Money and Eternal Life

The Hard Sayings of Jesus (M4)

Date: February 24, 2013

Speaker: Ken Shigematsu

Title: Money and Eternal Life

Text: Mark 10: 17-31

Big Idea: It takes a miracle for a wealthy person to inherit eternal life.

I recently saw the remarkable documentary on Ernest Shackleton’s attempted voyage in 1914 to reach the South Pole with his ship called The Endurance. Shackleton had failed twice to reach the South Pole and this time he was determined on making it. He placed an ad in the newspaper (I will read the ad):







"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. —Ernest Shackleton." 5000 people applied and 27 sailors were selected.

They set sail for the South Pole, but a day before reaching their destination disaster struck. They found themselves trapped in thick ice.



They ended up leaving the ship and camping out on the ice for months. When it became clear the ship would sink, Shackleton had his men take the lifeboats off the ship and they made plans to walk to the sea. Shackleton commanded his men to leave behind all their personal belongings – except for 2 pounds worth of stuff each.

Just as Ernest Shackleton commanded the men on the voyage to Antarctica to shed their belongings in order to live, Jesus calls us to shed things in our lives, so that we will have less stuff that clutters our relationship with him so that we can experience eternal life.

And by "eternal life,” Jesus wasn't simply describing a life that we would experience after we die, but also a life with God now, on earth; a life accompanied by God's very presence, power, and blessing.

We are in a series called The Hard Sayings of Jesus, and by "hard sayings" we mean the sayings of Jesus that are hard because they are hard to understand (at least on first read), or are hard to swallow and to accept, and because they are hard to live out -- in fact, in many cases, impossible to live out without God's help.

Today we are going to be looking at a passage in Mark, Chapter 10, verses 25-27:
25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With human beings this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
This is definitely a "hard saying" of Jesus.
He says: " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God." What did He mean by this?
Some people have tried to minimize the harshness of these words by appealing to the fact that there was an arch-shaped opening in the wall of Jerusalem, call "the eye of a needle,” and if a camel took off its load, crouched down, and sucked in its breath, it could squeeze through that little arch-way opening. However, the gate called "the eye of the needle" was not built until medieval times, more than 500 years after Jesus' ministry. So this couldn’t have been what he was talking about.
Others have said that there is an Aramaic, or Hebrew word, that sounds like "camel," but actually means "rope," and so some commentators have stated that Mark, the author of this gospel, must have misunderstood what Jesus was saying when He said "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God," that Jesus didn't mean camel - -He actually meant rope. But we know that He is actually referring to a literal camel going through the eye of a needle, because when he says this, we see in verse 26 that the disciples were amazed, and they said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" And Jesus states in verse 27 that "All things are possible with God."
How does an actual camel get through the eye of a needle (keep the image on the screen while I speak of the need for a miracle of transformation)?

