Christ Rules! When the Hump Doesn’t Fit

Christ Rules! Gospel of Mark Series (Part 22)

A Sermon by Jim Hammond from Mark 10:17-31

Focus:  A rich man asked Jesus the most important question, “What must I do to get to heaven?”  Today we learn why it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

I.   What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Many  people today do not bother asking such a question even as important as it is for one of two reasons:  1) Because they do not believe there is such a thing as the eternal kingdom, an eternity of afterlife, or 2) because they assume everyone will go to heaven.

Walbert Buhlmann, a Catholic missions secretary in Rome, speaks for many mainline denominational leaders when he says, "In the past we had the so-called motive of saving souls. We were convinced that if not baptized, people in the masses would go to hell. Now, thanks be to God, we believe that all people and all religions are already living in the grace and love of God and will be saved by God's mercy." [i] 

Sister Emmanuelle of Cairo, Egypt, says, "Today we don't talk about conversion any more. We talk about being friends. My job is to prove that God is love and to bring courage to these people."[ii]

Of course the people who say such things do not believe in or submit to the authority of God in the Bible, but instead believe in a god of their own making and design. And what they want to believe is that all men are saved whether they hear the gospel of Christ or not, so they wouldn’t bother asking Jesus the question we begin with this morning.

No belief in Judgment?!.  Was this what Jesus believed?  Did Jesus believe, eventually everyone would get there?  He talked about the narrow gate.  Today we hear him talk about the narrowness of the gate being so narrow it’s the size of the eye of the needle.  Such comments create uneasiness in the listeners.  They want to ask, then, the question that is demanded by such comments?  “Who then can be saved?”  And that is precisely the types of questions that were asked.

We learn today from one rich young man who asked Jesus this question , then the follow-up questions asked by the disciples.  What we learn from Jesus today has to do with the core of what we believe. 

A.  It is possible to  have the RIGHT Attitude,  RIGHT Motive, come to the RIGHT Source, and ask the RIGHT Question,  and still not enter the Kingdom

(Mark 10:17-31 NIV)  "As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" {18} "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. {19} You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" {20} "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." {21} Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." {22} At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. {23} Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" {24} The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! {25} It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." {26} The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" {27} Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." {28} Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!" {29} "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel {30} will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. {31} But many who are first will be last, and the last first.""

II.                 The One who had it ALL Lacked One Thing:  The Right Master

(Matthew 6:24 NIV)  ""No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

   Once a young man proposed to his girl as they sat looking over the beautiful lake. "Darling, I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world. I want you to marry me. I'm not wealthy. I don't have a yacht or a Rolls-Royce like Johnny Green, but I do love you with all my heart."

   She thought for a minute and then replied, "I love you with all my heart, too, but tell me more about Johnny Green." [iii]

This man had a spiritually deadly problem.  It was so deadly Jesus confronted him with drastic measures.  If he doesn’t amputate the malignancy, the white knuckle grip the Kingdom of Thingdom had upon this man would strangle the life right out of him.  Jesus knew that this man had a problem with idolatry.  He loved possessions, wealth and security, more than God.  He loved them more than his own life, though he didn’t realize it. 

The story is told of Rose Greenhow, a Confederate spy during the Civil War, who tried to evade capture and the loss of her fortune by sewing the gold she had gained into the seams of her dress. But the ship she boarded sank, and the weight of the gold made it impossible for the life preserver to support her. She sank to the bottom with all her wealth. Dr. Pierce Harris, who told the story, pointed out that death did to her what it does to all of us, because we "cannot take it with us" when we die. But sometimes, we might add, it takes us with it![iv]

The rich young man was just as foolish but he was given the choice; “abandon the death trap, you are on a sinking ship”.   Before we judge him too harshly we need to see ourselves in him. 

A. THE RIGHT QUESTION with 2 wrong assumptions:

Notice the emphasis?  What can I DO?  What’s the assumption?  There are two assumptions here.  1)  That a man can be good enough to inherit eternal life?  And 2)  All he needs to learn is what he can DO to earn, or inherit it. 

1.  I am good enough to enter heaven

2.  I must learn how to earn my ticket

Jesus confronts the first assumption right off.

