Mark 10
23 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.” (ESV)
Have you ever heard anyone say something like this,
“Becoming a Christian is easy; being a Christian is the tough part”?
For anyone practicing the faith that God has instilled in
them, the second part of this statement has been proven true on more than one
occasion.
However, I would like to take issue with the first part of
the statement.
Over and over I have heard pastors and Christian leaders say
something like this: “Becoming a Christian is as easy as A-B-C.” You can read
an example of this explanation of the
A-B-C process of salvation at Lifeway.
Various words are used to complete the acronym. Typically,
the “A” is said to mean “Admit (or acknowledge) you are a sinner,” although no
one can point to a scripture reference that says that this is the first thing a
lost person must do to be saved. At a later date I may discuss this formula,
but for now, the word I want to focus on is “easy.”
Most of the teachers who use this phrase or this approach
add somewhere near the end of their presentation something like this: “To
become a Christian, you simply must pray and invite Jesus to come into your
heart and be your Savior and Lord.” No one offers a biblical example where
anyone prayed to become a Christian or a biblical admonition for lost people to
“invite” Jesus into one’s heart – as if Jesus needed our invitation.
Here again, I could go on about these subjects, but I want
to concentrate for now on the word “simply.”
If you are not familiar with Jesus’ encounter with the
person we have come to refer to familiarly as “the rich young ruler,” stop here
and read Matt. 19.16-26, Mark 10.17-27, and Luke 18.18-27. You can click
here for a parallel version of the conclusion of the story from each of the
three gospels in which it is told.
For this discussion, I will refer primarily to Mark’s
version of the story, highlighting the end of verse 24 – a phrase which was not
recorded by either Matthew or Luke. Here Jesus is speaking to His disciples
when He says, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!”
In the KJV, Mark 10:24 says, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter
into the kingdom of God!” However, many commentaries explain that the phrase for
them that trust in riches was added by copyists at some point to make the
verse more understandable in context.
According to A.T. Robertson, “These words do not occur in
Aleph B Delta Memphitic and one Old Latin manuscript. Westcott and Hort omit
them from their text as an evident addition to explain the difficult words of
Jesus.” The phrase is also omitted in HCSB, NIV, and NLT.[1]
Click here to
read the verse in multiple translations.
One might argue that the context of the verse lends credence
to the appropriateness of the additional words referring to the rich that were added
to Mark’s writing in the KJV, especially since Jesus refers to the rich both
before and after this statement. Yet the disciples’ reaction indicates that
Jesus was not just referring to rich people.
Note that in Luke’s version of the incident, there is no
record that the disciples exhibited any astonishment. However, in both Mark’s
version as well as Matthew’s, just after Jesus compared a rich man getting into
heaven to a camel passing through the eye of a needle, the disciples were “exceedingly
amazed” (Matthew) or “astonished out of measure”(Mark, KJV).
According to Dr. Thomas L. Constable, “The disciples' amazement
arose from the popular belief that riches were a result of God's blessing for
righteousness. They thought riches were an advantage, not a disadvantage in
one's relationship with God.” [2]
James Darby, commenting on the text in Matthew, adds, “The
disciples, astonished at such a result, and at that which the Lord had said
about riches, which, in the eyes of a Jew, were the sign of the favour of God,
and which, at all events, furnished the opportunity for doing good works, cry
out, ‘who then can be saved?’”[3]
Yet the disciples were not just astonished. They were
astonished “out of measure” and “exceedingly.” Both of these are comparative
adverbs that modify or, in this case, intensify the meaning of the word being modified.
You can get a better sense of the word translated as “out of measure” in the
KJV by its use in Mark 15:13-14.
Mark 15:13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And
Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the
more, “Crucify him.” As the trial of Jesus before Pilate advanced, the
people began to shout louder and louder – or exceedingly loud compared to how
loud they were shouting before.
Therefore, in both Matt. 19:25 and Mark 10:26, the disciples
were not just astonished. They were more astonished than they were at an
earlier time.
Mark explains the earlier time in Mark 10:24.
First of all, the rich young ruler walked away sorrowful
because he realized the personal cost of following Jesus. Although the Bible
does not tell us this specifically, when the young ruler counted the cost of
discipleship, he seems to have determined that the price was higher than he was
willing to pay.