The only way this is possible is for the camel is to shrink way down, to become the size of a tiny insect, or for the eye of the needle to become very big in order for the camel to get through it. In other words, either the camel, or the eye of the needle would have to be miraculously transformed. No amount of dieting by the camel, no amount of oiling the inside of the needle is going to get that camel through. It is going to require a transformation of either the camel, or the needle. A miracle. Jesus is teaching that in order for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, a miracle -- a transformation -- has to occur.
Now we may not think of ourselves as being wealthy. And in fact, in the original Greek, it doesn't explicitly say that this young ruler was wealthy, but rather that he had "many things." But the fact is, almost all of us here are wealthy by the standards of the whole world. We live in a world where about 40% live on less than two dollars a day. The fact is, if you have a place to live, whether you own or rent and have a computer and in the internet, chances are that you are wealthier than 95 to 99% of the world. And even if you are a student, even homeless – if you calculate wealth in terms of access to food and shelter, the internet in a public library or medical care such as we have in Canada –you’re still in all likelihood still in the top of ten per cent of wealth.
And so when Jesus says it is harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, He is talking about us. He is talking about you and me.
The Scriptures teach that money can have a powerful, and at times even a demonic hold over our lives. Money can have a great grip on us. It can cause us to worry, envy, discriminate against those who have little of it, or too much of it. And one more thing: And this precisely is why Jesus spoke about money more than any other social issue. He knew that money was a rival god that could keep us from the Living God.
There is an enormous discrepancy between what we are brought up to believe and what our society rewards as belief. Talk about the cussedness of the race! It's money that measures the success or failure of most of the games we play most of our lives. It's money that gives us our identity, compared to which our identity in God is but a footnote. We expect more from financial success than from our relationship with God. From Credo by William Sloane Coffin page 129
We see this illustrated in the passage that immediately precedes Jesus saying: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God." He said this because He had an encounter with someone who is described as a "rich young ruler."
In verses 17-22 of Mark 10, we read about this young man who came running up to Jesus, greeted Him with great respect, and asked Him: "Great Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life with God in this life, and in the life to come?" And Jesus said: "Why do you call me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't defraud others, honour your father and mother." And the young man said, "Teacher, I've kept them all from my youth." And the text tells us that Jesus looked at him intently, and He loved him. And then Jesus said: "There is one thing that you lack. Go sell everything that you own, and give it to the poor, and then all your wealth will become heavenly wealth. Then come follow me." The man's face clouded over; he was deeply grieved -- this was the last thing he wanted to hear -- and he walked away with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and could not let them go.
This young man's money, his possessions, have a powerful hold over him. It's noteworthy that this is the only time in the gospels that Jesus invites someone personally to come and follow Him, and the person says “no.” Now, when Jesus was preaching to the crowds, many people refused to follow Jesus, and walked away from Him, but this is the only time when Jesus personally approaches someone, and invites them to follow Him, and they decline.
What does this story tell us about the relationship between having money and getting eternal life? In other words, what role does our money play in our becoming a true follower of Jesus?
Let’s go back to the story of the rich young ruler.
The young man runs up to Jesus, falls to his knees before Him, and asks: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus' answer is typical of a rabbi in His day. Jesus says: "Keep the commandments," and the young man says: "All these I have kept, since I was a boy." Jesus doesn't deny that at all. There’s no pushback from Jesus. No objection is raised by his disciples. In fact, if we were to read on, it's clear that they admire this guy. This young man is someone who is very virtuous. He is well-to-do. He is young, and probably quite attractive. As someone I know has pointed out, it is hard to be young, wealthy, and not attractive -- it is possible, but you've got to work at it! He says the path to eternal life is through the commandments.
As we saw in the Deuteronomy series in the fall, Moses after preaching several sermons on God’s law said, if you walk in God’s command today, if you love the Lord, your God, and walk in obedience to Him... You will live. You’ll experience life--not death, blessings-- not curses (Deuteronomy 30).
The path to eternal life is through the commandments. Both Moses and as Jesus said, if we listen to God's voice, hold fast to Him, we will receive life from God. The rich young ruler had kept all the commandments that Jesus had outlined (Jesus had outlined five of them), but the young ruler had failed to keep two other commandments. The First and greatest Commandment to have no other gods above God; to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jesus knew this. And Jesus also knew that it was disguised money and possessions that was keeping him from loving God with all his heart. His heart was divided. His money and possessions were cluttering his relationship with God.
We see in the text that Jesus looked at him. In the Greek, the word "looked at" is an intensified version of the word "looked." In other words, Jesus looked at him intently, examined his soul. It wasn't a look of judgement, or anger. We read in the text that Jesus looked at him and loved him. When we love someone -- really love them -- we tell the truth. And Jesus said, "You lack one thing. Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure with God. Then come with me."
At this, the young man's face clouded over, and he went away sad. But in the Greek, it says that he "grieved.” It is the same word used to describe Jesus' grief back in the garden of Gethsemane, as He sweated drops of blood, and was about to face the horror of the cross.
