Possessions in the Kingdom

This morning, we come to the end of this section of Mark in which Jesus has been teaching on the morality of the kingdom. We come to an important teaching of Christ on the cost of discipleship, and this teaching raises some important questions. In the kingdom of God, what is to be the relationship between the wealthy and the poor? Is it wrong to even have wealth in the kingdom? Is there hope of salvation for those with great possessions? To answer those questions, lets read Mark 10:17-31. From this passage, see two points: Inheritance of the Kingdom, and the Impossible Salvation.

First, from verses 17-22, see the Inheritance of the Kingdom. Jesus continues on his final journey to Jerusalem, and as he goes, he is approached by a man who shows him great respect. He kneels in front of him and addresses him as “Good Teacher”. He has an important question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s interesting that this man asks this question for two reasons. For one, we know that he is wealthy, and in Jesus’s day (as in ours, with the influence of the Health and Wealth heresy today), there was the assumption that wealth was gained through the blessing of God. If you inherited a fortune or invented an important product, or landed a great catch, you were considered blessed for that. So, this question would likely have been surprising to the others in the crowd, because, they would assume, if anyone would inherit eternal life, it would be this man. We also know that this man, according to his own assessment, is righteous. Jesus, in effect, asks him if he has obeyed all the commandments, and the man answers, “Yes, from my youth.” He seems confident that he is righteous according to the law. And yet, here he is, asking what he must do to be saved. Maybe he’d been present at Jesus’s sermon on the mount, when Jesus announced: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Perhaps he’d noticed Jesus’s love for the infirmed, the poor, and the oppressed and put two-and-two together. If this Jesus is the Messiah, then it is obvious that he has come to bless those who are the outcasts of society. So, he wondered, what about me?

Yet, even though he has this question, he seems to doubt himself very little. He does not seem to believe that he has ever sinned. However, there are some hints in what Jesus says that reveal his barrier to the kingdom. First, when Jesus states the commandments, there are a couple of interesting nuances. For one, Jesus states what is known as the “Second Table” of the law – those commandments that deal with our relationships with other humans. He did not ask him, “Have you faithfully worshipped God and kept the Sabbath?” He asked, “How have you treated other people?” I think Jesus asks this to key in on this young man’s sin.

There is another nuance in Jesus’s list of commandments. There is one commandment that isn’t in the Ten Commandments. We know, “Honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness”, but where is he getting “do not defraud.” Some commentators suggest that fraud is covetousness in action. In other words, when you defraud someone, you are coveting what they have and taking action to take it. But, that’s just stealing, not covetousness. So, why does Jesus throw this law in with the others? There are a couple of reasons. First, fraud is particularly a temptation for the rich. The OT law repeatedly condemns defrauding the poor. Prov. 22:22 says, “Do not rob the poor, because he is poor.”  Exodus 22:25 forbids charging interest on loans to the poor (the opposite of the practice we have today). Deut. 24:14-15 forbids holding pay to hourly workers – you are to pay him before the sun goes down.

I also think Jesus includes this command because it was the specific sin of this man. This is why, when the man says that he has obeyed the law from his youth, Jesus answers: “Then sell all you have and give it to the poor and come follow me.” This verse has led to no lack of confusion. Some have read this as a condemnation of all wealth. They would argue that Christianity is in effect a communist religion that requires everyone to have equal wealth, and, that if anyone is wealthy, they have obviously gained it through greed and fraud. Others read it to say that every Christian should make himself poor. In order to follow Christ, one must give up worldly possessions of any kind and be totally dependent on God’s provision and the benevolence of the church. But, I don’t think Jesus means this as a general statement about discipleship or salvation, at all. I think this statement is a rifle shot at the heart of this rich young man. Understand, the Bible never condemns wealth or money. Sure, it does say that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”, but it does not say “money is the root.” Additionally, having wealth is not in and of itself evil, but what we do with it can be. James 5:1-5 condemns the wealthy who use it for luxury and self-indulgence. But, Gal. 2:10 and 1 Tim. 6:17-19 direct the wealthy to be generous and use their wealth for the kingdom. There are two moral questions regarding wealth and the kingdom. 1) How do you gain your wealth? If you earn your wealth through fair and honorable work or inherit wealth because of the same, there is no guilt in that. However, if you gained your wealth by schemes that charge exorbitant fees and interest to the poor, or you monopolize and scam, then you have sinned. 2) What do you do with your wealth? If you give liberally to benefit those outside of your family, if you are faithful to tithe and support missions, to help the poor and defend the oppressed, then there is no guilt. But, if you hoard your money for yourself and your family, clinching your fist around it lest anyone should take it, then you are in sin.

