Difficult sayings of Jesus: eye of a needle

The passage at hand today is found in 3 of 4 Gospels not appearing in the Gospel of John. The story in each Gospel adds to one another. One of the greatest resources I have for studying the Gospels is the Synopsis of the Gospel’s. Since college I have not used another resource more when reading the Gospels. In Matthew, we are told that one came up to Jesus, in Mark we are told that a man ran up to Jesus, and in Luke we are told a ruler came up to Jesus. These all begin to paint a picture of the man who approached Jesus.

For a moment I want to emphasize Luke as he says this man who approaches Jesus is a ruler. The use of this term, which was also used by the Jewish Historian Josephus, was used for a religious ruler or even a member of the sanhedrin. This person would have been upright and morally superior to the common folk, or so it would seem. The Gospel Mark communicates the urgency of the man as he runs up to Jesus. Unanimously, all 3 Gospels show this man respected Jesus as teacher. But this begs the question, why would he ask Jesus what he asked? First He addresses Jesus as, “Good teacher” which Jesus responds to. “Why do you call me good.” It is my belief not that Jesus was testifying to His deity here, rather, as you will see this man’s has a very flawed view of morality, Jesus did not want to be placed under this flawed umbrella of goodness. Jesus, instead, points to God the father who is perfect and Holy. Though Jesus is as well, the attention is given to the Father. Now, could this be an opportunity for Jesus to testify of His deity here, yes. But I believe it would have caused what Jesus says later to fall of deaf ears. The man asks, “Good teacher” and now we see the flawed thought of morality, In the Gospel of Mark and Luke, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.” Matthew says, “What must I do to have eternal life.” Recorded a little different, but the same sentiment remains. This man thought that eternal life was something which could be obtained by ones own righteousness. That eternal life was something which was achieved, earned, or inherited.

Many people still believe this today. So much of moralistic deism has infected the church. They think the Biblical God functions under something like Karma or that there is somehow a generational inheritance owed to them. I have even heard people say their father was a preacher or their parents were missionaries, so they were good. The inheritance of their parents spiritual life would trickle down to them. As though, eternal inheritance is a family business which is passed down to them. Here we find the focus of Jesus’ interaction with the man, what is more important here: that Jesus just proclaims, “I am God” or that this man walks away knowing the Truth of God, which would lead him back to Christ? In the sound of Music there is a song which you wont remember because we really only remember 4 of the songs from that movie. But there is a song where Julie Andrews is singing with her groom to be says, “So somewhere in my youth, or childhood, I must have done something good.” That she must have done something good to be rewarded with him as a groom. This notion that one’s past will dictate what happens in the future is prevalent in our thought. Are there ways which our sin cause problems and even cause terrible results? Yes. Addiction can cause some serious consequences. Are there ways where our decisions can cause consequences? Yes, choosing to work more and provide rather than being home more with your kids, can have affects. That is not what we are saying here. But we will attribute this merit based cause and affect to God. The Bible speaks to this in the book of Job, a man who is righteous and upright has tragedy and calamity befall him and he loses everything. He has 3 friends who show up and they tell Job, something in your past, you did something wrong, that is why this has happened to you. God then has quite a rebuke for them later on for being so foolish. Basically God tells them to shut their mouth’s and stop speaking out of ignorance. We can fall prey to this. Can I just say this, according to Scripture, we must praise God He does not interact with us in this way. If God gave us Karma, it would go bad for us. Or as Christian metal band, A Plea for Purging said it, “If I were God we’d all be dead.” Thank God He does not give us what we deserve. Praise God that instead of our merit never earning our place we are given Grace. We are given what we don’t deserve because Christ took what we did deserve, on the cross. We will come back to this later.

Jesus responds to the man, having addressed this flawed way of thinking in terms of goodness, and Jesus calls back to God’s law. Only God is good and here is His law, here are His commandments, which are good.

Matthew 19:17-19 “17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus lays out only 6 of the 10 commandments. But notice the odd interaction here, Jesus does well in saying Keep the commandments. You do these things you are a morally upright person and in good standing with God. The man says, “Which one’s?” What!? Being morally righteous is not a la carte. Again we see this man flawed view of morality. Jesus says, keep THE commandments and the man asks, “Which ones?” Jesus answers this question perfectly, and here is why. Paul in Romans 8 tells us that the Law is what reveal’s to us our sinful nature. The Law, which is Good, showed us that we were not. This is the approach of several street preachers who go through the 10 commandments. Let’s just look at what Jesus says in these 6: “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” *LET IT RIP :

Murder (Jesus then raises the bar in Matthew 5 getting to the root of this sin which begins in the heart)

