GIST: You cannot save yourself, no matter how much it seems like you have going for you, but the mission isn’t impossible for Him.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 10:13-28
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
With this title, I thought it would be cool if I could be lowered to the pulpit suspended by some wires hanging from the ceiling with some dramatic music playing in the background.... Since, clearly, that’s not really feasible, feel free to picture that I did it that way instead☺.
In all honesty, the passage we’re covering this morning combines the passage we were going to look at two Sunday nights ago (before we got iced out) and the one we were going to address last Sunday morning (before we got iced out again…) because they are so interconnected. The passage opens with the disciples trying to stop people from bringing their kids to Jesus. Tonight, we’re going to come back and look at what Jesus is saying about letting the children come to Him. This morning, I want to pick up with what He tells them right after that statement. After telling them not to hinder the children from coming to Him, He uses the children as an example and tells them to enter the kingdom of God like children. Immediately after this, we’re given the example of the rich young ruler, which shows us what this wouldn’t look like.
So what’s the gist? You cannot save yourself, no matter how much it seems like you have going for you, but the mission isn’t impossible for Him. This is so core to the Gospel! Let’s break down the examples here.
I. YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF: COME AS CHILDREN (15)
“15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
This Isn’t About Imitating A Caricature Of Childhood Innocence. I guess the first thing we need to do is establish what is not being said here. One of the most frequent explanation for this I’ve heard is that we’re to have a “childlike faith”. That has never really set easy with me because while most children are fairly trusting (which is a positive attribute), they also often believe things which are not true. Yet, our faith is not irrational. God has revealed His truth to us. So, I don’t think that’s the main point being made here. This verse has also been used to say we need to reflect childlike humility or innocence. That sounds nice, and those are qualities we’re supposed to reflect. In fact, Jesus just spent time teaching the disciples those very truths a few passages before this. However, unless you’ve never spent much time with children, you won’t think they are a model for humility or innocence. My kids are adorable. The most adorable in the world, in fact (It’s indisputable; I apologize.☺). However, they’re not innocent. Bring a new toy into our house and tell them only one of them can play with it, and I’m sure you’ll see their humility tested as well! That’s not because my kids are worse than yours; it’s because they’re kids...and kids, just like their parents, are sinful. So that’s not the picture we’re being given here either.
This Is About Dependence. Again, keeping the context in mind is so important. When Jesus was teaching the disciples about greatness and told them they needed to be servants, what did He use to illustrate serving the lowest of the low? A child. The attribute children universally share is dependence for survival. The word used in this account and the other Gospels refers to young children. In fact, Luke 18 uses the word for babies. This is how we’re to be like children--completely dependent upon Christ. We cannot approach Him any other way. There is nothing we can do to add an iota to His salvation. Consider these lines from the familiar hymn “Rock of Ages”, “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.” That’s what it means to come like children: come completely dependent, in need.
II. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SEEM TO HAVE GOING FOR YOU (17-22)
So, He tells the disciples this, then we’re given an example of what it doesn’t look like. It’s an account many of us have heard before, and it’s a sad one.
Person. Even though Mark just calls him “a man”, he’s commonly referred to as the rich young ruler due to tidbits we’re given from the other Gospel writers. On the outside, this man seems to have everything going for him. He’s rich, and this society viewed wealth as a blessing from God. The more money you had, the more favored you must have been. (Not much different than many people today, right?) We don’t know the source of his wealth, but we do know that he’s called a ruler, and the only Jewish rulers these people had were the religious leaders. Because of this, most speculate that he was the leader of a synagogue. This combined with the fact that he not only knew the Law of God when Jesus brought it up, but seems really to believe he had kept it, tells us that, at the very least, he was religious. So, he has money and influence and respect (being religious in a religious community would have brought this)...and he’s ripe! (That is, he’s young, but I had an “r” thing going...so ☺) Barring tragedy, he still has much life to live. Add to this that he comes running to Jesus, falls at His feet in a sign of humility and submission, and asks Him how to inherit eternal life, which seems like asking the right question to the right person. This man appears to be the perfect candidate for discipleship!
