Untitled Sermon (2)

The Education (10:23–31)

The lesson Jesus drew from the tragic story of the rich young ruler elaborates on His statement in Mark 8:35, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” That man, who had seemed to be sincerely seeking eternal life, ended up forfeiting his eternal soul forever for love of self and earthly riches. The Lord’s instruction unfolds in two parts: the poverty of riches, and the riches of poverty.

the poverty of riches (10:23–27)

After watching sadly as the rich young ruler walked away Jesus, looking around, said to His astonished disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” They had been surprised when the seemingly hopeful prospect rejected Jesus’ terms and abruptly turned and left. The disciples were even more amazed at His words concerning the difficulty the rich find in entering the kingdom. In their culture, as previously noted, it was assumed that wealth and power were signs of God’s blessing.

On the contrary, entering the kingdom is difficult for the rich for at least three reasons. First, their wealth gives them a false sense of security. Paul commanded Timothy, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

Second, they are also consumed with the things of the world, and where their treasure is, their hearts will be also (Matt. 6:21). In 1 Timothy 6:10 Paul warned, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The apostle John issued a similar warning:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:15–16)

Those who grasp wealth are like the rich fool in the Lord’s parable:

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16–21)

Finally, the rich tend to be selfish, pursuing self-fulfillment and self-gratification, like the wealthy man in the Lord’s story, who ignored the needy beggar at his gate (Luke 16:19–31).

Those psychological reasons, however, are not the Lord’s point here, since the rich man of whom He spoke was an outwardly religious person. According to the simplistic (and wrong) theology of first-century Judaism, wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. Conversely, they saw the poor as cursed by God. Further, those who were wealthy had the means to pay for more sacrifices than did the poor. They also could afford to give more alms and buy more offerings than other people, and the Jews believed that almsgiving was key to entering the kingdom. The apocryphal book of Tobit said, “It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: for alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life” (Tobit 12:8–9; cf. Sirach 3:30). Thus, in the Jewish religious system, it should be easy for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, not impossible.

Not surprisingly, the disciples were shocked and amazed at Jesus’ words, which seemed counterintuitive to them. Their reaction indicates that they had not yet completely broken free from the legalistic system in which they had been raised. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!” Far from toning down His statement, the Lord repeated it and broadened it to include everyone, not just the rich. He then gave an illustration of how difficult it is to enter God’s kingdom:

In reality, it is impossible for the rich to buy their way into the kingdom, as the proverbial statement, “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” indicates. The Persians expressed impossibility with a familiar proverb stating that it would be easier for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle. The Jews picked up the proverb, substituting a camel for an elephant, since camels were the largest animals in Palestine.

Some, unwilling to face the stark reality that the saying implies, have attempted to soften it. Noting the similarity between the Greek words kamelos (camel) and kamilos (a large rope or cable), some suggest that a copyist erred by substituting the former for the latter. It is unlikely, however, that all three Synoptic Gospels would have been changed in the same way. Nor would a scribe make the statement harder rather than easier. He might change the wording from “camel” to “cord,” but not from “cord” to “camel.” But even a rope could no more go through the eye of a needle than a camel could. Others imagine that the reference is to a small gate [in] Jerusalem’s wall that camels could only enter with great difficulty. But there is no evidence that such a gate ever existed. Nor would any person with common sense have attempted to force a camel through such a small gate even if one had existed; they would simply have brought their camel into the city through a larger gate. The obvious point of that picturesque expression of hyperbole is not that salvation is difficult, but rather that it is humanly impossible for everyone by any means, including the wealthy (cf. Mark 10:23–24). Sinners are aware of their guilt and fear, and may even desire a relationship with God that would bring forgiveness and peace. But they cannot hold on to their sinful priorities and personal control and think to come to God on their own terms. The young man illustrates that reality. (John MacArthur, Luke 18–24, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2014], 41–42)

Even more astonished, the disciples said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” Looking at them, Jesus told them plainly, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God” (cf. the similar phrase used in Luke 1:37 to refer to the virgin birth). Sinners, by their own power, will, and efforts, cannot save themselves (Jer. 13:23); only a sovereign act of God can change the heart (John 1:11–13; 3:3–8; 6:44, 65).

When sinners, by the work of the Spirit, reach the point where they desire to repent and be saved, having acknowledged their guilt, they can only cry out to God and ask Him graciously to forgive their sins and save them from judgment through Jesus Christ. Their only plea, like the repentant tax collector, is “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13).