Adultery (Again in Matthew 5 Jesus raises the bar, that in the heart adultery begins)

Steal

False witness (lie)

Honor father and mother

Love your neighbor as yourself

Even with just these 6 none of us can say we have done them all perfectly. We have fallen short. The Law reveals this to us. We do not measure up. But what does the man say? Matthew 19:20 “20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” If I were there I would have said *cough* “Bull.” There seems to be a lack of self-awareness which places morality somehow skewed in his favor. We do the same. I’m not that bad. We compare ourselves to others. That’s not the measuring stick. Salvation is not obtained like running from a bear, I just have to be faster than you. How do you measure up against a The Perfect Living God? Despite this, I want to read something to you that only Mark records, Mark 10:21 “21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him...” Jesus did not see this interaction as a self aggrandizing interaction on the part of the man. Sure he lacks self-awareness for his sin, but he wanted to follow after God, and in the man’s interaction with Jesus he knew he was falling short. Matthew 19:20 “20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” He knew he was lacking, but he did not know where. How does Jesus respond? Jesus calls this man to be his disciple. This is the same call given to each of His disciples. They all, but one, left everything to follow Jesus. There was one, who shared in the same heart as this man. Perhaps this is why Jesus felt love for him. This man might not end up like Judas. How is that? Judas never separated himself from the love of money. Jesus says Mark 10:21 “21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Jesus gives this man the same call He gives all of His disciples. Notice something, this man’s call is different from yours. What Jesus says here is not a universal command for all people. For some of us Jesus called us out of a vocation (you job is keeping you from me and your family), a style of life (this is not what I created you for), a sinful passion (caste aside your addiction), or a relationship (You both are destroying one another). Though all who are called to be a disciple, we are all challenged differently, in where we are lacking. The very thing we have made an idol in our heart, Jesus demands first. His LORDSHIP is not one He will share. He will not share the throne of your heart with an idol crafted by your own hands. Some of you are hearing this and you know exactly what Jesus called us to. We remember what idol He wanted. Some of us, are still struggling to hand it over. I caution you, that was Judas’ downfall. Do with that what you want.

Jesus calls Him to be His disciple and I like how the Gospels record it, all three Gospels record Jesus addressing the mans question directly, “One thing you lack.” The man asked, “Where and I lacking?” Jesus tells him.

In all 3 it is recorded that Jesus tells Him to give up this idol of mammon, this love of money would, he will have treasure in heaven. But Matthew adds something which I think we can all connect with, verse 20-21a, “20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete...” If you want to be fulfilled, sustained, satisfied, complete it will not happen with this idol having authority over you. That lacking you feel, that sense of longing, that recognition of a missing piece in your life, is the place where your idol has taken residence. You see it, you experience it, you feel it, but it is empty, and you know that. Growing up I loved the Red and Green show. Always ending the show with these words of wisdom, “If women don’t find ya handsome, they should at least find you handy.” He would see a problem and invent some crazy contraption. Like when he used a toilet as a carburetor. Fastening it with duct tape. Or when he made an all wheel drive car by cutting two cars in half and attaching both front ends back to back using… duct tape. As funny as the show is, at least to me, this is the same kind of approach we have trying to keep our lives together. That is what made the show funny because who on earth would do that, and yet instead of addressing this lacking in our hearts. Instead of addressing this longing in our soul, “Hey at least we are handy!” Yea, I am still struggling with this trauma, but ill just cover it up. Yea this sin has become what defines me as a person but Ill just redefine it, now its no longer a sin, its an identity. There are things in our lives we have decided, instead of handing this over to Christ, I’m just going to cover it up, or I’m going to try and fix it myself, or I’m just going to tuck it away and never bring it up. But then, life happens. For me, I got married. I married a remarkable woman but you know what? Because I just tried to cover up my insecurities and hurt. Because I never handed them over to Christ. Because when He said, “This you are lacking” and I said “No!” For the first year of our marriage, I did not have who i have now. I didn’t have a wife. I didn’t have a best friend, a companion. I had a captive. She was always walking on eggshells around me, afraid to talk to her own husband. But she prayed for me. She prayed a prayer which some of you have done, and I cannot imagine how difficult it is to pray this prayer, “Lord break him, and make him who You want him to be.” Then the LORD started working through the Spirit. Don’t be fooled, I am not perfect, don’t you dare hear that. It was not easy. It was hard to address my bitterness, my anger, my insecurity. But God started revealing these places of lacking, and saying, I can make you complete.

