Think on these questions while you dwell in Mark 10:17-31:

1. How does Jesus challenge the young man's claim of having kept all the commandments from his youth, and what is the underlying message Jesus is conveying about human nature and the need for God's grace?

2. What is the significance of Jesus' instruction to the young man to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him? How does this reveal a deeper truth about the nature of discipleship and the role of material wealth in our pursuit of the kingdom of God?

3. How does Jesus use the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle to emphasize the difficulty of a rich person entering the kingdom of God? What is the central message Jesus is conveying about the necessity of God's intervention in our salvation?

Transcript:

Like I said, this is a big chunk of text today getting us through a whole lot of Mark Chapter 10. It is, once again, a very well-known story. And here it is. This young man comes up to Jesus and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life. Well, the first thing that Jesus does is confusing to us because we know that Jesus is good. He is without sin. But what does he ask the young man? Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. What Jesus is trying to do for this young man here is to say, Hey, look, only God is good. Jesus isn't saying that he isn't good, that Jesus himself isn't good. He is saying that you need to understand that only God is perfectly holy. You need to understand that only God is truly good, because you know the commandments. Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't defraud, honor your father and mother. You know what these commandments are. Can you do them? Are you able to do them perfectly? Well, unfortunately, this young man has an answer that makes it seem like he thinks he has, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.

But has he? Has he perfectly loved God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength and love his neighbor as himself? No, he couldn't have. At some point, he had to dishonor his father and mother. At some point, he did bear false witness. In fact, we're going to see him bear false witness here in just a moment, or we did see him bear false witness right there when he said, I've kept all these things. There's no way he possibly could have. He was born dead in trespasses and sins. And so, Jesus looks at him, and I love what it says here. It says that he loved him. He's trying to convict him of his sin. And so, Jesus asks a question. You lack one thing, Jesus says. Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and then come follow me. Are you willing to give up all your possessions? Are you willing to give away your life for me? Jesus is asking. And Jesus knew what the answer was going to be. He went away. He was sorrowful. He had great possessions. He was not willing to give up those things for Jesus.

And so, we know by this answer, well, which the answer was given by his body, not by his voice. He left. He went away, sorrowful. He wasn't willing to give up his possessions to follow Jesus. He had not and would not follow God perfectly, keeping the law without error. And so Jesus continues and says, How difficult is it for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? Well, what Jesus is saying here isn't that richness, being rich, wealth is a qualification that keeps you out of heaven. That's not what Jesus is saying. Jesus saying that when you have these possessions, when you are able to do things with your money, you don't tend to rely on God. In fact, Jesus says it's difficult, so difficult that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Well, a lot of people talk about there was a spot in the city where a camel could not get through with a person on it. And so some people say that's what Jesus had in mind here. Either way of whether it's talking about a place in the city where a man and a camel had trouble getting through to enter the city, or whether it's an actual tiny little needle and a camel go through, the point is the same.

Without God, it is not possible to enter the kingdom of heaven. And that's what Jesus is teaching here. He's saying, look, you can't do this on your own. You can't keep the law perfectly. You will not enter heaven because of your own personal righteousness. You need an outside righteousness. You need the righteousness of God. And look at what it says here, With man, it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God. Now, this is not teaching us. When Jesus says all things are possible with God, that doesn't mean that if we believe something, we're going to receive it. Just because I believe I can fly, God is not going to let me fly. The idea here is talking about salvation, that God is able to save. It is impossible for you and I to enter heaven on our own. But because of what God has done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is possible. God has won salvation for his people. And that's what it's so important for us to remember each and every day that when we fail, when we sin, when we rebel against a holy God, He has done the impossible.

He has brought us to himself. He has given us the gift of faith. And now, because we believe, we have the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And so we are able to enter the kingdom of heaven. God has squeezed us through the eye of the needle into heaven, not because of anything that we have done or will do, but because Jesus suffered, died, rose again, and is now ascended to the right-hand of the father on our behalf. And so, may we, each and every day, trust in that good news knowing that God has done the impossible and rescued us from our own sin and unbelief by his grace.