No, It’s Not About Works
The text this week is Mark 10:17-31. This is the passage that sees a rich man ask Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to obey the commandments. The man says that he has done this all his life. Jesus then tells him to sell what he owns and give it to the poor, then follow Him. The man walks away sad, because he was very rich.
All this would seem to indicate that Jesus is saying that the man must perform works. This would be an erroneous take on this text. The man came to Jesus because he thought that Jesus could give him an answer since He was a teacher. What we must keep in mind here is that doing what Jesus instructs is predicated on our belief in Him, not simply as a “Good Teacher”, but as the very Son of God, the Messiah. It is out trust and faith in Jesus that compels us to listen to Him, and to obey as best we can. Belief must come first, or obedience will surely be absent. We see this in the case of the rich man, as he has not welcomed the faith that Jesus offers. He would rather place his faith in his riches.
Do We Truly Serve God?
Jesus explains the deeper meaning of this exchange when He offers His famous analogy about how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God. He says it is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Many have suggested that the eye of the needle that Jesus was talking about is a gate to enter Jerusalem that riders on camels would have to duck down to pass through it. Others have suggested that Jesus was literally referring to a camel passing through an actual eye of a needle. Either way Jesus is emphasizing how hard this is.
Jesus is not saying that it is impossible for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom, only that it is hard. This is not some generalized screed against wealth, but rather an acknowledgement of how the values of this world can get in the way of our faith and trust in God. Wealth, status, power, etc. are all competing worship centers and entice us to follow and trust in them instead of our Father in Heaven.
Yet, Jesus also offers us hope in stating clearly that all things are possible for God. All we need is to trust in God’s good and gracious word. In that trust is a rejection of all the competing “gods” that clamor for our attention and obeisance. Then, as Jesus promises us, we will inherit the purest and most profound riches of all, eternal life with our Father in Heaven. So, believe first, then obey accordingly.
Praise Be to God