Jesus tells this man where he is lacking, “go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” If you remember Jesus only listed 6 of the 10 commandments. What is the first? “I am the LORD your God: you shall have no other god’s before me.” We are quick to profess our love for God, but then we sound like Meat Loaf, “I would do anything for love, but I wont do that.” When that which He is calling us to surrender is the very thing which is keeping us from Him. But No! “God you are asking to much!” This is the call of discipleship. This is the cost of following Jesus. He will demand we surrender our idols, and follow Him.

When the man walked away Jesus has an interaction with His disciples. Mark 10:23-25 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! (Remember verse 24) 25 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.” I don’t want us to get caught up on this, “Eye of a needle.” Some will say that it was a gate in the city which was much smaller than other gates, and it was difficult to get a camel through it. Or a literal interpretation of an actual camel and and actual needle. By focusing on that we are getting caught up on the wrong thing. The disciples were not surprised by Jesus analogy, they were terrified by its implications. Jesus just had this exchange with a man who was wealthy and that wealth had become an idol to him. It gave him purpose and meaning. It drove him. This is the snare wealth can bring but this is not a snare everyone struggles with. I have met poor people who worshipped money, and I have met wealthy people who could not give it away fast enough. I went to a private high-school my sophomore - senior year because I wanted to take Bible classes, I was there for 2 and a half years. Look, my dad was a cop, we could not afford 18k for me to go to high school. I did not hear about this until I was in college but, I found out, when one of my friends who was in FCA with me and we played football together, His family paid for my entire tuition. Money to some is simply an instrument to bless others, but is it also an idol in the hearts of many. Jesus saw, this man worshipped money and He wanted that idol.

I told you to remember verse 24, And the disciples were amazed at His words. Why? What Jesus said was offensive in a completely different way than today. 26 And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

The disciples were amazed by Jesus’ words. Why? This word amazed, in the Greek also means to be struck by the particular emotion. It means to be struck by panic, shock, astonishment. So what we are seeing is an amazement at what Jesu said but based on their follow up remarks it tells us there is a sense of panic. “Then who can be saved” they ask. Wealth was seen in this time as a outward approval or blessing from God. That those who are wealthy must be doing something right, they must be upright otherwise they would not be rich. This view of God’s blessings is fatally flawed. It is also flawed to go the other way. If you remember before Jesus healed a blind man the disciples asked, “Was it this man’s sin or his parents which made him blind?” What!? We do the same, but that is karma. That is not a sovereign God whose focus is bringing as many people to salvation as possible. The disciples are in panic, “Then who can be saved if not those who clearly have God’s favor?” Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” Here is where we find the truth of the Gospel. You can replace this young ruler with whomever you want, the tension comes from the disciples, who believe they don’t stack up. They see this person and they think, “Surely they are right with God” and then they look in the mirror and see brokenness. There is no hope for me. They might be OK but I am not. You might think it is impossible for God to forgive you. You might think it is impossible for God to love you. You might think it is impossible for God to pull you out from where you are. Jesus outright says, “For people it is.” For you? It is. For you its impossible. We are talking about the God who, out of nothing created all that we see. He breathed life into our lungs. He has already done the impossible in your even being here right now, so how on earth is your sin going to keep Him from accomplishing His Will?

I want to close with this, I want to put this in your mind and I want you to wrestle with it. If you are struggling with your sanctification. If you are fighting with the thought of you being a burden or lost cause in the sight of God, I want to leave you with this thought, the hard part is over. What do I mean? God became flesh. He lived the life we should have lived and He died the death we deserved to die. He bore the cross and the wrath of God toward our sin. He died, and He conquered death itself. That was the hard part. The hard part is not God working in you now. God picking you up again. God forgiving you again. God restoring you again. That’s is not the hard part, that’s the reward! That’s His joy! He see’s us, “My son, My daughter, you are growing!” My daughter Avery just learned to walk, before that she was learning how to stand on her own, before that she was learning how to stand. I have a video of me holding her by the collar and standing her up, and slowly letting go. In the video my arms are raised and I’m cheering her on. Then, she fell back onto her bottom. You know what I didn’t say? Listen to me, I didn’t say what you say to yourself when you fall. You failure. You’re worthless. So pathetic. Could you imagine that. Me, a father cheering on his 11 month old daughter and then berating her when she fell. That would be insane. But do you know what would also be insane, for my daughter to see me cheering for her steps, and then when she falls, to hate herself for it, when I am still cheering for her steps. We have a Heavenly Father who takes joy in your steps. He takes joy in the fact you are following Him. You are walking in Him. So you may not being going as fast as you would like, so what! You are following in the steps of the Father who is shaping you into the image of Christ! That’s awesome! My challenge to you is this, Avery has set the example for me, when you fall keep your eyes on the Father. Don’t take your eyes off of Him. Don’t look at yourself, where you fell, or how many times it has happened, keep your eyes on the Father.