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.