A Richly Detailed, Impossible What!"~ Mark 10:17-27 (Jesus Said What!? Series)

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” ²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. ²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is 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 man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” ~ Mark 10:17-27

My wife is a historian at Westmont College and teaches a variety of courses, like World History. In one of her lectures she begins a discussion on the Renaissance by introducing students to Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors (1533) and asks a deceptively simple question: “What do you see that is Renaissance?” 

The students point out learned men with books and instruments. They notice objects like a celestial globe, a portable sundial and various other scientific instruments as well as others objects revealing a unique moment in European culture and art.

On the surface they see a beautifully detailed Renaissance painting (perspective, realism, humanism and new learning) but my wife then points out that if they will pay more careful attention an even richer piece of art begins to emerge that illustrates a more complicated historical drama of discord, division, religious wars, and death.

• A crucifix is half-obscured by a green curtain in the top left corner of the painting, symbolizing the division of the church due to the Protestant Reformation.
• A broken string on the lute symbolizes ecclesiastical discord.
• The open book of music next to the lute is a Lutheran hymnal, and the book of mathematics, to its left, is open to a page titled “Dividirt” or “divide” in Latin.
• Finally, there is the anamorphic skull. While its skewed
  
  perspective renders the skull largely unreadable when viewed straight-on, it was painted to be seen from the side so that a viewer walking past would be confronted with the grinning face of death.

Our story today in Mark is like that painting. It intends to be a rich and realistic depiction of discipleship, focused on wealth, while at the same time expressing a no-less-important symbolic seriousness about the kingdom of God and the challenge of following Jesus. It is, by Jesus’ own admission, a life that is both “impossible” and “possible” (vs. 27).

And like Holbein’s painting, I want to walk you through some of the details, a few of the subtleties, ask some questions, and look at it with a sideways glance, so that we, like the disciples in our story, can be “amazed.” Let’s tour this richly detailed, impossible “what!?” together step-by-step.

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

·       Everywhere else in Mark when a person kneels down to

implore Jesus, they are asking for healing for themselves or for someone else. Is Mark depicting this scene as a healing and inviting us to do the same? Perhaps, we are asked to imagine that the man is sick and just doesn’t know it. Looked at this way, the story aims to expose sickness. Perhaps Jesus’ words are a radical diagnosis of a deep-seated illness and need. What would it mean to hear this story not as “try harder” but “be healed”?

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.

·       Why does Jesus object to being called “good”? Does he think the man is merely trying to flatter him? Possibly, but I wonder instead if Jesus is suggesting that something is amiss with the man’s question itself. Once you imagine that eternal life is something you inherit or earn by being good, you’re already misdiagnosing the problem. No one is good -- that is, really and truly whole -- apart from God. It’s interesting that we currently use the word “good” to mean that we need nothing.  Yet, we are all tragically broken, incapable of fixing ourselves. Which means both that no one is “good enough” to inherit eternal life and that entering the kingdom is finally not about “being good” in the first place.

¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

• Is the man overconfident in his ability to keep the commandments? Is he smug, self-satisfied, or self-righteous? Perhaps, but I’m not so sure. Not only are the commandments considered in Judaism absolutely “do-able,” but Jesus seems to accept his statement at face value. Jesus does not devalue the commandments but starts by naming them as important elements.  Rules are an important part of life, Jesus says. We will see, however, that they are not sufficient to constitute a relationship. One can keep them and still not follow Jesus.
• However, there is another interesting point. All of the commandments that Jesus recites have to do with human beings in relationship with each other. The first four commandments that address a human being’s relationship with God are not mentioned. Yet one command is different: “You shall not defraud” (v. 19). “Do not defraud” replaces the last commandment: “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Neither Luke nor Matthew includes it in their versions of this story. Is the switch maybe Mark’s way of identifying the motive behind coveting? Is he pointing out the root cause of fraudulent economic practices? This change only exists in Mark’s Gospel. Or, is Mark providing an explanation for how the man acquired his fortune and indicting an economic system that takes advantage of the least in its society?
• If fraudulent practices are indeed the source of the man’s wealth, the man does not acknowledge it nor does he even recognize it as such. Instead, he insists that he has “kept” them all since he was young. Regardless, whether his wealth is legitimate or not, it does not have the power to purchase what he seeks.