Here is this man’s problem. I think Jesus places these demands on him because he, like Zaccheus, has gained his wealth by defrauding the poor and has withheld his abundance from those who could be helped by it. So, it says, in verse 22, that he was “disheartened by the saying and went away sorrowful.” The cost of discipleship was too great for him. This does raise an important point for all of us, whether rich or poor. Jesus may not demand the same thing of you. You may not have any wealth to give away. But he does demand that you give your all to follow him. Whatever it is that you hold on to – your free time, your vacations, your retirement, your pleasure – that is the thing he calls you to give up. There should be nothing in your life that, if called to, you could not give up for the sake of following Christ.

That leads to my second point: The Impossible Salvation, from verses 23-31. After this man leaves dejected, Jesus turns to his disciples and wonders, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” His disciples are bothered by this, and then Jesus says something even more bothersome: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom.” This was just too much. The disciples are overwhelmed by this statement, so they ask, “Who can be saved?!” Remember, they believed that the wealthy were so because of the blessing of God. So, if those who are blessed will not be saved, how can anyone be saved. To that question, Jesus makes this beautiful statement, which we find throughout Scripture: “With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”  In Genesis 18, when Sarah laughed at God’s promise that she, in her postmenopausal barrenness, would conceive and have a son, God asked, “Why does she laugh? Is anything impossible for God?” In Jeremiah 32, God promises that he will restore Israel, and he says, “behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” In Luke 1:37, when Mary asks how she could conceive when she is a virgin, Gabriel responds, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” It is true that wealth and possessions can cause a man or woman to be so proud, so self-reliant, that they have no room for faith in God’s provision. It is true that a love of money and a heart of greed can enslave the rich. But, nothing is impossible with God. God can change the heart. God can humble the proud. God can bring the man with everything to despair over his loneliness. We see it in the Gospels. Zaccheus was a rich tax collector who came near to Christ, was saved, and became a generous believer. We see it also in the early church. Lydia was a wealthy businesswoman living in Phillippi who opened her home to the church Paul and Silas planted. Nothing is impossible with God because God is the source of our salvation. No one can be saved unless God changes their hearts. No one can come to repentance unless God grants it.

Friend, if you would follow Christ, it means giving up that which you are holding on to. It means turning from your sin, whether it be greed or lust or gossip, and turning to Christ in faith.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to hold our wealth with a loose hand. I’ve been to many places in this world and seen poverty like you could not imagine. Most of us in the US are blessed with wealth the rest of the world cannot comprehend. This wealth comes with responsibility. We are called, first, to be responsible with how we gain our wealth. We should not gain it through fraud – whether it be defrauding the government by lying about our taxes or our income status or defrauding others with products and services that do not meet a real need. We should not gain it by scheming, whether it be in gambling, fleecing others with oppressive interest, or a pyramid scheme. We should gain our wealth by doing good work in a fair and ethical way. One of my favorite stories about Martin Luther is when he was asked by a shoemaker how he might glorify God. Martin Luther responded, “Make a good shoe and sell it for a fair price.” I have tried to live by that as a business owner, and whatever our work, I think it is solid advice.

We are also called to be generous with our wealth. We should give to meet the needs of the church and our brothers and sisters in Christ. I have tried to live in this way. I have never given away money with the intention of serving the Lord that I have missed or needed back later. God will be faithful to meet our needs as we are faithful to give, so may we trust him with everything and give generously.