The Eye of the Needle

Coming up today on the Lord's Day edition of Renewing Your Mind… In our last study of Mark's gospel, we looked at the story of the rich young ruler, and we remember that Jesus looked at him and loved him with a love of compassion because Jesus knew that the man was so committed to his own wealth that he had no room in his heart or in his life for the things of God. And the story ends badly when we read in the text that the man walked away sorrowfully because he had great possessions.

And the context for the text that I've just read to you is that context that follows after this encounter with the rich young ruler. And so we pick it up in verse 23, when Jesus after watching this man walk away in sorrow looked around and said to His disciples, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. Here Jesus singles out an obstacle that human beings have that stands between them and their willingness and readiness to hear the gospel. And that obstacle that Jesus addresses on this occasion is the obstacle of material wealth, that material wealth which the Old Testament Jew looked upon as a blessing from God could have a second side to it, bringing forth the curse of self-sufficiency. So that Jesus said, be careful if you're wealthy because if you are, it will be hard for you to enter into the kingdom of God.

And notice as He repeats Himself, He gives greater clarity to this warning after the disciples expressed astonishment at His teaching. Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Now notice the slight shift in wording here. First Jesus says, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God. But then when the disciples express their amazement, He qualifies it a bit when He says, how hard it is for those who trust in their riches to enter into the kingdom of God. Now let me just say a little bit about the biblical view of wealth and poverty because it is a view that we need to understand, particularly in the climate of the politics of envy that saturate our own culture today. We have a tendency to be quite simplistic about the question of wealth and poverty. There is a tendency among us to assume that if any person among us is poor, that it must be because they're indolent, that only the lazy are those who are in poverty.

From a biblical perspective, that is simply not true. Conversely, we often have the idea that the only way a person can be wealthy in this world today is if they are corrupt and if they exploit people and if they tramp over the weak in order to gather their riches. The myth is that the only way a person can become wealthy is at the expense of somebody else.

That may be true in a poker game, but that's one of the few places where it is true. We think of Henry Ford, for example, who became fabulously wealthy by introducing mass production of the automobile and by his ingenuity was able to bring the automobile into the reach of the average family of America so that everybody prospered by the increase in Henry Ford's wealth. Now in the biblical framework, if we look at the word for poverty or the poor, in the Old Testament we see that there is a distinction among four types of people who are poor. The first is the group I've already mentioned, those who are poor because they're lazy. They are poor because they won't work. They are poor because they're irresponsible. And that view carries over to the New Testament with the warning from the Apostle that says if a man doesn't work, neither should he eat. The view of God towards people who are poor as a result of laziness is one of judgment throughout the Old Testament.

But there are other causes for poverty. There are those in the Old Testament who were designated as the poor in the midst of the people who were poor because of calamity, of illness, of natural disasters that ruined their crops, for example. And those people who were reduced to poverty received the compassion of God and the law of God that those who were better off would make provision for their care. The third group of poor in the Old Testament are those people who were poor as a direct result of the exploitation of the rich and the powerful. And I might add at this point that those who were commonly the rich and the powerful in the Old Testament were not merchants. They were rulers. They were government authorities who became tyrants like Pharaoh in Egypt, like Ahab in Israel who enslaved his own people, like Saddam Hussein, like third world banana republic dictators who amassed great wealth by stripping it away from the people. That group of people in the Old Testament have God as their defender who will not tolerate the exploitation of the weak by the strong.

That is how the story of the exodus takes place, that God becomes the warrior and the defender and the champion of those who are enslaved. And then there's the fourth group of the poor in the Old Testament, and those are the ones who are poor for righteousness' sake. That is, they are willingly embracing poverty, that they may devote themselves to spiritual things and not become distracted by the pursuit of wealth.

