I awake realizing there is no party in sight for the weekend, I’m out of bread, and I’ve got a dry skin problem. So, I say it aloud to myself, “What is a nice girl like me doing in a dump like this?”  The draperies are dirty (and will disintegrate if laundered), the arms of the sofa are coming through. There is Christmas tinsel growing out of the carpet. And some clown has written in the dust on the coffee table, YANKEE GO HOME!

 It’s those rotten kids. It’s their fault I wake up feeling so depressed. If only they’d let me wake up in my own way. Why do they have to line up alongside my bed and stare at me like Moby Dick just washed up on a beach somewhere?

Have you ladies ever been there? All of us may have moments like that from time to time! Someone said, “I’m an atheist until I have my first cup of coffee in the morning!” I related to you before how on one trip down to NJ to see our daughter and family, at about 5 AM we heard the pitter-patter of little feet, and grandson and granddaughter, then about 2 and 4, came down the stairs in the darkness. I whispered to them, “Shhh… Grammy is sleeping.” Hunter goes over to Mary Ann’s side of the bed, opens her eye lids as if to peek in, and asks “Why is she SO sleepy?” They are awake, so should be the world! 

       No one deserves a special day all to herself more than today's mother. A cartoon showed a psychologist talking to his patient: "Let's see," he said, "You spend 50 percent of your energy on your job, 50 percent on your husband and 50 percent on your children. I think I see your problem." Love for spouse and children is an attitude that is embraced, and it gives strength and direction when we are tested! That brings us to the next pair of attitudes…

       Self-controlled and pure. “Self-control” is a quality that is required of leaders in the church, and indeed it is among the “fruit of the Spirit” that should characterize the life of every follower of Jesus. Consider the contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:19-23,

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

It seems to me that being a mother requires special grace as a woman deals with the high calling of raising children, and being the complement to her husband that God intends her to be. God can empower women to fulfill their calling in the Lord!

       Working at home and kind. Let’s take the second word first, “kind.” It is the word agathos which is usually translated “good” in the New Testament. A related word [agathosune] is translated “goodness” among the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. The English word “good” is so generic we may miss what is being said. This same word was used in Mark 10 by the rich, young, ruler and Jesus. Jesus replied to his “good teacher” greeting by saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” This recalls the perfection of God, both in His nature, and as it was reflected in His good creation before the fall. Older women are to teach younger women to be “good.” I think this must mean that they are to disciple them, to lead them deeper in their Christian life so that they become more like Jesus!

       What about “working at home”? Let me say this first: This surely doesn’t preclude the idea of a woman working outside the home. If you read Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman there is involved in real estate transactions, manufacturing, and trade! But what really defined her, and set her apart, was that she was a woman who feared the Lord—she has a reverential respect for the God who is, the Lord of the universe. Her love for God guides her primary ministry: to love her family, her husband and her children.  Somehow mothers have a capacity to shape the home— and the lives of the children in the home—in a unique way. Whether or not they work outside of the home, they are a homemaker, that is, they make it a “home.”

     - Submit to the leadership of her own husband. This is talking about recognizing and embracing God’s design for the family. Remember the older women are to teach the younger “what is good,” that is, God’s truth, His design for the family. God is the head of every Christian. And He has delegated authority at various levels—in government—in the church—and in families. In the family setting of serving one another and loving one another, God has delegated the responsibility of leadership to the husband. That sounds so counter-cultural these days that it might be shocking to some. The idea in the New Testament is not controlling or mean-spirited leadership. As we’ve seen particularly in Mark 8-10, Jesus modeled servant-leadership, loving, gentle, patient guiding. As we’ll see later in Mark, that even goes all the way to the Cross, as Jesus is willing to lay down His life for the church. This kind of servant leadership and loving submission does not come naturally since the Fall described in Genesis 3. It is something that our fallen, sinful nature either grates against, or abuses. But for the believing wife, it is something to be learned, from older women, and to be embraced, for the glory of God. It is one more way in which mothers can impact the next generation for Christ!