Jesus here immediately undermines the first assumption.  The man does NOT know Jesus is the guiltless, righteous, son of God, yet he calls him good.  Why?  Because he assumes people can be good enough, and here is one who is good enough.  He really thinks, he also is good enough, but he wants to make sure all his bases are covered.  Has he done everything?  Is there anything missing?  Jesus identifies the root problem here, “MAN’S GOODNESS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD.  Though the man doesn’t realize it yet, the carpet is already pulled out from under his assumptions.  He isn’t on the footing he thought he was. 

In effect, he’s saying,  “Teacher, I’ve already done that, I am good, I am good enough.  I just want to make sure I haven’t forgotten something.”

Jesus is not disgusted with this man’s conceit.  He is not going to identify the list of sins this man has committed.  This man really is trying.  He really is seeking the Lord.  He has come to the right person, with the right motive, with the right question.  Jesus sees that this man is very close.  But he identifies the one problem in this man’s life.  He cannot deny himself.  Achievement yes, self-denial no.  Abandonment of the effort and complete trust is what this man needs.  He will not be able to do that for the same reason he will not be able abandon his wealth.  His self and his wealth are what he finds security in.  He believes he is secure.  He just wants to make sure.  In trying to save his own life he is losing it.  If he would only lose it he would save it. 

This is the most challenging portion of scripture I can think of.  Jesus has already challenged everyone by saying

Here now is a specific application of this principle.  A wealthy man, was asked to prove he can deny himself and follow Jesus, and he discovers “the one thing he lacks”.  He trusts his wealth and effort more than following Jesus and trusting Jesus.

Does Jesus ask us to sell all?  Not specifically as he did with this man, but in principle, YES!  We must view everything as HIS if we are to be his disciples.  We must not trust our wealth and our efforts in any way to give us security before God.  Our only security is in Christ.

Our tendency as Christians is to let ourselves off the hook at this point.  We usually, wipe the sweat off our brow and say, “phew, I’m glad I’m not attached to wealth like that man was.”  Oh really?  We in America are far too attached to our own wealth.  Only 2 percent of the evangelicals even “Tithe”.    A “Tithe” is the ten percent, first fruits principle that acknowledges that it all belongs to God.  Jesus assumed the tithe for the believer as a starting point.  So did the New Testament book of Hebrews assume the tithe.  But people are so economically snared that they can’t trust God with the 10 percent to make good on his promise that the 90 percent will be more than enough.  This man was asked to get rid of 100% and to trust Jesus as he follows him.  Personally, this passage does not comfort me.  It is hard for me.  I don’t believe everyone is supposed to literally sell everything and live in poverty.  However, I do believe we are to come to the place where we are obedient with our wealth.  I don’t think Christians in America are obedient with our wealth.  We trust our pocketbooks more than Christ.  It shows by our obedience.  We need to feel convicted here.  I do.  Do you?

If he was rich, then what am I?  I have great wealth.  It is my guess that my house is better than that man’s house.  It is my guess just one of my cars has more horse power than all of that man’s camels combined.  It is my guess that I have far more variety in choices of food, and quantities of food than that man.  It is my guess that I live in the lap of luxury compared to that wealthy man.  And time isn’t the only issue.  It’s not because of progress in time that I’m wealthy.  I am wealthy compared to the majority of the population of the world living today.  We should not feel guilty about the possessions that God has entrusted to us, but we better feel responsibility for them.  I better not forget, these are not mine, but his.  I better not trust them.  I better not become fixated on them.  I must confess Jesus is correct, when it comes to the difficulty we as wealthy people have.  We have a more difficult time trusting the right things, we tend to place too much trust in wealth, and earthly security.  Our faith is weakened by our wealth when we do not view our wealth through God’s eyes.

You might be thinking, “Wealth!?  Have you seen my bills?  I’m not worth anything.  My debts are huge.  I’m worth less than people in poverty.”  That may be true, but that was by our choices.  Our credit availability is because of our income availability.   If you have yourself in financial bondage to debt and you can’t obey God in simple matters of economics, then it is time to make some hard decisions.  If you are in such financial bondage to debt that you can’t honor God, you are the greedy poor that live as if you are wealthy.  God wants us to manage resources responsibly, but the first step is to acknowledge that they are his resources and not ours.

The whole point here is, can you deny yourself and follow Jesus.

