Mark 10:17  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23  And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26  And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27  And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

There was a great interest in the Lord Jesus Christ during His few years of public ministry. Some, like the Pharisees, wanted to tempt Him and prove He was not the Messiah. Others, like many of the common people, wanted their loved ones healed or delivered from being possessed of devils. A few wanted to know the truth and they wanted their sins forgiven. In our text we find a man running to Him and kneeling before Him. This man understood that Jesus was a man of authority. He addressed Jesus as “Good Master”. He understood there was something different about Jesus. He also expressed an interest in eternal life. Many people have an idea about eternal life but it is an imaginary plan.
You notice here that this man was quite normal in his thinking. He wanted to earn eternal life. Many religions today still teach a works salvation. Others have cheapened God’s salvation and made it an unholy thing.
Jesus began to address this man by clarifying Who He was. This man called Jesus good and Jesus challenged him on this point. Only God is good.

Romans 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

We cannot do good because we are not good. We cannot do anything good unless we are saved. Our goodness is found in God.
Jesus is good because He is God. This man needed to understand Who he was talking to. Jesus then challenged this man with his mindset. He listed a few of the commandments and challenged the man with that. This man seemed to be a man of some understanding. Jesus challenged him with his knowledge of the law. The man lied to Jesus and told Him he had kept the commandments mentioned from his youth. Once again the man addressed Jesus as Master.
Self-righteousness cannot enter heaven. This man was too smart for his own good. He certainly did not realize Who he was talking to. His pride blinded him so that he could not comprehend what he was talking about nor Who he was talking to. He would never have tried to make himself look good if he truly knew he was speaking to the “Good Master”.
In verse 21 Jesus looked at this man with a loving heart. He knew better than what this man was telling Him. He challenged this man further. Jesus drilled down further to the root of this man’s need. There was one thing this man lacked that would expose him for who he truly was. Jesus knew this man’s heart. He told the man to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. If he would do that he would have treasure in heaven. This man also needed to take up the cross and follow Jesus.
We have noted before that the cross is not some health issue or some family struggle, or some financial challenge. The cross is that identity that the true child of God must have with the true God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This man heard what Jesus told him, and it saddened him. He thought he was so good already. He had hoped that Jesus would be impressed with him. However, Jesus showed this man what was at the root of his heart. He left Jesus with a grieving heart. He had great possessions and he was not about to part with that. He would not take up the cross. He was too dependent on his material goods. He would not put his faith in Jesus Christ alone. He needed his back-up plan.
Jesus used this event to teach His disciples of the danger of earthly riches. Riches are not sin if gained in an honest way. Riches will destroy the person if he puts them before the true God. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows how easy it is to think that our riches are going to buy us safety and even heaven.
We are facing some very challenging times in Canada. I have read of the shock of the dirty thirties. Wealthy people committed suicide because they lost their wealth very suddenly and they could not handle that. In spite of what our governments say, they have no way of dealing with the massive debt they have accumulated in recent years. The conservatives talk a big talk but they have no way of addressing this massive debt crisis either. The president of the U.S. is talking of the massive deals he is making with other countries. None of that will matter. Their debt load is far too big as well. We have ignored that which is important for far too long. The world is being prepared for the massive crash of the time of the Tribulation. Because of the darkness men are living in, it will come as a shock when the world economies crash completely. Most do not believe the Bible and thus are blindly walking on a delusional path.
In our text we read that the disciples were astonished at Jesus’ words. Jesus continued to teach them further on this matter. In verses 25-26 He used the illustration of a camel. Camels are large animals. They can carry loads for people and they can also carry people. Jesus used the illustration of the camel and the eye of a needle. There are a couple of thoughts on just what Jesus is referring to here.
One view is that the eye of the needle refers to the small entrance into a city when the large gates are closed. During the daytime in times of peace, the city gates would be open and traffic could move in and out freely. At night the large gates were closed and a traveller that wanted in at night needed to seek permission and then a smaller gate would be opened for the traveller to enter. The traveller did not have the liberty to come in with a beast of burden loaded down. The camel would need to get on its knees to crawl through that smaller gate. Its burden would have to be removed in order for it to enter. This view has some merit, although the point of this illustration is that it is still possible for the camel to enter the city through that smaller gate if it would crawl in.
Another view is that of a camel being an illustration of a rope that would be used to try to thread a needle. The rope would be too large to go through the eye of the needle.
From the response of the disciples in verse 26, we know that Jesus is pointing to the impossibility of the rich man who is trusting in his riches, to enter into the kingdom of God. Salvation is not available to the person who is trusting in his riches. We read that the people were astonished out of measure at what Jesus had declared here. Wealth can be a blessing from the Lord. Too often it is used as a measure of God’s blessing. God is far more concerned with the soul of man than about the material aspects of life. He knows we need to eat and we need clothing and housing. He also knows that the natural man cannot see true value.
In our text, those hearing Jesus’ answer wondered who then can be saved? This is an important question. Jesus answered that query in verse 27. The point is that man cannot be saved through any type of self-effort. There is nothing in man that can save himself. Only God can save a person. God can take any lost person and save them. He does that through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The person who is truly repentant and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ alone receives eternal life. As we have mentioned before, we cannot come to God and try to bargain with Him. He has already set the terms of salvation. It is all of Him. The person who comes to God for salvation must understand he has nothing to bargain with. He has nothing that God needs. God offers salvation to those who will humble themselves and trust in Him alone for salvation.
Today is the Lord’s Day. Jesus Christ designed this day to be the day when His followers go to His Father’s house. We need to take Jesus’ yoke upon us and learn of Him. The place He has designed for that is the true local church. The lost need to hear the truth and be saved. The saved need to be strengthened in the inner man. Follow the Lord today and receive His blessing in your heart.
Pastor Bartel