III. The potential of a godly mother (5c; cf. I Pet 2:12). “…so that no one may malign the Word of God…” (NIV).  Another translation says,

“…that the word of God may not be reviled.” (ESV)

       Let’s not miss what Paul is saying in this final clause. A family that is reflecting God’s design and living by God’s plan, including respecting the complementarian design of the marriage relationship, may be counter-cultural, may not be politically correct or in tune with the latest ideas of humans—but ultimately will glorify of God. We won’t give the world a reason to speak badly about God’s Word. Peter said a similar thing in a passage we looked at in that series a couple of years back. In a context where Peter is exhorting his readers on how to live as pilgrims in a fallen world, he urges them in I Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” Both our lifestyle and our attitude are testimonies to the world, statements that we are God’s people and have chosen to live our lives and raise our children according to His design. Ideally, people will see consistency in us that goes beyond the wishy-washy, easy-believism of nominal Christianity. This is real, authentic discipleship. That reminds me of the little boy who forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son's memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world." The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world!" Well, he actually got it right! The life and the testimony of a godly mother is indeed light in the world!

What is God saying to me in this passage? Mothers can impact the next generation for Christ!

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Mother’s Day is a day to honor mothers. The correct spelling, by the way, is MOTHER’S Day, rather than MOTHERS’ Day. The idea was not to boost the bottom line one day a year for Hallmark and the local florist. Ann Jarvis actually lamented the commercialism that came to surround the day. It was intended for each family, individually to recognize and honor the “mother” in their midst, the woman who makes the family a family. Since God designed the family, it’s right and proper for us to recognize that one of the Ten Commandments specifically said, Honor your father and your mother. That should not be one day a year for Christ followers, it should be a truth that we affirm, a value that we embrace every day.

       Be thankful for the mother God gave you. If she is still living, tell her that you are thankful. My mother didn’t know the Lord during my childhood, but there is no question but that she loved her children, unconditionally.  God commanded us to honor our parents. In the church family we want to honor the women in our midst, and specifically our mothers. There may be some who never married or to whom God never gave biological children. We honor you as well for how you have sown into the lives of children in the church. Think about the mission God has given us to make disciples. How can each lady here encourage and bless a younger woman with the experience you have had in the Lord?  May God bless you today.  AMEN.

Amazing Grace! (or, "Of Camels and the Kingdom") - Mark 10:23-27

Amazing Grace!

Mark 10:23-27

Introduction: The previous context showed a rich man walk away from Jesus dejected, unwilling to release the things that enslaved him, and trust in Christ alone. One sermon I heard on that text was entitled, “The Poverty of Riches.” Our passage today continues that story, as Jesus teaches his disciples in light of the departure of the rich, young, ruler.  As he teaches, Jesus uses a striking illustration, one that we have all heard, of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. By the way, I’ve got two books that deal with problem passages, one by F.F. Bruce, perhaps the best known New Testament scholar from the second half of the twentieth century, entitled Hard Sayings of Jesus, and another by Robert Stein, a preeminent interpreter of the Gospels, entitled Difficult Passages in the New Testament. This saying of Jesus makes them both! I don’t see such great difficulty in the meaning of the passage as it seems pretty clear what Jesus was saying. Yes, He was using figurative and shocking language to emphatically make a point, but He does that frequently, trying to shake up his hearers and forcing them to consider the sense of his words. It’s impossible for a camel to pass through a needle… unless you puree it and shoot it through with a syringe! It’s not going through alive! I think most of the problems with this story are the result of preachers and commentators trying to make the image that Jesus uses less ridiculous, rather than dealing with the obvious meaning of what He was saying. We’ll see as we look at these verses that the “word picture” Jesus uses is intended to shock us, as it did the disciples, and drive us to recognize both total human inability and absolute divine omnipotence in the processs of reconciling humans to God.

The Maine* Idea: We need to be on guard against trusting in ourselves and need to come to God with child-like faith in Christ alone.

I. The Immense Danger of the Love of Money (23-24a). The departure of the rich, young ruler gives Jesus a teaching opportunity for His disciples…

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"  ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words.

        First, we see a commanding survey: Jesus “looked around” and into hearts. The rich-young-ruler had walked away from Jesus, disheartened, unwilling to let go of his riches and put his trust in Christ alone. We don’t know the man’s name, we don’t know if he later repented and put his trust in Christ. It seems like he was so close, it would be nice to think that he did. We don’t know his story after this scene, but his unwillingness to commit his life to Christ at this time becomes a teaching moment for Jesus. We are told that Jesus “looked around.” What was he looking at? At His close group of disciples! It reminds me of the moment when Jesus presented some difficult teaching in John 6 that caused many to depart. We read in John 6:63-69…  