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

·        Jesus loves this man. He’s the only person in the entire Gospel of Mark singled out as being loved by Jesus. He does not treat him poorly or mock him. Every interpretation we may offer must therefore take seriously Jesus' absolute regard and unconditional love for this man, whether guilty or not.

·        Despite being loved by Jesus (or is it because of it), Jesus confronts this man with a demand which he has not made on his other wealthy followers, such as the hospitable family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-3), the wealthy wife of Chuza (Luke 8:3), the “rich man” Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57), or even Zacchaeus, who gave away only half his wealth plus restitutions (Luke 19:8). This is the only time in Mark's Gospel that Jesus makes such a demand about possessions. Although he calls everyone to radical renunciation (8:34-37; 10:28-31), the particularities of discipleship vary across the Gospel. And he is not asked simply to give away his wealth, but to give it to the poor (not the church either, mind you). Implied is the importance of sharing in the hardships and need of one's fellow human beings is a part of life in the kingdom.

·        I have sometimes been asked by people, even nonbelievers, that if they follow Jesus will they also be required to sell all their possessions and give the money to the poor. And I tell them, “Maybe. Talk to Jesus.” I like the comment made by my former colleague at Westmont College Dr. Bob Gundry: “That Jesus did not command all his followers to sell all their possessions gives comfort only to the kind of people to whom he would issue that command.”

²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

·       Despite being uniquely loved by the Jesus, the man just walks away. How terribly shocking to discover that a dearly loved one can walk away – even from Jesus.  Mark seems to pause here in his relentless challenge to give a nod toward the tragedy of discipleship.

·       What is the challenge of discipleship? “Sadness.” The man

departs Jesus, “sad, because he had great wealth.” We don’t know exactly what happens with the rich man after this exchange; does he weep and then go and sell what he has and follow Jesus, or does he stop following Jesus and go to tend his possessions? The text does not say. I want to suggest that this is intentional, leaving the tension for the reader to wrestle with herself. And at the core of that wrestling, is the problem of “sadness,” and discipleship, the challenge of emotional investment in things other than Jesus. Here’s the thing. You will experience “sadness” when you follow Jesus. He will rightly look you in the eye and name that thing that owns you, that “because” which you don’t want to give up. It’s not a question of “if” but of “when.” Mark’s question could be put this way: “When Jesus makes you sad, will you walk away too?”

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

• For centuries, many Christians have tried to make the impossible possible by means other than God’s grace. A
  
  ninth-century interpreter made up the idea of a low gate into Jerusalem called "the eye of the needle," through which camels could only pass only if stooped and unladen. Presumably, then, Jesus criticizes only the proud rich, or only the rich who are not extremely determined to enter the kingdom. Unfortunately, no such gate ever existed, and Jesus' words in 10:23-25 fail to recognize such distinctions about wealthy people's attitudes. The eye of the needle is not a one in a thousand shot – it is, Jesus will later diagnose, an impossibility.

• The rich man is not the only one who is shocked by Jesus’ pronouncement (verses 22, 26). So also are all those within earshot. Given that wealth was considered a sign of blessing in the first century (as well as, I'd argue, in the twenty-first), Jesus words to this man and his later statement about the difficulty the rich will have in entering the kingdom are alarming.

• Why, precisely, is it difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom (verse 24-25)? Is it the temptation to believe that one is made self-sufficient by one's wealth with no need for God or others? Is it that one is desensitized to one’s own needs as well as those of others by wealth? Can it be that wealth in some way distances us from one of the elements of being human itself -- that is, the inescapable dimension of being dependent on others? I don’t think that Jesus is teaching that wealth is evil but I do know this – it’s dangerous.

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 man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

• The disciples are shocked by Jesus’ pronouncement and
  
  g(r)asp the right question, “Then who can be saved?” If Jesus has categorically ruled out the rich, then can anyone make it into God's kingdom? When we consider all that commends the rich man in this passage, Jesus stuns us by putting the kingdom of God so far out of reach.
• Maybe, then, this passage is not so unique in its demands, for it is not that different from other passages in which Jesus describes a life of discipleship, such as 8:34-37. The rich man's story and Jesus' over-the-top joke of a camel and a needle remind us that all aspects of what it means to follow Jesus should rankle our deeply ingrained instincts toward self-preservation and security. Jesus does not try to deprive the rich man of his money and power. He asks for more. He tries to claim the man's very own self. And in return promises the impossible.
• If that’s true then my failure is more than a “won’t” but a “can’t” and the answer is not so much more “sacrifice” but more “surrender.”