Jesus knew the minds of His disciples. He knew that, like
all Jews, the disciples believed that wealth was an indication of God’s favor
and that the wealthy had an inside track to the kingdom. Jesus also knew that
the disciples were still thinking of the kingdom of God as an earthly kingdom –
or at least a heavenly kingdom that would be established on earth according to
earthly traditions where the wealthy were most powerful.
Jesus contradicted their beliefs by remarking how difficult
it would be for a rich man to enter into the kingdom.
The disciples responded with astonishment and amazement at
this unexpected answer.
But Jesus did not stop there.
He went on to expand His comment to include all people, not
just the rich, by adding the last part of Mark 10:24.
Jesus explained that it wasn’t just difficult for a rich man
to enter the kingdom – that entering the kingdom of God was a very difficult
thing to do for any person. In fact, even those whom you believe to be favored
by God – namely, the rich – had no better chance of entering the kingdom of God
than a camel had of passing through the eye of a needle. In other words, such a
thing is impossible. And if it is impossible for the rich, then it is equally
impossible for the remainder of mankind.
Now Jesus had rocked the disciples back on their heels. They
were “exceedingly amazed” and “astonished out of measure.”
Today we would say that Jesus had knocked the wind out of
their sails, or that they were blown away by this revelation. Spiros Zhodiates
explains that these phrases are used “…in the sense of knocking one out of his
senses or self-possession.”[4]
The disciples were blown away by this
pronouncement of Jesus, even though this was not the first time Jesus had
commented on the difficulty of entering the kingdom of God. In the latter part
of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to His disciples, “Enter by the narrow
gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to
destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the
way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matt.
7:13-14 ESV – Emphasis added)
At this point, it appears the disciples had not yet grasped
the concept of grace and still believed that men could enter the kingdom of God
by merit or, in the case of the rich young ruler, by money. Now that Jesus had
slammed the door on any entrance into the kingdom of God by any human means, the
disciples began to marvel out loud, as explained by Mark in verse 26, asking
among themselves, “Then who can be saved?”
I don’t believe at this point that the disciples were making
reference to salvation as deliverance from hell and the penalty of sin as much
as they were wondering who would be delivered from the wrath of God once His
powerful kingdom was established on the earth. Now it appears by Jesus’
astounding pronouncement that no one could enter into the kingdom. It was an
impossible thing.
Once again, Jesus knew their hearts and minds and the
questions they were asking and responded by saying, “No man can enter into the
kingdom by his own merit, his own goodness, his own will or design. Such a
thing is impossible. Entering the kingdom of God is a very difficult thing
indeed, but it is impossible for men to enter the kingdom even by their best
efforts. But God, who is infinite and all-powerful and full of mercy and grace,
has made this impossible thing possible.”
So to those who pronounce that becoming a Christian is as
easy as A-B-C, I would answer with the very words of Jesus: “Children, how difficult it is to
enter the kingdom of God!”
It is only
possible because God has made it so.
Once again, this is not a new thought that Jesus is
announcing to the disciples, for earlier He had given them an encouraging word
concerning their entrance into the kingdom of God with emphasis on the fact
that the door to the kingdom is opened from the inside, not the outside: “Fear
not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
As the psalmist said, “Salvation belongs to
the LORD” and “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD…” (Psalm 3:8; 37:39)
As Jonah
cried out from the belly of the fish, “Salvation belongs to the LORD.” (Jonah
2:9)
As the saints from every nation, tribe, and tongue declare
around the throne, “Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”, and again, “Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” (Rev. 7:10; 19:1)
As the Apostle John declared, “But to all who did receive
him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who
were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
When Jesus gave an invitation, He did not use A-B-C, but
D-T-F.
Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me.”
The gate is narrow and the way is hard that
leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matt. 7:14)
Becoming a Christian is not easy. It is only possible by the
supernatural power of God and the precious blood of the Lamb.
[1]
Robertson, A.T. Robertson’s
Word Pictures. Pierce, Larry. Online
Bible Edition. Vers. 4.30. Ontario, Canada: Online Bible Foundation, 2013.
Computer software. http://onlinebible.net
[2]
Constable, Thomas L. Notes on Mark, 2014
Ed. Sonic Light, 2014, p. 139.
[3]
Darby, John Nelson. Pierce, Larry. Online Bible Edition. Vers.
4.30. Ontario, Canada: Online Bible Foundation, 2013. Computer software.
http://onlinebible.net
[4] Zodhiates, Spiros. The
Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG, 1993.
552.
