Where the First Will Be Last (Mark 10.17-31) 10-10-2021

As we head into the seasons of fall and winter and with Advent coming soon, it is easy to forget what is happening in the scripture for today. Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem where he will be killed and will be raised again on the third day. It is easy to forget this because we associate the going to Jerusalem with Easter. But along the way, Jesus is met by crowds and is teaching them and answering his critics. It was not just in Jerusalem that there were those who questioned him. And it was not just the Pharisees and the scribes that were questioning him. There were those who were gathered around who had questions. Those with the children that were brought to Jesus had questions. And there were others whom we don’t hear about who had questions that they believed that only Jesus could answer.

One who came was a man. He may have come out of breath and in a hurry. Perhaps he had heard that Jesus was getting ready to start a journey and wanted to catch him before he left or maybe he had finally gotten through the crowd and had a chance to see the teacher. Whatever the case may have been, he is now in front of Jesus and is ready to ask his question.

But there is one thing to notice here at this point. The disciples had tried to prevent those bringing children to Jesus because they did not want them to bother him. They will later try to prevent a beggar from coming to Jesus because of who and what he is. But this man, this man they do not prevent or try to stop. Why? We are never told but it could be because of how he looked and presented himself.

He comes and immediately gives a title to Jesus that was not heard of in ancient Palestine. He calls him “good teacher”. Perhaps he wanted to ingratiate himself with Jesus or perhaps he wanted to flatter him. Perhaps though he was sincere and wanted to give Jesus a title that would reflect the teachings that had been heard all around. Again, we do not know. We are not given the backstory on this man and that is one of the more aggravating things about the Gospels, we never get the full details that we like to have in our stories, just the basics that move the story along.

The man asks his question which is this: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?[1]” What must he do to inherit eternal life? It would appear that this would be all on him, not on anyone else and it would be a challenge but one that he might be willing to take up. But it all hinges upon him.

Jesus asks a question himself. Why does he call him good? Does he not know that there is only one who is good and that is God? Jesus is not telling the man that he is bad, but that there is only one who gives goodness and is good and that is God. God is the one who is good to deliver the people and is the one who is willing to continue to give to the people.

After asking this question Jesus then turns to the explanation of what it would take to inherit eternal life. He lists four of the commandments that are on the second tablet of the ten. One commandment, the one to not defraud, is thought to have been taken as do not covet, but is instead defraud as this man has wealth by his appearance and therefore does not covet. The last commandment given is the last commandment on the first tablet of the ten: to honor one’s father and mother. Notice that all these commandments are ones that entail how to live with other human beings. In Luke, Jesus answers a similar question by telling the one asking to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Here Jesus is telling the man the same thing. That to inherit eternal life is to follow the commandments to love neighbor as self.

The man’s reply can be seen as two things. The first is defensive. He has kept all these commandments since he was a youth. He has done all that was asked and is still doing those things. Who was this man to tell him to do what was already being done? The second is one of relief. Here was Jesus telling the man to do what was already being done. There would have been great relief because there were no other requirements.

At his answer, Jesus looks at him and loves him. The text could say that he reached out and embraced him or put his hands on his shoulders in a gesture of familial love. Whatever the gesture was, it showed the man that Jesus loved him for who he was and not what he did.

But then Jesus drops a bombshell. He gives the man four imperatives: he is to go, sell all that he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jesus. Easy peasy as the saying goes. Just do those things and have eternal life.

The man is shocked. The Greek says that his face fell. He was stunned. This was completely unexpected and not at all what he was wanting to hear. The reason for this is that he had many possessions. He was wealthy and had the toys to prove it. And he could not bear to give them up. So, he turns away with sorrow and grieving because now he knows that he can not have eternal life because he is not willing to make the sacrifice that has been asked of him. Notice that he went away grieving. He truly wanted to know and was willing to give what was asked until the cost was revealed. And so, he went away with sorrow.