"Don't Judge Others!": Eye, eye, Jesus! ~ Matthew 7:1-6 (Jesus Said What!? Series)

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. ~ Matthew 7:1-6

Jesus said what?! In our series I’ve discovered that the “what” is not always the same. There’s the “what?” – Jesus, I don’t understand. This is difficult to comprehend. This feels old, far-away, complicated. But there’s another “what?” This is the “what” our children often use against us. The “what” of "I don’t want to do that. I don’t like it. I want you to say something different." This is the “what” of our passage this morning. So what’s the “what”? What do we need to learn to lean into the “what”?

1.    Jesus told a joke.

It’s a bit gross, a bit like a “Dad” joke, a bit cornea. Sorry! Jesus teaches his disciples by telling a joke about a guy with a plank in his eye wanting to perform eye-surgery on another with a speck in his own eye. I don’t think it’s an incidental point to acknowledge that Jesus wants us to experience the joy of the joke, a bit of laughter at our own ridiculousness, to snicker a bit at our inability to see, our fumbling to follow.

Jesus loved to talk about eyes, to tell jokes, because he wants

us to be able to see. Can you see? In vs. 3 he points out that the failure was one of attention, failing to notice. Are you aware enough to laugh at yourself? At the very least, what is forbidden here is the sort of fault-finding mentality and withering criticism of the community toward each other. It often takes the form of sarcasm and insult, holds no joy or laughter, and because it’s bitter creates bitterness. Friends, I believe that our passage asks of us a simple question: What good is holiness or morality which in trying to get people to see pokes them in the eye? What good is a community that can’t laugh at itself?

A Baptist man went on a cruise and one night, alone on the upper deck, while watching the sun go down, fell over-board. No one heard him screaming for help but he eventually was able to swim to the shore of a deserted island where he lived for a number of years before finally being seen and rescued by a passing a ship. When his rescuers arrived on the island, he asked if he could show them his house that he had built. They were amazed by the artistry and craftmanship that he had accomplished with simple tools and his bare hands. He then asked if they would like to see his church. He showed them a beautiful building with gorgeous high ceilings, a well-crafted pulpit and even comfortable pews. As they were leaving, one of the sailors saw another beautiful building at the far end of the island. “What’s that building?,” he asked. The Baptist replied, “Ugh. That’s where I used to go to church.” We could talk about the seriousness of unity, carefully study Jesus’ prayer for his followers to be one from John 17, or investigate the challenging internal disputes that the early church faced in the book of Acts. We could also be challenged by the joy of a joke, chuckle a bit at our foolishness and sinfulness, and God’s surprising forgiveness. Jesus teaches us, “with you measure you use, it will be measured to you” so tell a joke. Do you see?

2.    Don’t do “what”?

It seems straight-forward enough – “Don’t judge.” But is Jesus suggesting that we should practice no discernment with one another. Is he advocating a logic of “don’t say anything to anyone for any reason”? Is he saying, “Look, you one-eyed-

freak, just keep an eye on yourself!” Well, as we’ve encountered before, our passage also exists in another Gospel which offers some helpful points of clarity in understanding Jesus’ intended meaning.

In the Gospel of Luke, we find: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). To “condemn” is more than simply judging something as right or wrong, wise or foolish, helpful or ill-advised, but includes the pronouncement of punishment, a withholding of forgiveness. I can judge something without imagining that I determine the outcome or know someone’s fate. A jury member can exercise proper discernment but isn’t a judge or a jailer. Neither of those roles are yours to take. So it strikes me that Jesus is challenging a condemning form of judging. He’s addressing the down-to-earth issue of what happens if we offer unfair, overly critical attitudes, which when combined with a lack of self-criticism, threaten the community. He’s addressing the fine line between sound judgment and being judgmental.

It’s the subtle move from telling Johnny that if he doesn’t study, he won’t pass algebra, to if he doesn’t study, he will fail algebra and high school, become a loser, most-likely homeless, turn to drugs, and die on the streets.

In a story from the fourth century we are told of monk named

Moses the Ethiopian. Moses had been a leader of a gang of robbers in the Egyptian Desert who converted to Christianity after taking shelter with a bunch of Christian monks. Toward the end of his life he was called to come and pass judgment on a monk who had sinned. “Moses was invited to attend a council about this, but he refused to go. Then a priest sent someone to say to him, “Come, for everyone is waiting for you.” So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said to him, “What is this, Father?” The old man said to them, “My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.” When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

3.    Don’t be a hypocrite, be Hippocratic.

The humorous joke of vss. 3-5, speck and plank surgery,

makes two related points: 1) the wrongfulness of drawing attention to another’s failings when your own is much greater; and 2) the impracticability and insincerity of an offer to help until your own greater problem has been dealt with.

