Too Difficult

Text: Mark 10:23-31

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          It is very easy to become discouraged when the task in front of us seems impossible. For me it’s this paper I’m supposed to be writing. I could make all the excuses in the world, but the reality is simply that other things are more important, and it falls to the bottom of my list. Without some incredible intervention in my life, this task is forever going to remain on my impossible list. I’m sure you have an impossible list too. Maybe it’s that room that needs to be cleaned and organized. Or another sleepless night worrying about your adult children. Finding a new or better job. Spending another 3 hours up in the middle of the night with the baby. It all seems impossible. Of course, none of it is actually impossible. Impossibility is really a matter of perspective. If I prioritize that paper, it will get written. That room could get cleaned and organized if you put it on the top of the list. Another sleepless night won’t kill you, as much as it seems like it might. But all these things are difficult. Difficult because they need to be done with a change in perspective and an increase in our own will.

But none of these things actually compare to the difficulty of the task that Jesus speaks to in today’s Gospel reading. He says, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!” And then Jesus goes on to compare the difficulty of this task to something that actually does seem impossible. He says, “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.” No matter how hard you might try, that camel is not going to fit through the eye of that needle.

Some have suggested that the eye of the needle Jesus is referring to is some narrow passageway in the wall of Jerusalem. The story goes that to get through the passage the camel would have to be unloaded of its baggage and kneel down to enter through. And so, the thought is, that Jesus is saying that we, like that camel, need to unload the baggage that’s hindering our entry into the kingdom of God, humble ourselves, and come to God. It’s an interesting thought with some theological truth to it. And it could be a powerful homiletical analogy, but the fact is that there’s no historical evidence that such a passageway ever existed.

So, if Jesus isn’t suggesting that we unload our baggage, whatever it might be – riches, possessions, worries, troubles, gods of our own making – then what is He suggesting. Sometimes what Jesus is actually saying is exactly what He says. Prompted by the question, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus replies, “With man it is impossible.” No unloading your baggage. No ducking down to get through the small space. No squeezing through what seems like an impossibly tight opening. The truth is that

“WITH MAN IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.”

          And here, when Jesus says, “With man it is impossible” He’s not using hyperbole, like we do when we meet a challenge that seems too much for us to overcome. He means what He says. It is impossible. And if that were where the text ended, we would be left like the rich man from last week’s lesson. The man who “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Thanks be to God though, that He doesn’t leave us in that despair and sorrow, but reminds us

“BUT NOT WITH GOD. FOR ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD.”

          What Jesus demands of us is something that’s beyond our ability because of the deadly condition of sin that dwells within us. Jesus uses the Law to show us where we stand and help us to realize that our attempts to accomplish this insurmountable task on our own will always result in failure.

Yet, our reaction to having our inability pointed out is often times the same as the disciples. They want to focus on their humanity – their human abilities. “Peter began to say to Him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you.’” The reason Jesus uses the illustration of the camel and the eye of the needle is not so we can try to figure out the puzzle. It’s not so we can try by our great human ingenuity, or sheer will, to accomplish the thing that’s impossible. It’s so that we’ll realize that on our own it is in fact impossible. Salvation is not something we can procure on our own. It’s not a task to be accomplished. It’s not a summit to be conquered. It’s a gift to be received.

As much as we want to feel a sense of participation in our own salvation, Jesus is making it abundantly clear, that “With man, it is impossible.” Difficult is too soft a word. Impossible is the reality for us who want to do it on our own. I heard someone say this week that sometimes Jesus’ sayings are difficult because they’re unclear. Let me give you a couple examples. “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” “Many are called, but few are chosen.” “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” Of course, if we dig into those sayings and put them in their proper context, we can figure out what Jesus means. But sometimes the sayings of Jesus are difficult because they’re so clear. And that’s what we have here where Jesus points out the impossibility of us affecting our own salvation in any way. There’s no question about what Jesus is saying here. And that’s why it’s so difficult. Because it cuts to the heart. And we don’t like it. So it’s hard for us to hear.

And it’s not just about wealth. While wealth is one of the gods we establish for ourselves, there are plenty of others. And the whole truth is that every one of those gods stems from a belief that we can be in control. In control of our lives by having our finances in order. In control by being on top of our emotional well-being. By fixing all the problems in ourselves and everyone else. In control by getting the baby to sleep through the night. All these things are good and valid goals, but they don’t put us in control. Not in any real and lasting sense.

So, God has to shift the focus of His children’s lives from our own control of things to the reality that He is in control. And as much as allowing God to be in control may feel at first like being out of control, it’s ultimately where true freedom is found. Peter thinks that all the things he’s given up allow him control because he’s meriting salvation by his work. But our baptism reminds us that there’s a shift that takes place from us to Christ. Where we’re joined to Him in His death and resurrection. Where we’ll enjoy the blessings of salvation, but only through the merit of Christ’s sacrificial death.

Once we recognize that this matter of our salvation is not just difficult, but impossible if it were up to us, we can find true freedom in the work of Christ on our behalf. It’s not all about me, or you, or anyone else, except Christ. It never is. A camel can’t fit through the eye of a needle. It never will. And anyone who puts out anything – wealth or anything else – as a means to salvation apart from Christ, will ultimately be disappointed in the result. “’Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’” All things are possible with God. And thanks be to Him who has given us this indescribable gift. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.