The young wealthy ruler was greatly grieved, and he walked away from Jesus. As I said, he was the only person who was ever personally approached by Jesus, invited to follow Him, and said “no.”
Money and possessions continue to be the greatest hindrance for most people in actually giving their life wholeheartedly to God, and experiencing the eternal life of God. Now, I know from my years of pastoring and preaching that I can preach on "That shalt not murder," one of the commandments Jesus referred to in His conversation with the rich young ruler, and most people are on board with that. Or preach on "Thou shalt not commit adultery," another commandment that Jesus lists, and again, maybe a little lower percentage of people are on board with that, but still there is a general sense of agreement that it is a good and reasonable thing. Or if I preach on "Thou shalt not steal, do not lie, do not defraud," people tend on board with that. Even if people have a difficult relationship with their parent, or parents, "Honour thy father and mother" is agreed to be a good commandment in general.
However, when I call people in response to God's word, to give a substantial amount of their money away, there can be push-back in people's hearts, and sometimes through emails. When you hear Jesus calling on the rich young ruler to sell all that he has, and to give it to the poor, in order to have eternal life, he squirmed. 2000 years later this story makes us squirm. And the only way that we can live this call out, is through a divine intervention, a miracle. It’s impossible to do this on our own. It’s not in our nature. We are rich and the only way that a camel can become small enough to fit through the eye of a needle is through a dramatic and miraculous transformation in the camel.
One the clearest sign that God has done a miraculous work in us is that we have eternal life is that we are able to give away substantial sums of our money. It takes a miracle. According to the Google philanthropic foundation, it typically takes a person having 20 million dollars to be able to give away five percent of it. That is half of a tithe away from a feeling of financial security. One of the signs that God has done a transforming work in us, one of the signs that we really have entered into a relationship with God, that we really do have eternal life, is that our relationship with money has changed.
I spoke about my colleague Aisyah a couple of weeks ago. Aisyah was born into a devout Muslim family, a family of real privilege. Her dad was a distinguished ambassador from Indonesia and they were well-to-do. Her parents had what they regarded as a wonderful plan for their daughter Aisyah to study in different parts of the world, including the United States and Switzerland, to marry someone who was a devout Muslim, but who was also successful in a worldly sense. Her future was all set; she was walking down a path of enviable financial security.
But when she started considering the possibility of following Jesus Christ, she not only feared that she would be disowned by her family -- completely cut off -- but she was also keenly aware that following Christ would mean that she would be walking away from the wealth that she would have access to in her family coffers, if she did not commit her life to Christ. She counted the cost; she committed her life to Christ; and her willingness to walk away from that wealth is a sign that God had done a miracle in her.
In my own parents, who I know are a little embarrassed when I talk about them, but I have their permission, are a living example to me of how God has transformed their lives in this area. They grew up with substantial wealth and privilege in the days when Japan was still poor after World War II. They were sent to private schools; my mom ended up studying at an Ivy League school at a time when it was very rare for people from Japan after they lost World War II to study in the US. At my parent’s wedding they chartered a private jet to personally pick up their guests and bring them to the wedding. After they were married, they enjoyed a 2-month honeymoon traveling all over Europe at time when it was very rare for people from Japan to travel in Europe. When my family decided to move to Canada, it was very disappointing to both sets of parents, and the financial support dried up. So the family I grew up in was by Canadian standards of modest means. But given what they had grown up with, it would have been easy for them to centre their life on money, and the perks that money can bring. But since giving their lives to Christ, they have committed to giving substantial amounts of their money away, with great generosity. To me, this is a sign that God has really been at work in their lives.
So how do we respond to a text like this; the story of the rich young ruler, and the words of Jesus that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God?
First of all, we can't be legalistic about this. We are looking at Mark 10, but there is a parallel story of the rich young ruler in Luke, Chapter 18. In the following chapter, Luke 19, there is the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who offers his life to Christ. Zacchaeus doesn't give 100% of his wealth away; he voluntarily gives 50% of his wealth away. And the biblical starting point of giving wealth away is not 100%, it is not even 50%, rather it is 10%.
If you look at the story of the rich young ruler, the story of Zacchaeus, and the biblical call to tithe, there are different percentages that people give away, so we can't be legalistic about it. We can't be legalistic about giving away 100%, nor 50%, nor about 10%. So while the Scriptures do call us to give the first tenth of our income away as a starting point... we can’t be legalistic about it in the sense of saying if that doesn't represent a sacrifice for us that we can do whatever we want with the other 90%. You can't just check that box off and say we've tithed; I can now do as I please with my money. Giving shouldn’t be motivated by our desire check a box, but out of love for God and surrender to him. If 10% doesn't represent a sacrifice for us then we are called to give substantially more. What does this mean for us?
I've thought about this, and prayed about this.
If Jesus were to ask me to give away 100% of all that I own, I hope and pray that I would be able to do that, and trust Him; to trust that the wealth that I would receive, as Jesus says, would be greater -- spiritually speaking -- than what I actually gave away. I also believe that he would provide for me materially, or I die, and it was God's will that I enter the life to come more quickly than I anticipated. That I would be living this great adventure. But if God doesn't speak to me directly, in an oracle, then how am I to live?