Problem. Yet, at the end of this account, we see him walking away sorrowful. What went wrong? He seemed to have it all going for him, but that was kind of his problem. When he came to Jesus, he called Jesus good and then asked what he (the rich young ruler) could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus sees his heart, and goes straight to the issue. He called Jesus good, but missed that Jesus is God. So Jesus gives him an illustration of what goodness is. He points him to the law, the 10 commandments, which point us to our need of a Savior. Interestingly, he actually gives him the second part of the 10 commandments, the last six, the one’s which deal with how we interact with each other. The man responds that he’s kept all this from his youth. We know this is impossible, but I don’t think he’s trying to lie to Jesus here. He has likely genuinely tried to keep these commandments. The problem? Not only has he really broken the latter part of the 10 commandments, but in his attempt to save himself, he’s been breaking the first part, too. What’s the first commandment? Have no other false gods before Me, the real God. This man has made his accomplishments his god. That’s why Jesus tells him to go sell everything. This isn’t a command for all Christians to always live in poverty. It’s a heart issue. This man, for all his external goodness, was self-righteous and reliant on his accomplishments and his wealth, not God.
Solution. I don’t want to miss this part. When Jesus tells him to go and sell everything, did you notice that the verse starts by saying, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” This command seems harsh, but it’s given out of love! ‘Stop trying to save yourself. Repent of your sin and follow Me! I’m the solution. I’m the answer. I’m not just earthly good, I’m God.’ Because He loved him, he told him the truth. And this man went away sorrowful...because he left without Jesus...because he loved himself too much.
There Is No Other Way To Come. Back in verse 15, Jesus told the disciples, “15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Let’s not miss that there are both positive and negative implications in this statement. The positive is we don’t have to earn what He has already secured. Praise the Lord! The negative side? If you’re trying to come to Christ through anything but His grace, you won’t. If you’re trying to earn your way into Heaven, you can’t. If you think your merits have anything to do with His favor, you’re wrong. Again, “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling.” This is actually pretty counter-cultural. We live in a “me-centric” society. I have actually been approached by people who were very upset after hearing me make statements like this. We’ve grown up on a “pick yourself up by your own bootstraps” mentality. This fosters a strong work ethic, which is positive, but it also fosters a self-reliance which is not. Your bootstraps won’t save you. His nails can.
III. BUT THE MISSION ISN’T IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM. (23-27)
The Disciples’ Concern. After this little interaction, the disciples were bothered. Jesus had just flipped their expectations...again. He had told them to be like children, which were not valued at all in this society, not like this rich young ruler who they would have assumed was blessed in his riches.
The Impossible Camel. Jesus then makes matters worse by telling them it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. There have been attempts to make this statement less harsh, but it was apparently a fairly common expression at this time. The point? You can’t put a camel through the eye of a needle! It’s impossible! The disciples get this. They knew what he was saying, so their question makes sense. “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus answers, and what an answer it is. We need to remember this.
Jesus. “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” The answer? Jesus. It’s not just impossible for this rich man, but for any who would try to come on their own merits. You can’t save yourself; it’s impossible. That’s why Jesus came!
He told the rich young ruler to leave his sin and follow Him. Follow Him where? Well, He’s on His way to Jerusalem to die for our sins. To follow God is to give up this world and any futile attempts to save ourselves and to embrace the only One who can do the impossible and save us!
TAKEAWAYS
1. Lay down your attempts to save yourself.
Christianity isn’t an add-on. We don’t come to Jesus to make ourselves better. We don’t come to church to be more moral. Trying to save yourself might seem like a noble effort, but it’s not. I’ve talked with both adults and youth who have said they aren’t ready to accept Christ because they’re not “good enough” yet. That’s not how it works. Imagine a drowning man in the middle of the ocean struggling to lift his head above the water, fighting for his life, giving everything within him to stay a float. The odds are against him. Without help, he is going to die. Nonetheless, he’s giving all he has, and we’d say this sounds courageous. Yet, if there is a lifeboat right next to him and the outstretched hand of a rescuer, the scene no longer seems brave. Jesus reaches down and pulls you from your sin because you cannot by your own strength or goodness save yourself. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful because he couldn’t give up his wealth, his control. He left without Jesus. Please, don’t go away sorrowful today!
2. Come to Jesus 100% dependent.
I don’t need to explain this point further. What can wash away your sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
3. Rejoice in His salvation.
There are two sides of the coin. You can’t come to Him expecting to add to Him. Yet, you cannot save yourself--and you don’t have to!
4. Live in light of it.
Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” If He’s saved you, live like it. Don’t fall back into trying to do this yourself!
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