…The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)  ⁶⁵ And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."  ⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"  ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  ⁶⁹ and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Here, someone else leaves. The rich, young ruler had seemed like a perfect candidate for discipleship. He had spiritual interest and knowledge of the Scriptures. He seemed to be willing to humble himself as evidenced by his approach to Jesus. But this “prospective disciple” had just left, and Jesus “looks around,” and, it would seem, into the eyes, and the hearts, of His disciples. Remember, Judas was still among them. And Peter’s three denials of Jesus also lay ahead in the not-to-distant future. This teaching seemed to challenge the disciples deeply. Is Jesus looking for their reaction to the departure of the rich, young ruler? Is this a “do-you-want-to-go-away-too” moment?  Jesus seizes the moment to warn these followers about a potential obstacle to authentic discipleship. The issue is idolatry – in this case focused on one example of a deadly, wide-spread idol – the love of money.

       A pernicious idol: Can wealth be an obstacle to discipleship? The idol that had the rich young man in “bondage” is at the forefront for Jesus’ teaching: “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Jesus had quite a bit to say about money and wealth. For example, He said in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-21,

¹⁹ "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…”

Likewise, Paul said to his young friend Timothy,

⁶ Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,  ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  ¹¹ But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness… (I Tim 6:6-11).

Since, as we observed last week, Americans are richer than 90% of the world’s population, where does this leave us? Notice what Paul says, not that money is “evil,” but that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is a pernicious idol that so easily ensnares the human heart. Paul told the Colossians “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry…” (Col 3:5). Covetousness, the allure of materialism, yes, the love of money, is put right in there with other fleshly desires that can become idols in the human heart. Idolatry is anything that we put before the Lord, and it is something to which we are all susceptible. We need to take to heart the admonition of Paul,

¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  ¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry… (I Cor 10:13,14).

      We see a strong reaction from the disciples to this teaching by Jesus. They are “amazed by His words.”  What is so “amazing” about what Jesus is saying? Many first century Jews would be shocked by this teaching. Remember, these are children of the covenant. God had promised Israel “blessings” for covenant faithfulness, and warned that unfaithfulness would bring curses (see Deut 27-28). Just as suffering was quickly connected to sin, i.e. unfaithfulness to the covenant (cf. John 9:4), so wealth and health were considered to be indications of God’s blessing—something promised to those faithful to the covenant. Of course, even within the OT we can see examples of the wicked prospering, at least for a time (see Psalm 37).  The NT writers want us to know there will be judgement and justice, but not always in this life (Rom 8:18). As Peter said, “…we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…” (2 Peter 3:13). And so, in Mark, Jesus invited his would-be disciples to take up their cross, and follow Him (Mk 8:34). No promise of health and wealth comes with a cross! Do we love Him more than we love the world? That doesn’t seem like a message that will draw the multitudes!  Even so, as John said in his first letter,

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  ¹⁶ For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world.  ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever…” (I Jn 2:15-17).

We need to be on guard against trusting in ourselves [and loving our worldly idols] and need to come to God with child-like faith in Christ alone.

II. The Absolute Necessity of Divine Grace (24b-25).

But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 

       A tender address… “Children…” Jesus had just taught the disciples about the need to have faith like a child (Mk 10:14,15). So here, as He addresses his disciples as “children,” He is not demeaning them by any means, but tenderly exhorting them, as a father would his children. It is a beautiful picture of the Lord’s love for us, a reminder that He always wants what is best for us, tenderly, gently, leading us toward maturity. Our earthly parents sometimes fell short. We as parents sometimes fell short. God is always good, always motivated by love, always consistent in doing what is best. When see His heart like this we can even accept his discipline, knowing that He will do all that is necessary for our good.

       A general principle: “How difficult it is to enter the kingdom…” Sandwiched in between his teaching about the difficulty of the rich entering His Kingdom, Jesus makes a more general statement. Inheriting eternal life, entering God’s kingdom, being saved… is not easy. It is not the idea that “love wins” and in the end we are all saved. In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned,

¹³ "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few…” (Matt 7:13,14).

The disciples get the sense of it, as we’ll see in 26b they exclaim, “Who then can be saved?” The illustration in v.25 highlights the level of difficulty: from a human perspective, it’s not difficult, it is just plain impossible! So, Jesus continues with…

       A Shocking Illustration: A Camel?!  The eye of a needle?! Since most of us have probably heard attempts at explaining what Jesus really meant to say in this word-picture, I have to touch on some oft-repeated, but seemingly indefensible interpretations. Essentially the motivation is either to “rescue” Jesus from having used a ridiculous illustration, or theological, i.e. the thinking that it is difficult, but certainly not impossible to be saved!