As we saw last week, he calls us to deny ourselves take up our cross and follow him.
God has occasionally spoken to me very clearly, almost in an audible voice, but that has only been a handful of times. If God doesn't speak to me directly, then my model, as a follower of Christ, must be the way of Christ. And Christ was the one who gave it all for us, who sacrificed His life on the cross that we might become eternally wealthy, that our sins might be forgiven, that we might know the life of God now and forever.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 says that Christ, though He was rich, for our sakes became poor so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. So Christ really is the model for us in giving. That is, we are called to give to the point of sacrifice, to the point where we are not living to the standard we could be living in if we were not giving so much away in terms of how we live, our lifestyle; where we live, what we eat. That kind of life may sound difficult, but there really is attractiveness, a beauty, to this other way of life.... to giving to the point of really trusting...
One of the real gifts of the rebuilding project at Tenth (point to the UEH) was that we engaged in some years ago was it gave us many of us an opportunity to trust God in a significant way with our money. I realize some of you were here then, but a number of you weren’t so let me retrace a story I have shared from that time. When the earthquake hit in Washington state area a Wednesday morning, I was praying that the building would fall down – so that the insurance company could pay for it. But God gave us a great gift, by giving us the opportunity to give to the project so that as a community, so we could stay in the city.
During the campaign, Sakiko and I committed to giving—IF God enabled us--the equivalent of 50% of one year’s income – over the three-year (this would be over and above our regular tithe). We had no idea where that money would come from – when the campaign was beginning, we were looking at our bills at the kitchen table – and Sakiko pulled up one bill and asked how will we pay for this? I said “by cheque.” She said, “We don’t have the money in our bank account.” The next day or the day after that someone broke into our garage and our car ended up being damaged. We had more unexpected expenses as a result. We got off to a discouraging start. But amazingly, with God's providing in ways we could not have anticipated, we were able to meet our goal and actually go beyond our goal. There was a real of surge of joy for us. At the end of that year we were able to meet our goal.
As we were looking back at the high points of the year, God providing for us and enabling us to give more than we thought we could give was the first thing we mentioned. Priceless gifts came through that in a way we could not have anticipated.
Now in a fresh way, I have been thinking about what this means for me, and what it means for us as a community here at Tenth. The thought of being able to give more, particularly to the impoverished people in the developing world is exciting, and fills me with a sense of joy.
Some of you may know I'm in the process of finishing my first book, God and My Everything. I was having lunch with someone who is interested in the book project, and mentioned that the contract is set up. I'm not going to personally receive that advance money, and the future royalties bypass me and go into a fund. The net advance and royalty money will go to support impoverished children in the developing world and our missions partners.
And the person said, "But what if the book does really well? You never know, you could really regret this decision." Maybe there will be some bitter-sweetness if that unlikely scenario unfolds, but I do believe that there will be more sweetness, as there is a joy in giving generously. And I want to think and pray about how we personally as a family, and how we as a church can live and give generously, and even sacrificially. And to know the life and the blessing of God that comes of that way of life, as we become that kind of person.
Money can have such a powerful hold on us, and even a demonic hold. The paradox is that if we hoard it we think we may be more secure and happy, but we have more misery—there's a reason the word “miser” and “misery” have the same root.
How can the power of money be broken in our lives?
The way we can do that is by looking into the face of The rich young ruler. Not the young ruler that ran away from Jesus, but from Jesus, who was also a rich young ruler. And perhaps part of the reason that Jesus looked at this young ruler with such affection and connection was because He could identify with him, because Jesus was infinitely rich, in a spiritual sense. He was also a young ruler, who had done exactly what He was asking the rich young ruler to do.
He had, after all the riches and the wealth and the splendour of heaven, become poor for our sake. He humbled himself, took on the form of a servant, and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross -- so that we could be forgiven, so that we could inherit eternal life, so that we could be infinitely wealthy.
And when we look into the face of Jesus, the true young ruler, and we see how much He loves us, and how much He has given to us through His life, death, and rising again, then we can respond by giving all of us and all we have to Him.
As I look back over my journal and think through the great gifts that God has given me in the last two or three years, I find that I have often been on my knees saying, "God, you have been so good to me. How can I say thanks? How can I give more of myself, and more of what I have back to you?" More of heart and more of my life, more of what I have.
And if you are calculating in your mind the cost, in our text Peter says to Jesus: "We've left everything to follow you," and Jesus replied, "No one who has left home, brothers or sisters, mother, or father, or children, or fields, for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times in his present life, and in the age to come, eternal life."
As we give our lives, and what we have to Jesus, we are led on this incredible rich adventure. What we give away, we will get back a hundredfold. It may not be financially, but it will be given back us in some way a hundredfold. In this life and eternal life in the world to come.
And as one my teachers has said: "God's power and grace flow away from people who love money and power. But God's power and grace flow toward people who give it away."
So give and become a person who is truly blessed, truly rich.




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