Sermon on Mark 10:23-31, for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), "Uncommon Thinking"

 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s Gospel, Mark 10, follows from last week where Jesus met the rich young man, who wouldn’t part with his great possessions to come follow Jesus. Jesus sadly reflects on that situation and contrasts His own “uncommon thinking” with our common ways of thinking. With all the details to comment on here, I’m going to walk through this passage verse by verse, so you may want to have Mark 10:23-31 available in front of you.

23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. The disciples show continued astonishment at Jesus’ words. Like they’re saying, “Jesus, you’re too much! We just can’t believe all the things you say!” Isn’t that how we often react to Jesus’ words? Like an old satirical song says, we just want some “Easy Listening.” Or like Paul wrote to Timothy, we want easy, soothing sounds to tell us what our “itching ears” want to hear. But Jesus didn’t deliver easy truths. He challenges and startles us with hard truths.

So why are the disciples so surprised? Common thinking then and now, is that wealth shows God’s blessing, and poverty shows God’s displeasure. It’s a hard idea to shake. It seems to make sense. A whole multi-million-dollar raft of TV preachers sell this idea, what we call a “prosperity gospel” or the “Word of Faith” movement. Prosperity preachers claim God has promised wealth to believers and when Jesus says God wants us to have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10), they interpret that in terms of financial gain. But that’s not at all what Jesus promises. Beware of these TV preachers with their false prosperity gospel and their showy boasting of wealth. Jesus’ uncommon thinking that surprised the disciples, was that wealth was not proof of God’s favor, but could actually be an obstacle to God’s kingdom.

But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! Notice here that Jesus generalizes that it’s difficult to enter the kingdom of God, period! They seem to get it, and ask shortly, “Who then can be saved?” Difficulty in entering the kingdom of God also runs against common thinking. Common thinking says that most people are naturally good, and that most people deserve to go to heaven, if they are sincere in whatever they do, and aren’t Nazi war criminals or otherwise universally hated by men. Common thinking is that it’s easy to enter the kingdom of God, and practically no one goes to hell. Jesus’ uncommon thinking is that it’s difficult for anyone to enter the kingdom of God! Heaven is not the default destination for mankind after death. Narrow is the path to heaven, broad is the path to destruction. After this warning about the difficulty of entering the kingdom, He returns to the rich man.

25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Before further comment, we must dispel another myth. Another common way of thinking about this passage, is that someone said there used to be this tiny little gate in the walls of Jerusalem, where a rider would have to dismount his camel, unload his bags, and the camel would have to stoop down and squeeze through this tiny gate. Supposedly, this was called the “eye of the needle gate.” It’s a clever story, but there’s no evidence that any such gate existed in the time of Jesus, and it completely undercuts Jesus’ point about impossibility. The first reference in writing to any such gate was more than 9 centuries after Jesus, and long after the city was destroyed. This myth is simply busted and doesn’t have anything to do with the interpretation of this verse. Rather, in a straightforward way, Jesus is illustrating the absurd impossibility of a hulking camel fitting through the tiny eye of an actual needle. He is making His point clear about what man cannot do, and what God can do.

26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” The disciples recognized this difficulty, this impossibility, included the rich, but reached far wider than that. Seeing Jesus’ point, they wonder if anyone can be saved!

27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” This verse is speaking about the impossibility of salvation, by man’s powers, and the complete possibility of salvation by God’s power. We should be careful to keep the context of the verse in mind before we use it for all kinds of unrelated things. It’s not about the seeming impossibility of climbing a mountain, or some seemingly impossible space voyage, or athletic feat. The Bible never calls any of these things impossible. Of course, it is completely common thinking to want to overthrow “the impossible.” Absolutely nothing against the great impulse for exploration, discovery, creativity, and an unwillingness to give up. That’s all great stuff, but it’s not what this verse is talking about. But the idea is borrowed for all sorts of marketing slogans, songs, etc. Kid’s songs enthusiastically proclaim: “Nothing is impossible!” and Adidas has an ad campaign highlighting great athletes and overcomers, with the slogan “Impossible is nothing!” Napoleon Bonaparte, the infamous French emperor and invader, said that “Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools”. How the mighty have fallen! But the verse isn’t talking about overcoming hardship or obstacles. What is uncommon thinking is to bank all our trust in God, not our own strength.

There is plenty to be said for determination and overcoming hardship. But that’s not what Jesus is speaking about. He’s not giving self-help advice or promoting self-confidence. He’s drawing a sharp line between what God and man can do. Getting into the kingdom of God isn’t man’s doing. Can’t be done. Not seemingly impossible. Jesus says, “with man, this is impossible.” But God does truly do the impossible. As the angel Gabriel told Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” This verse is not about anything we can do, but everything God can do, and does, for our salvation! It’s the good news that Jesus has overcome the impossible barrier of our sins between us and God. Manly might can’t save, but Godly might does!

 28Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Peter sees how Jesus had asked the rich young man last week, to leave everything and come follow Him. Peter wants Jesus to notice: We did it! We did what you asked! “We left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus 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, 30who 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. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Jesus promises that the Cost of Discipleship is worth it. Whatever we may lose, whether wealth, earthly security, home, family, or anything else—it will be worth it to follow Jesus and receive what He gives in return.

Faced with that choice last week, the rich young man chose his great possessions rather than following Jesus. Had he followed Jesus, he would have gained much in exchange for what he left behind. Jesus says anyone who has left these things behind for my sake and for the gospel. That means things lost for following Jesus. Not losing something by our own fault or negligence. But if we follow Jesus and it costs us our house, or it meant family members turned their backs on us because we are disciples of Jesus, or if we left behind comfort of home and loved ones, God will bless us abundantly in return. And Jesus says they will “receive a hundredfold now in this time.” Already in this life, we can experience a hundredfold blessing. Where? In the church! In the fellowship of God’s family, we find a hundred times the Christian brothers and sisters and mothers and children, than our own biological family. We find a faith family that is stronger than blood. This is a blessing often ignored.

But notice that among all the blessings of increased family and lands, He adds “with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.” So, there will be a spiritual richness of belonging to God’s family with fellow believers. But persecution comes with the territory. Discipleship costs us. It includes sacrifice and loss. But loss is already baked into the equation. No one goes through life without loss. Death is the unavoidable loss everyone faces. So, when Jesus offers us the loss of things temporary, earthly things that won’t last anyhow, and offers us in the age to come, eternal life…isn’t that a great trade off, all things considered? It’s uncommon thinking but Jesus’ kingdom far outweighs anything that earth offers….

The last verse again is 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” This is one of Jesus’ favorite sayings and is the reverse of common human thinking. We think about how to get ahead, how to be first in line, to get what we think we deserve. Common thinking says take care of “numero uno” and who will take care of you, if you don’t put yourself first? Again, Jesus challenges and startles us with uncommon thinking, and shows the last will be first. Earthly gains become heavenly losses, while earthly losses become earthly and heavenly gains! When we say “we’ve got too much to lose”, we discount how much there is to be gained in following Jesus!

With God, all things are possible. Jesus came so we would have salvation. He laid down His life, so that heaven would not remain an out of reach impossibility, but Jesus descended from heaven to us, bringing us up to Him. Jesus did the impossible, rising from His grave in eternal victory, never to be chained by death again. Jesus did the impossible, separating our sins as far as the East is from the West, so that God would forget them, and count us as righteous for Jesus’ sake. Jesus did the impossible, giving us a hundredfold in this life, and in the life to come. He restores even more than we lose through the persecution of this world, with relationships, possessions, and eternal security. It’s uncommon to think like Jesus, but in Him, all things are possible and we are most greatly blessed! Amen.