Mark 10:17-31; The Haves And The Have Nots

Sermon in a sentence: We have nothing if we do not have Jesus.

The Have Nots (vs. 17-27)

· ‌The rich young ruler had power, money, and morals but he was still lacking something.

· The earthly pleasures left this man with nothing.

Another modification, repeated by preachers until it has popularly acquired the status of an established datum, is the suggestion popularised in the nineteenth century that ‘the eye of the needle’ was a term for a small gate within the large double gate in the city wall, through which pedestrians could enter without opening the large gates as would be necessary for a camel train. The resultant image of a camel stripped of its load and bending its knees and neck to get through the pedestrian gate offers rich homiletical possibilities, but sadly it remains an unsupported guess. ‘There is not the slightest shred of evidence for this identification. This door has not in any language been called the needle’s eye, and is not so called today.’ But worse than the lack of evidence for this conjecture is its effect in actually undermining the point of the proverb. That which Jesus presented as ludicrously impossible is turned into a remote possibility: the rich person, given sufficient unloading and humility, might just possibly be able to squeeze in. That was not what Jesus’ proverb meant, and it was not how the disciples understood it (v. 26).

The salvation of the rich is always a miracle, but miracles are God’s speciality.

The Haves (vs. 28-31)

· Nothing + Jesus = Enough

· Peter recognized the cost of following Jesus. Unfortunately, he didn’t count the cost of rejecting Jesus.