Full Sermon Is The Mission Impossible? based on Mark 10:23-31

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. TV show called Mission Impossible. You might remember the old TV show called “Mission Impossible.” Some movies have been made in recent years based on that TV show, too. At the start of each episode of the show the main character listens to a tape recording about a mission that seems impossible. The recording tells the main character, “Your mission should you choose to accept, is …” At the end of the recording, the message is “… this recording will self-destruct in five seconds.” The mission is accepted and the “Mission Impossible” team completes the difficult mission.

II. Rich man and Mark 10:21. In Mark’s Gospel for today, Jesus talked about entering the kingdom of God and how difficult that is, especially for someone with great wealth. The reading from Mark’s Gospel for last weekend is a key to understanding the words of Jesus. That reading told about a man running up to Jesus and bowing down to Him. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminded him of some of the commandments, such as, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. The man claimed to have kept these commandments. Jesus looked at him with love and told him in Mark 10:21, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” The man left Jesus in sadness, because he had great possessions.

III. Read Mark 10:23 and Mark 10:24-25 and comment. Those words set the stage for the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus looked around at His student disciples and said in Mark 10:23, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The student disciples of Jesus were amazed at Jesus’ words. Again Jesus said in Mark 10:24–25, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” A camel was a large animal and the eye of a needle is very small. A camel cannot go through the eye of a needle. Maybe they thought having a lot of possessions showed that someone was blessed by God. Maybe they knew this wealthy man and they thought of him as honest and upright in the way he dealt with others. The student disciples of Jesus were greatly amazed at the words of Jesus and they wondered if anyone could be saved.

IV. “The Rip Van Winkel Caper”. Another old TV show gives a modern-day answer to the question about whether or not you can take your wealth with you after you die. [In an old episode of the Twilight Zone entitled “The Rip Van Winkel Caper,” a mastermind scientist, Farwell, and his three cohorts apply sleeping gas to a train loaded with gold bars. After the heist, they hide in a cave, where Farwell has created suspended animation chambers for each of them. Farwell believes that after one hundred years the gang will be free to spend their loot without fear of the authorities.

When they awaken a hundred years later, things go downhill fast. All that remains of one of them is his skeleton because his chamber had a crack in it. The villain of these villains is named DeCruz. DeCruz kills another of the group by running him over with the getaway truck, which then crashes into a ravine. Now Farwell and DeCruz must walk through the desert in the blistering heat, carrying as much gold as they can.

During their long trek, Farwell, who is older, heavier, and less athletic, forgets his canteen. The greedy DeCruz offers Farwell a sip of water from his canteen—for the price of one gold bar. Eventually, the price of a sip goes up to two bars. At this point, Farwell kills DeCruz with a gold brick. Farwell then continues his trek, lugging the gold that he refuses to abandon. Finally, weak and dehydrated, he collapses. A man appears hovering over Farwell, and Farwell offers his gold to him in exchange for water and a ride. Before the man can speak, Farwell dies.

As the man gets back into his futuristic car, he shows a gold bar to his wife and wonders why the poor man had offered something so worthless, just a lousy gold bar. His wife recalls hearing that gold once was valuable. Yeah, maybe a hundred years ago, her husband remembers—before they learned how to mass-produce it. He tosses the gold away. Host Rod Serling notes that gold was just an idol the hapless schemers were chasing across the sand.

These men “took it with them,” but where they ended up, it was worthless. Silver and gold have no value to God. And chasing after the material things of this life can make it impossible to enter into the Kingdom of true riches (Mark 10:23–27).]

V. In Mark 10:27 Jesus made an important point about being saved for His student disciples and for us, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Being saved is not a matter of how many good works we do or how much wealth we have or trying to be the best person we can be. With human efforts alone being saved is impossible. If we only rely on our own efforts, we will not be saved. On our own, the mission to please God and enter the kingdom of God, is impossible. James 2:10 gives us the bad news, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” Even breaking one commandment makes us guilty before God as if we have broken all of the commandments.

VI. All things are possible with God and John 3:16-17. That is not the end of the story though. All things are possible with God. The good news of the Gospel message is that God does the impossible for us. God the Father sent His One and Only Son into our world. That Son of God was born of the virgin Mary. That Son of God was given the name, Jesus. As John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” With God all things are possible. God not only sent Jesus to accomplish what was impossible for human beings, He also sends His Holy Spirit to bring us to faith in Him and to keep us in saving faith in Jesus.

VII. Following Jesus is not always easy. Being a follower of Jesus is not always easy. We face challenges and difficulties. Sometimes we have troubles with our family members or friends. Sometimes we have personal problems that cause us pain. Sometimes we are looked down on or made fun of for being a Christian.

VIII. Conclusion. The thing to remember is that no matter how tough things can be, the Mission that was Impossible for us is the Mission Accomplished by Jesus. Jesus suffered and died and arose for us and for our salvation. We have the victory in Jesus because He did the Mission Impossible for us. And by the way, this promise of God will NOT self-destruct in five seconds. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.