All Things Are Possible

Opening Prayer

Read Mark 10:23-31.

Imagine standing before a locked door with everything you thought you needed—money, education, influence, morality, even religion. Yet none of it is the key.

That is the shock of Mark 10.

The disciples assumed that if anyone was positioned for God's kingdom, surely it was the wealthy and respectable. But Jesus turns their assumptions upside down: riches cannot purchase entrance, morality cannot earn it, and human effort cannot achieve it.

The disciples respond with the obvious question: “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus answers by directing their eyes away from themselves and toward God: “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

The door to the kingdom cannot be opened by human achievement. It must be opened by divine grace.

Do I trust myself or God’s surpassing grace?

Eternal Life Made Clear. (v. 23-25)

Jesus looks about him to see what his disciples will do in response to the conversation with this young man who is now walking away from Jesus in a cloud of sorrow and hopelessness. This sad state of being results from man-made rules, misunderstanding, and the succession of Rabbis misapplying the word of God in the OT, leading to the time of Jesus and continuing even today. (See Proverbs 11:28.)

Proverbs 11:28 LSB

28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

Jesus leaves the disciples terrified because Jesus is highlighting the problem of idolatry and the simplistic understanding of wealth as a blessing from God. Jesus basically declares how impossible it is for a wealthy person to have eternal life (a.k.a., enter the kingdom of God). (See Romans 6:12-14.)

Romans 6:12–14 LSB

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Here, then, we see Jesus using hyperbole (or exaggeration) to capture his hearers’ attention. Surely this is not a reference to a gate in Jerusalem out of time, or to a play on words between camel and rope in the original language. Jesus is painting a picture to show the scope of humanity’s inability to attain salvation on their own terms or by their own power. (See Jeremiah 13:23.)

Jeremiah 13:23 LSB

23 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.

Do I trust myself or God’s surpassing grace?

2. Humanity’s Problem Met With Hope. (v. 26-27)

The disciples are now dealing with their shock while remaining beside Jesus, asking, “Who can be saved?” This question comes from a place of real desperation and a shaken foundation of understanding. Now they seek that which only God can provide. Paul makes the same declaration in his letter to the church in Rome (see Romans 10:9-13.)

Romans 10:9–13 LSB

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Now, Jesus reveals the truth about salvation, eternal life, and access to God. It is impossible. Sin has destroyed what was once perfect and beautiful, leaving devastation and brokenness in its wake, not only in humanity but in all creation. Yet as Jesus makes clear the impossibility of eternal life by one’s own merits, he also offers hope. (See Jeremiah 32:17 and Jeremiah 32:27.)

Jeremiah 32:17 LSB

17 ‘Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

Jeremiah 32:27 LSB

27 “Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

Do I trust myself or God’s surpassing grace?

3. A Plea Answered with Great Vision. (v. 28-31)

Peter, speaking for all the disciples, as a child seeking affirmation and guidance, states the obvious. These men left everything, in an instant, to follow Jesus and to learn from him. Now, hearing the truth about eternal life, the disciples ache to know that they have placed their trust and their lives in the right person. (See Philippians 3:7-9.)

Philippians 3:7–9 LSB

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith,

Jesus’ reply is recorded in the verses 29-30, as he gives a short but poignant response to the disciple’s trust in Him and the work of God among them. First, God is the Father who does not leave his children wandering about. Second, to forsake our attachments to this world, for the sake of full surrender to God’s work in and through us will lead to eternal returns and joy. Third, suffering and persecution are expected as we proclaim the glory of God, his Son, and the Holy Spirit. (See Hebrews 11:24-26.)

Hebrews 11:24–26 LSB

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 regarding the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

To close this teaching session between the young man and his disciples, as well as the teaching on the kingdom of God, Jesus offers a proverb that highlights the overturning of the world’s value system in the lives of his disciples. He calls on you and me to understand that those who are humble and meek will be first, and those who are proud and exalted will be last in his kingdom. We are called to mutual submission and surrender before his grace and mercy. (See 1 Timothy 6:6.)

1 Timothy 6:6 LSB

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.

Do I trust myself or God’s surpassing grace?

Meaningful Discipleship & Eternal Life…

Is a free gift that is applied by God alone.

Is a living hope that lives within us by the Holy Spirit.

Leads us to godly contentment.

Closing Prayer