Maybe you’ve heard this story before. It comes from the book of Mark, chapter 10:
Jesus was walking along and a man ran up to him and asked him “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”. Jesus reminds him of the commandments: ‘do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’
The man replies, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Then Jesus tells him he’s missing one thing. If he wants to have eternal life he must go sell everything he owns and give the money to the poor, then come follow him. The man walks away because he is very wealthy and can’t quite bring himself to part with his stuff; to which Jesus responds “how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!… it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
But then he makes a key statement: “with man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
I’ve heard many pastors preach on this, and the majority of them use it to speak on the negative effects that material wealth has on us. And that makes sense. Wealth can be a cancer that consumes us without us even realizing that we are being trapped by it. We can get so far into our world of comfort that when we are presented with an opportunity for discomfort, we shrink back and cling to our comfort for dear life.
However, as I read this story this morning, I noticed something in Mark’s version that I hadn’t noticed before. In verse 21 it says “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…’”
It seems to me that Jesus saw something beyond the man’s grip on his wealth. He saw someone worth saving. And perhaps this passage is more about God’s grace than about Jesus being pro-downward-mobility.
When Jesus taught, he often raised the bar higher than anyone could achieve. He would say “you’ve heard it said ‘do not commit adultery’, but I tell you if you even look at a woman lustfully, you’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart.” Or, “you’ve heard about the commandment not to murder, but I’m telling you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement” (Matthew 5). I believe the story with the rich man is no different. Jesus is essentially saying “yes, you are hopeless in your grip on your wealth, but even without that you still don’t deserve eternal life.”
We can’t win. There is no possible way to beat the game of righteous living. We simply cannot enter the kingdom of God by doing more Christiany stuff. Even the most radical of Christians, God is not impressed by. Pleased? Totally. But what I think God is more pleased by is the fruit of an authentic relationship with him. If we are remaining connected to him, and have a genuine relationship with him, our lives should bear good fruit, and that is pleasing to God like a mother who is pleased by closeness with her daughter, and the fruit of that relationship in her daughter’s life. But to bypass his grace and try to earn eternal life misses the point completely. Something tells me that even if this rich man did sell everything and give to the poor, his deeds would still be “like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) before God. But Jesus looked on this man and loved him despite what he knew was in his heart. And he turned around to face the crowd and spoke of his grace, saying “it’s impossible to get to Heaven on your own… but God is the only one who makes it possible.”
I think if we are connected to God, Jesus says we will bear good fruit (John 15) that is pleasing to God. But lose that connection to God and we are like a grape that falls off the vine and shrivels up. No matter how much that raisin tries to be a grape again, it can’t without the life that the vine gives it. And so I think this passage speaks to that life that God longs to give us apart from our futile attempts at righteous living.