The disciples themselves must have been shocked by this. Here was a man whom they had allowed to ask Jesus a question. One who had the trappings of wealth. One who was not like the rabble that usually followed Jesus. One whose wealth would have contributed to the coffers of the group. And here he was turned away. Why was he turned away? Because he was unwilling to give up all that he had.

Then Jesus drops another bombshell. He states: “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”[2] And the disciples are again shocked. They are clearly perplexed at this so, Jesus continues and tells them: “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”[3] Now this is something that shows how hard it would be. Jesus is telling them that the largest animal that they know would have to go through the smallest thing that they know. And it would be easier for that to happen than for the rich to enter the kingdom. There have been some attempts to soften this. One is by saying that there was a gate in Jerusalem that camels had to be unloaded and go down on their knees to enter the gate. Therefore, the rich had to humble themselves to enter the kingdom. This attempt is patently false. There was no gate like that and all knew it. Jesus is using a saying that is telling the disciples that it is hard to enter the kingdom, especially for the rich.

The disciples then ask then who can be saved? In their time those who were wealthy were seen as being blessed by God or the gods. Those who were poor or destitute were seen as being under God’s judgement. For a good example of this, see the book of Job. Here was a man who was very wealthy and had lots of possessions. Then one day it is all taken away. His friends were telling him that it must have been something that he did to be punished in this way. And Job might have even questioned himself. But Job is also angry. What about all that he has done to be righteous? And so, the disciples would have thought as well.

They ask then who can be saved if not the rich. Jesus tells them that with humans it is not possible. Only with God is it possible. They are not to trust in riches or in possessions to get into the kingdom. There are only to trust in God. That is the only way to have eternal life. They can trust God, not anything that they can bring to the table. When it comes to saving the rich, R. T. France has this to say: “The salvation of the rich is always a miracle, but miracles are God’s speciality[4].”

Peter speaks up. He says: “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”[5]The disciples still do not get it. They believe that because they have left everything that they should get a reward. Again, the disciples are thinking in terms of what they have done, not in terms of what God would be doing. So, Jesus tells them that they will gain a great deal for leaving all their families. They will gain a new family with many brothers and sisters who will take care of one another. But there will also be persecutions. There will be hardships with following God. So, the first will be last and the last first in the kingdom Jesus states, which I am sure leaves those listening in shock again.

This is a hard text to preach. How do we view this text is a question I had to ask myself. Do we look at it with the eyes of those who believe that we are not rich that only those who are super rich are the ones to whom Jesus is speaking? Or do we look at it with eyes that tell us that Jesus is speaking directly to us as he spoke directly to the many with many possessions?

To the world around us we are rich. The majority of us do not have to worry about food, clothing or decent housing. That makes us rich. And Jesus will call us on that because too often we ignore the plight of those around us. I told last week of children who go hungry, of those who lack medical care. Today in Flint, MI, there are those who still do not have water that is safe to drink. Yes, here we who do not have any of these issues are truly rich.

There is a place for possessions. There were those who followed Jesus who had possessions. But they were a part of those who had inherited eternal life because they had not allowed their possessions to posses them. And this is what Jesus was telling the disciples. It is not that wealth is bad, but that it possesses us and makes us want more. We become obsessed with wanting more than what we have and covet what others have. Amos gives us a picture of what those who are possessed by their possessions will do: they will defraud the poor. And because they do this they will not enjoy their possessions.

Now, we may state that this is not true that our possession possess us or that we lust for more wealth, but how many of us have stated that we would do more if only we had more. Or how many of us have looked at another’s car wishing that ours was bigger or flashier or more powerful? Or how many of us have looked at our house thinking that an addition would be just the thing to make it better. Our possessions possess us.

Jesus calls us to give up our possessions. He calls us to make the ultimate sacrifice to follow him. And when we do so, we can have the peace of mind that comes from following and not having our possessions possess us. So, let us be the last and not the first, because we are called to give up what we believe makes us the first. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [4]France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002. Print. New International Greek Testament Commentary. [5] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.