      It’s Not What You Do, But Who You Know and Trust

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^£ to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Jesus here is using a word picture that involves a literal camel, and a literal needle.  He is not saying as some have said, that he is talking about a gate in the city called the needles gate and the only way a camel can get through is to rid itself of all the load and crawl through on its knees.    This is an attempt that showed up perhaps around 1100 AD to understand this passage.  The point is that it is impossible to get through if you rely on your own resources no matter how good you are, and no matter how wealthy you are.  It is impossible.  The point is that you can’t get through that way at all.  And this is the way this wealthy man was attempting it.  “What must I DO,” he asks.  He assumes he can get through based on his goodness and resources.  “Name it.  Anything.  I’ll do it.”  Jesus names the one thing he is incapable of doing.  He is pointing out he can’t do it based on the resources he has.  He must abandon that effort in its entirety and trust Jesus. 

III.   The Hump Won’t Fit

Jesus word picture is true, and humorous.  It is the picture of the impossible.  He names the largest animal and the smallest hole people could picture.  Remember he uses this word picture in a culture that has not been introduced to cartoons or special effects.  Picturing it is quite humorous.  

As long as you hold on to wealth, and greed, or anything else as your own, and keep it out of God’s rule, you can’t fit through an eye of a needle.  It is impossible to do enough to get in on your own merits.  You can NEVER be good enough.   The point is you cant’ fit through the eye of the needle either.  We must rely on another method rather than our own goodness, and our own resources.  Face it.  The starting place is the recognition of our own spiritual bankruptcy.  Jesus began his sermon on the mount by saying, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit.”  That is the starting point.  You must realize we are spiritually bankrupt on our own.  The only entrance is to abandon self effort, be stripped of self rule, selfishness.  Then, we can follow Jesus. 

The hump won’t fit through the needle, but neither will the camel, or smaller animal, a llama, man, or mouse.  We tend to think.  Oh, the hump won’t fit.  O.K. I’ll lose the hump.  I’ll make the baggage smaller.  I won’t be like those arrogant rich people.  I will be a humble wealthy person.  I’ll then be allowed to keep my hump.  Listen, he’s trying to loosen your grip on the kingdom of thingdom.  Actually in reality he’s trying to loosen the grip that the kingdom of thingdom has on you. 

Remember it’s not in the having that’s the problem; it’s in the having to have that’s the problem.

Having said the hump won’t fit through the eye of the needle and neither will the camel, or man, or mouse.  Jesus gives the picture of the impossible.  We don’t fit on our own.  But he specializes in the impossible.  What didn’t fit before, (Us) He can make fit through transformation.  I want you to do something.  Is there something in your life right now that’s keeping Jesus from being your master?  Is there something you know doesn’t fit the kingdom of God.  Will you write it down in the blank.  The Hump won’t fit and neither will the ___________________. 

A.  Neither will the ____________________

IV.  CHRIST RULES THE IMPOSSIBLE

I want you to notice just the use of words here for a moment.  It is the use of words that might be lost in translation.

v. 26 says “Who then can be saved?”  Circle that word “can”.  This is äýíáôáé   F from dunamis (dynomite, power, ability,)

v. 27 says “With man this is impossible”.  Circle the word “impossible”.  This word is has the same root as the word “Can”.  The only difference is that it has the alpha in front of the word negating the word.  Päýíáôïí   from adunamis ( no dynomite, no power, inability, impossibility)  Just like in the words theist, and Atheist, the alpha (“a”) in front brings the meaning into it’s opposite.  Now look at the rest of the phrase.  “With man this is impossible but not with God, all things are possible with God.”  Circle the word possible.  We’re back to the original word.  Who then CAN?  Man CAN’T, but God CAN!   We all have the flaw of inability.  But God has the ability.   For who is it possible?  For no one, except for those who trust in God.  Through God it is possible. 

The point is this: with such abandonment of self effort and such faith in Jesus, the impossible becomes possible.  We who are as fit as a camel is fit to go through the needle are then made to fit into the Kingdom of God.  We who learn to lose all for Jesus sake, suddenly discover that every sacrifice was really no sacrifice at all.  We find every blessing.  We find persecutions with it, but that is what the road behind Christ looks like until we reach the destination—Glory in the kingdom of Heaven!