The
meeting between Christ and the young person begins very promising. The fact
that this person runs up to Christ shows humility; he wasn’t carried on a
litter, he didn’t sent for Christ, he didn’t ask for a private conference at
night, like Nicodemus. The young man ran. Running shows a longing to be in
conversation with Christ. He came to Jesus and knelt down – showing respect for
Jesus’ reputation as a great teacher. He wanted to learn from him. He was
serious and sincere Pharisee who believed in eternal life. He was a devout
observer of the Torah. Though he regularly attended religious services and knew
when to sit, stand, kneel, and give the right responses, Jesus called him to
something deeper.
Another
scholar claims that, since Jesus was fully human and fully divine, perhaps he
was still wrestling with the idea of his divinity. Jesus slowly developed an
understanding of who he was over time. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians,
explains that though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not regard equality
with God as something to be exploited and instead humbled – emptying himself by
incarnation – taking the form of a servant.
There is
a third way to look at this passage. Both of the first two scholars read the
passage emphasizing the word “good”, “Why do you call me good?” What would happen if we emphasized the word “you”, “Why do you call me good?”
Just a
few chapters earlier, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I
am?” The answers were all over the place
until Peter, repeating what he heard other people say, was asked by Jesus, “Who
do you say that I am?” It didn’t matter what others thought about Jesus. Jesus
asked Peter to make up his own mind. Now put both questions together: "Who
do you say that I am?" and "Why
do you call me good?" Jesus invites
the young person into a deeper relationship.
Now
let’s take a closer look at the young person’s question about eternal life. The
young person did not ask, “How do I inherit eternal life?” but “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This
should be making your inner Protestant jump up and down. We know that there is
nothing we can do, in and of ourselves, to merit eternal life. We are saved by
faith.
Jesus
knew that the young person was just beginning to understand what it means to love
God and love God’s people. The young person tells Jesus that he have tried to
be nice to everyone. Jesus does not comment on the truthfulness of this claim,
but instead points out a flaw in the young person’s reasoning. Being nice isn’t
the point. Loving God and loving your neighbor involves right relationship. Right
relationship with our neighbors, especially with the poor, requires a right
relationship with money.
Jesus
asks the young person to examine his relationship with money. Our relationship
with money is telling. Giving money doesn’t save us or make us merit heaven,
but living sacrificially helps us learn to value rightly. Our money claims that
we trust in God. Each coin and bill clearly states “In God we trust”, but many
of us are caught up in what money can buy - our wants and our desires for
material comfort. Jesus includes the
command not to defraud our neighbor. We are commanded not to seek to own
welfare in any way that lessens the welfare of another. Justice requires us not
to advance or enrich ourselves by doing wrong or injury to any other. Valuing
money above relationships is idolatry. Living into the kingdom of God is hard
for people.
Jesus
tells us it is hard for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom. Jesus
goes on to say that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone to enter the kingdom of God.” This is an incredible statement.
Most of us have heard it before, but do we know what it means.
There is
a medieval legend that the “eye of the needle” refers to a gate in Jerusalem where
a camel could not pass unless it stooped and first had all its baggage first
removed. After dark, when the main gates were shut, travelers and merchants had
to use this smaller gate. The camel could only enter with its pack taken off and
crawling on its knees!
This
became a great metaphor for sermons on stewardship – pointing out the need of
coming to God on our knees without all our baggage. Unfortunately there is no
evidence to support this story.
There
are other explanations to the problem of getting through the “eye of a needle”
but I think that we are working too hard. What if we are not meant to reason
away the apparent difficulty of getting a camel through the eye of a needle? Remember
when Jesus spoke about trying to take a speck out of someone’s eye when you
have a whole tree growing out of your own? Jesus is making an exaggerated statement
to point out that it is impossible to “do” something to get into heaven.
Many
people believed, and still believe, that wealth and prosperity was a sign of
God's blessing - being poor means that you are lazy and somehow undeserving.
Imagine how surprised they were at the idea that being rich did not mean that
you were more righteous any more than being poor or sick or even unemployed
means that you necessarily did something wrong.
Some
Christians have used this story to point out that wealth itself is evil and
therefore the wealthy are bad and the poor are good. This is a false dichotomy.
The truth is that salvation is made impossible through our own efforts. There
is nothing we can do to deserve it.
The good
news is that what seems impossible for us is possible with God. God only needs
us to open up a crack for the Spirit to enter.
Even the tiny opening in the eye of a needle is big enough for God. God,
who created heaven and earth, all living things, including camels, wants us to
deepen our relationships.
Jesus
asked the young person to take ownership of their faith and trust in God. Mark
wrote this Gospel in order to draw us into the most important conversation ever
held.
Jesus is
asking us “Why do you call me good?”
and by doing so invites us into a deep conversation about our relationships. Jesus
wants us to value people over possessions and examine our relationship with
money. Bowing your knee to Jesus the great Teacher is only a good beginning.
You are also invited to bow your pocket book to the needs around you. Bring
your relationships, all your relationships, before the throne of grace and into
the light of the Gospel. Entrust them to God; for with God all things are possible.