So that's important that we understand those four distinct groups, that we don't lump them all together and have hearts that are open to those who have suffered at the hands of natural calamities and illness and the like, and be aware of the needs of those around us. James tells us the true religion is this, that we care for orphans and for widows who have suffered through no fault of their own. In like manner in the Old Testament, God's wrath is poured out against the wealthy who use their wealth to exploit people, to crush people, and to enslave people. God's wrath for Solomon's actions, for Ahab's actions, and for others is manifest in that time. Yet we also see in the Old Testament that wealth can be a manifest blessing that is given to people by God. Some of the greatest saints of the Bible were at the same time some of the most wealthy. Consider, for example, Abraham, who was the father of the faithful and one of the richest men in the world in antiquity. Perhaps his riches may have been exceeded by God's servant Job. And then later on in the New Testament, we hear of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a wealthy man. These three examples tell us something about the relationship between wealth and God in light of what Jesus says here, how hard it is for a person who trusts in their wealth.

If that's where we put our confidence, if that's what we trust to keep us in life now and forever more, then we have put our trust in that which cannot possibly redeem us. Jesus again and again warns people against trying to serve two masters, trying to serve God and mammon, trying to store up riches for themselves in this world where thieves come in and steal and moth comes in and rust corrodes that which is precious. But He calls us to store up our treasures in heaven.

The question is where is our trust, and what do we do with the wealth that we receive? Because the fundamental premise for wealth in the Bible is this, that every good and perfect gift that we have comes from the mercy of God. There is no such thing as a bootstrap ethic in the Bible.

Nobody pulls themselves up by their own bootstraps by themselves without the grace of God. Everything that we have comes to us from His bounty and from His goodness. And what God is looking at is what we trust and what we do with that which He has entrusted us. Think of Abraham, who so often is the example set forth before us as the father of the faithful.

You remember in Genesis 13 where a dispute arises between the cattle ranchers of Lot and those of Abraham, and the dispute becomes so serious that Abraham says to Lot, he said, look, we're family. We've got to be able to get along. There's plenty of room here in this land for both of us.

Let's not have any more discord among us. I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll split the land in half. You take one half, I'll take the other half. And he said to Lot, you choose first.

Whatever part you want for your livestock and for your family, you take it, and I'll take what's left. And Lot looked in one direction. He saw the near desert conditions of Canaan. He saw the place that had very little to provide for the feeding of the cattle, how difficult it would be to take the herds and drive them to market from that distance. And then his eyes came to the Jordan Plain with their lush grasslands right next to the city where all of the commerce was taking place.

And being the businessman that he was, Lot says, I'll take the Jordan Plain and the city. And he moved his family to Sodom, to Sodom. Sodom was a fantastic place to raise cattle.

It was a terrible place to raise a family as Lot found out. You see for Abraham, as wealthy as he was, counted his family, his faith, his integrity of much greater value than his cattle. Consider consider Job, fabulously wealthy by ancient standards, how Satan came to God in heaven accusing God for saying that all of these people down here on earth are in my pocket.

They all follow me. And God said to Satan, have you considered My servant Job? And God called attention to Job for his integrity, for his devotion to God, for his love and affection for the Lord and for his faithful service.

And Satan issued the challenge. He says, does Job serve you for naught? Look at what you've given him. Of course he loves you. Of course he serves you. You've given all of these possessions to him, making him the wealthiest man in the world, and you've put a hedge around him.

You let me at him, and we'll see how long he continues to be faithful to you. Well, you know the rest of the story, how Satan unleashed all of the horror of hell upon Job, upon his family, upon his livestock, upon everything that was precious and dear to him, until Job sat moaning on a dunghill, crying out, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Job did not trust in his wealth. He trusted in his Redeemer to the day that God vindicated him. Finally, there is Joseph of Arimathea in the New Testament.

Think of it, an obscure person, only one reference to him I believe in the New Testament in the gospels. Who would ever have heard of Joseph of Arimathea because of the tremendous business deals he was able to consolidate? But now he is known throughout the Christian world for what he did with his wealth, did with his wealth, for donating a highly expensive sepulcher so that the body of the Lord Jesus Christ might be buried in dignity. And so Joseph is remembered not for what he had but for what he gave to the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what it's about, folks, where our trust is, where our hearts are, where our priorities are. In talking about the difficulty, Jesus uses a strange aphorism here where He says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God. If that's the truth, if that's the way it is, then you and I should get rid of all of the riches that we have, lose it all in order to gain heaven. Jesus is going to make it clear in a moment that it's possible, but it's hard. It's difficult, and we really need to heed our Lord's warning at that point because we are the most prosperous people in the history of the world. The poorest person in our congregation this morning has a better standard of living than kings had two hundred years ago in this world. We have been so blessed by God that the obstacles, the snares are there, and we need to think about the eye of the needle and to take stock every now and then in terms of where our hearts are. Show me a man's checkbook, and I'll tell you where his heart is.