To ignore either of these, Jesus says, brings us to that hard word in Jesus’ joke – “hypocrite.” What does that mean? But first let’s be sure of what a hypocrite is not. A hypocrite is not someone who fails to practice those virtues that she preaches. It is not a failure to do or say what one believes.  If that were the case then the whole of Christianity is one big hypocrisy – yet Jesus reminds that we are speck and log people. We are sinners. We do fail. We will need correction. These are givens. In fact, forgetting this is blindness, Jesus says. No, a better source of meaning surrounds the debate about the origins of the term. Some

argue that “hypocrite” comes from the world of the theater and can translate as “play-acting,” it involves the active deception of others by pretending to do or believe something that you knowingly do not. It’s not finding a log in your eye that makes you a hypocrite – it’s when you put make-up on it and call it an eyelash that does.

Others have argued, however, that “hypocrite” comes from the verb meaning “to sift or decide” and implies a deficiency on the part of the person to make a correct decision and their

refusal to admit that deficiency.  It’s someone who knowingly doesn’t know what he’s talking about trying to explain it to others. It’s when you ask me about cars and I use the fancy language that I learned from my mechanic grandfather without any sense of being able to fix anything on a car. The first definition reflects our refusal to confess that we are sinners and the second our inability to confess that we are not God, that we don’t know what God knows.  Failure to admit our own sinfulness and limitedness is what makes us hypocritical.

But the danger of hypocrisy does not dismiss us from needing to be helpful. The Bible offers ample evidence, even direct statements about correcting brothers or sisters gently – Matt. 18:15-20; Galatians 6:1-5. In our passage today, we know we are called to help by Jesus’ “then.” Jesus says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus is not saying that I should only be concerned with myself. Yes, “don’t be a hypocrite”, Jesus says, but still be Hippocratic.  You’ve heard of the Hippocratic Oath, right? It’s the ancient Greek ethical oath for physicians often known by the phrase: “First do no harm.” Jesus’ warning against hypocrisy is naming that reality – that if we try and help the wrong way we risk greater damage, we risk harming the patient. So, in our desire to help first do no harm. But we still need to help. We need to remember that for many of us even small specks can create a great amount of pain and eyes are sensitive things.  Should we simply ignore our brother or sister’s pain? That’s a good rule of thumb, by the way, let the pain be your guide, possibly your own.

 This past week I had a speck pulled out of my eye by someone I love (okay, it was my wife). She judged something I had said and found it insensitive, unhelpful, and misguided. She wasn’t judgmental, but I needed it. Jesus was no fool. He knew that eyes were sensitive things and that even specks can hurt.

4.    Don’t be silly. Pigs don’t wear pearls.

Some treat verse 6 as if it is a free-floating verse not connected to vss. 1-5. But it is not free-floating here. By following Matthew 7:5, it shows that Jesus also wants to talk about the role and emotional state of the corrected, the one with the speck.  And I believe Jesus is offering a paraphrase of Proverbs 9:7-8: Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. ⁸ Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.

As we know from workplace evaluations, giving and receiving feedback can be perilous. Self-examination and gentleness cannot guarantee that another will receive correction. Feedback or correction (sacred; pearls) can be rejected and trampled underfoot by a person who doesn’t want to hear it (dogs; swine). Counter-attacks can result. Correction is not to be pressed when it cannot be received (Matthew 7:6).

In essence Jesus is saying: “Don’t cast pearls of wisdom before those who don’t want or comprehend precious things.” Or, in other words, “Don’t be judgmental. But don’t be a fool either.”

          5.    Ask yourself, “What do I want?”

A final element of Jesus’ joke – that permeates it from start

to finish – is the simple wisdom of reciprocity. If you wish to receive something – then give it. If you don’t wish to receive something – then don’t give it. It’s a joke that aims to remind us that you get what you give. How do you want to be corrected?

How do you want people to behave? Do you want someone to be gentle with you when you’ve done something wrong? Be gentle when someone wrongs you. Do you want to be a community that loves and helps each other? Then follow Jesus and learn to tell a joke.