       One approach that was first suggested around 1100 A.D. as far as we can tell, was that Jesus was referring to a small, narrow gate entering the city of Jerusalem. For a camel to enter, it needed to be unloaded, and then had to squeeze through with difficulty, even, if it was large, going down on its knees. It would be a nice picture, after all, we do need to lay aside the things that encumber us in order to enter the kingdom. Like the rich man and his wealth. The problem is, that in all three accounts the text seems to read “an eye of a needle,” not “the eye of a needle.” In other words, it was a general statement, and could not be referring to a specific “gate.” Also, we have no ancient archaeological evidence of a gate into the city with such a name. Oh well, it was a nice story!

       Another theory focuses on the word “camel” in Greek kamelos, which is almost identical to the word for “cable” or “rope,” kamilos. It is different by only one letter. The picture makes more sense, it would also be impossible to thread a rope through the eye of a needle! It would fit well. One problem, however: we have no convincing manuscript evidence to support that reading! Thousands of manuscripts, a herd of camels! So, we are back to the camel! Let’s see if we can get over this hump[!].

       The objection to the ridiculous idea of passing a camel through the eye of a needle is exactly the point. This is the kind of exaggeration that the Jewish rabbis would use to emphatically make a point. It fits perfectly with the kind of hyperbole we see elsewhere. There are a few rabbinic references, for example, in the Babylonian Talmud about trying to pass an elephant through the eye of a needle. The largest animal in that region, an elephant, trying to pass through the smallest opening we can see, the eye of a needle, was an emphatic way of saying something was impossible! The same applies to camels, the largest animals that would be seen in the region of Israel. Compare the word-picture Jesus uses when he rebukes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and says in Matthew 23:24, “You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” The smallest known living creature in Israel, a gnat, and the largest, a Camel! Here as well, Jesus was using a shockingly ridiculous word-picture to make His point: from a human perspective, inheriting eternal life, entering the kingdom of God, being saved, was not difficult, it was impossible!  So, as Paul told the Corinthians, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned...” (I Cor 2:14). As David observed in Psalm 14:2-3,   

² The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  ³ They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

The good news for us, as we will see, is that with God nothing is impossible. So, we need to be on guard against trusting in ourselves and need to come to God with child-like faith in Christ alone.

III. The Astonishing Power of God to Save (26-27).

²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to [themselves]*, "Then who can be saved?"  ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

       The reaction intensifies: They were exceedingly astonished. Note the movement in the response of the disciples, first they are amazed in v.24, and then after the saying in v.25, they are abundantly astonished. The saying of Jesus in v.25 about the difficulty of passing a camel through the eye of a needle had had its desired effect. The disciples were shocked even more about the difficulty, indeed the impossibility, of entering the Kingdom. As you read the account you can almost hear a gasp from the disciples: “If not the wealthy, those who have been blessed it seems by the hand of God, then who can be saved?” Depending on the Bible translation you are using, the disciples may have asked Him, i.e. Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” or, they asked “one another” that question. I believe the second is the right text, which adds to the poignancy of the story. We can imagine the disciples murmuring to one-another in shock, what does this mean? Who can be saved? Is there hope for us?

       Men cannot save themselves.  God can do anything! With God, all things are possible. Remember when Abraham and Sarah are told about having a child in their old age. Sarah laughed at the idea and the angel asked, “Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14). Isaac was born the promised son. Two thousand years later, after announcing that she would miraculously conceive a child, the angel said to Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God…" (Luke 1:37). Yes, humans can’t save themselves, they can do nothing to merit eternal life. They have no claim on the kingdom. With man it is indeed impossible, but not with God, who is rich in mercy, has opened a way in Christ.

What is God saying to me in this passage? We need to be on guard against trusting in ourselves and need to come to God with child-like faith in Christ alone.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Have you been trapped by the allure of wealth? Are you engrossed by striving for just a little more? Only Jesus can fill that empty place in your heart. Only He can open the way to the abundant life, the life with meaning, for which you were created. Will you choose to love Jesus with your whole heart? Loosen your grip on the things you cannot keep, and pursue Jesus, the One you cannot lose! He loved you and died for you. The Lord’s Table is a perpetual reminder of the depth of His love. Trust Him. Treasure Him above everything. AMEN.