And that's true of all of us, dear friends. And so we need to hear our Lord. The disciples were flabbergasted by this, and they said, who then can be saved? And Jesus said, and Jesus said, with men it's just not possible. I mean again, do you see how hard it is for those who put their trust in wealth that humanly speaking it's impossible for that person to get into the kingdom of God? But with God, He said, all things are possible. It's even possible to receive the blessings of God of great wealth and still have our hearts focused on the kingdom of God. It may be difficult, but this is where the Holy Spirit intervenes in the lives of people and cuts through the hardness of our hearts. Then Peter began to say to him, see, you're not talking about us, Lord.

It's not me, Lord. We've left all to follow you. And there's this impetuous Peter speaking up again as if Jesus were rebuking him for whatever he had left after he departed from his family business. We left all to follow you. Jesus said, Assuredly I say to you, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My sake and the gospels.

Let me just comment on this. You know there are people in this room this morning, people maybe sitting right next to you who have done just that, who have left their families, left their homes, not because they wanted to divorce themselves from their loved ones, but because of Christ and for the gospel's sake. I remember walking in the parking lot of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church one night a few years ago when there was a furious battle going on in the theological world over the gospel. And in that controversy, I lost friends, friends that were very, very important to me, friends that I counted on, friends that I counted on, and I lost them.

And I was very depressed about it, and I was walking across that parking lot, and I thought of the words of a mighty fortress is our God. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. Let goods and kindreds go, this mortal life also. He who starts following Jesus puts His hand to the plow and looks back.

He's not worthy of the kingdom of God. We're not to look back. We're to look at Him for His sake, for the gospel's sake, to forsake all other things in this world if called upon to do it.

And Jesus said to Peter, if you do that, I speak with certainty and full assurance that no one who has done that, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands with persecution and in the age to come eternal life. You can't leave these things for Me. Jesus is saying, without My taking notice. And you can't outgive Me.

What you leave, I will replace a hundredfold. Yes, you will be persecuted, but you will receive the kingdom and all that that that contains. But there will be surprises. When you enter into the kingdom, you will see that many who were first in this world will be last in the kingdom. And the lowly ones, the people gave not much significance to, those who were last, the least of My brethren, they will be first. Because what gets you first place is not merit, but fidelity, faithfulness to Christ.

And that provides us with a great realignment of our priorities, doesn't it? You're listening to the Lord's Day edition of Renewing Your Mind and a sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus' teaching on the subject of wealth is something we all need to hear. It's so easy to get distracted by our goals and pursuits, but the real measure of success is our commitment to Christ. It reminds us of how the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question, What is man's chief end?

Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We're making our way through the Gospel of Mark each week here on the Sunday edition of our program, and our resource offer today will be a wonderful help to you as you continue your study here on the program and in your personal study of Mark as well. It's Dr. Sproul's commentary on this gospel. You can request it with your gift of any amount to Ligonier Ministries when you go online to renewingyourmind.org. Again, that's renewingyourmind.org.

God gifted R.C. with a way of explaining theology clearly, and I'd like to introduce you to a podcast from Ligonier Ministries that follows in those footsteps. It's called Simply Put. Each Tuesday, my colleague Barry Cooper sheds light on a different biblical or theological term using helpful illustrations to apply it to your life. It's a short, easy listen, and again, it's called Simply Put.

Subscribe on iTunes or Google Play or by visiting SimplyPutPodcast.com. Well, today we learned about God's perspective on wealth. Next week, Jesus will address the pursuit of position. Who should be the most important? Join us as we return to Mark 10, next Sunday on Renewing Your Mind.