If you’d rather listen than read, this post is on my you tube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx-2LZzYOK8
Luke 18:18-30. I say this all the time, but it’s always true. This is a great one, read it for yourself so we can talk it through. Here’s a link if your Bible is out of reach and there’s a cat on your lap: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018%3A18-30&version=NL
If this passage doesn’t make you a little uncomfortable, you probably need to read it again. It’s easy to scoot through it quickly without giving it much thought, but it’s a bad idea to take that approach.
Good old Luke. Almost every time he tells a story, you could preface it with, “Speaking of which.” This one is no different. Speaking of entering the kingdom, there was this other guy who came to Jesus because he wanted to be a part of God’s kingdom. He called it inheriting eternal life, but that’s just another way of thinking about belonging in God’s presence.
This man was young, wealthy and devout. He, like the praying Pharisee we were talking about last time, practised his religion faithfully. Let’s be fair to this guy. He probably was a morally upright man. In response to his question, Jesus lists five of the ten commandments, and the man says he has kept them all. And this is an era of small towns where everyone knew everyone. If this guy wasn’t a pretty upstanding citizen, someone in the crowd probably would have made a choice comment or two. He must have been viewed as a good person. So I don’t think it’s coincidental that Jesus’ response also invites him to question what goodness is. No one is good but God, he replies. The man is asking what he has to do to earn entrance to heaven. Jesus has spent an awful lot of time explaining that God’s kingdom isn’t something we earn. If we had to earn it, no one, not even this moral young man, would make it. The standard for entrance is perfection and nobody is perfect.
If you have read the ten commandments though, you will notice Jesus listed the second half of them. A guy who had studied the scriptures would have known he skipped the first four. That should have made him stop and think, but instead he just agrees, he deserves top marks for good behaviour. What’s interesting about the ten commandments is that the first four are about how we relate to God and the last six are how we relate to people. The last six we might be able to keep pretty well, or at least look like we are doing a good job. But the first four can’t simply be a check mark in a box. They are about prioritizing God above every other thing in our lives. Jesus knew that. The rich young man knew that. And that’s why when the man didn’t catch the gentle hint, Jesus had to be direct. Jesus knew the guy’s heart. He always could look right past the external behaviours and see what motivated people. This man was willing to act the part. He was diligent to behave well, but his heart wasn’t in it.
The only way you and I can live in a way that honours God is by knowing him well enough to find out he is amazing. His power is staggering. His intellect is astounding. His love is enthralling. As we understand more and more of God, he becomes captivating. We don’t find ourselves obeying his rules, we trip over ourselves trying to find ways to express our adoration. And this moral young man had yet to be consumed with love for God.
Jesus knew why that was. He was a wealthy young man, and he liked being wealthy. He liked it more than he liked God. He could behave in godly ways, play the part, be the good guy. But he wasn’t prepared to give up his good life for God’s sake.
Jesus knows it’s a struggle that overwhelms many. It seems like maybe the more people have in life, the more powerful that struggle can be. A heart that willingly abandons everything to live for God is easier to maintain, when there isn’t much to abandon. When life is sweet and easy and full of good things, it can be harder to remember that God and his kingdom are infinitely sweeter.
And that’s what Jesus meant with the eye of the needle comment. If you do a google deep-dive on this, you will find people claiming that some gate in Jerusalem was called the eye of the needle. Camels had to take off their burdens and crawl through on their knees and it’s supposed to be this beautiful metaphor. That is a pretty cool picture, but the historical details are sketchy at best and it seems probable that we are trying to read too much into this metaphor. I think what Jesus was saying was exactly what his disciples thought he was saying. It’s impossible.
Now, if you are wealthy, don’t get overly distressed by this. Wealth is one of many distractions and obstructions that can take our eyes off God and keep us from his kingdom. Remember the parable of the sower? The fact remains. No one is entering the kingdom of heaven apart from a supernatural work of God. It’s impossible. We know this. But our God eats impossible for breakfast. What is impossible for us is possible with God. Trust him. He will carry you home.
Enter Peter. I love this guy. So rarely at a loss for words. Remember his comment is in the context of this young man who wasn’t prepared to give up his wealth to follow Jesus. Peter remembers the day he hopped out of his boat, left his nets tangled on the shore and followed Jesus. I honestly think he just had a happy epiphany and had to share. “Wait! We did that! We left everything to follow you! We got it right!” Again, Peter is so relatable. He seems genuinely delighted to discover he got something right. To be fair, he got things wrong more than once. I wonder if Jesus put his arm around Peter’s shoulder with a proud smile on his face when he responded. “Yep. You did, and it will be so worth it.”
People have spent a lot of time dissecting what it is to “receive many times as much in this age.” There are people who turn this into a promise that God is going to make all Christians rich and healthy. That seems like a huge stretch to me. Jesus is almost always talking on a spiritual level. His kingdom isn’t physically realized here and now. The fact is, when we join the kingdom of God, we join a rich and diverse family. We are given the companionship of the Holy Spirit to guide us through life. We have a promise that no matter what happens in this life, there is a radiant hope of eternal fulfillment in God’s presence. I don’t know that having an extra car in the driveway is even relevant to the discussion. I’m pretty sure it’s not where Jesus was going with that comment.
