And with His going out into the road one having run towards Him and having falling on his knees in front of Him questioned Him, “Good teacher, what should I do so that I should inherit eternal life?” Yet Yeshua said to him, “What are you saying I am good for? No one is good if not one, the God. You know the commands; ‘don’t murder, don’t break your marriage vows, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony,’ don’t commit fraud, ‘value your father and mother.’” Yet he said to Him, “Teacher, these things all I guarded from my youth.” Yet Yeshua having looked at him loved him and said to him, “One thing lags behind you; go, sell what you possess and give it to those destitute, and you will have a treasure in the sky, and come here, follow Me.” Yet the one having had a gloomy look upon the message left grieving; because he was in possession of much property.
And having looked around Yeshua says to His disciples, “How difficultly those possessing money will enter into the kingdom of God.” Yet the disciples were shocked upon His words. Yet Yeshua again having responded says to them, “Children, how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of God; it is easier for a camel to come through the eye of a sewing needle than for a wealthy person to enter into the kingdom of God.” Yet these all the more were stricken from their senses saying to one another, “Who also is capable of being delivered?” Yeshua having looked at them says, “Alongside human beings it is impossible, bot not alongside the God; because everything is possible alongside the God.”
Mark 10:17-27
Thoughts. First, it’s clear that “being delivered (or “saved”)” and “inheriting eternal life” are equated as the same thing by Jesus Himself. This is a fascinating thing from a modern theological point of view. The man asked, in modern parlance, “What do I need to do to be saved?” And Jesus did not answer, “Just believe in Me.” Notice too that the man did not ask, “what do I need to do to be forgiven?” even though modern theology would equate forgiveness with inheriting eternal life or “being saved.” In fact, Jesus stressed the impossibility of any human being entering the kingdom of God, and that it was only possible for God Himself.
In point of fact, when asked about how he might inherit eternal life, Jesus pointed him back to the Mosaic commandments, and ultimately to letting go of everything he owned in order to follow Him. That letting go of everything was a requirement of being a disciple is stated by Jesus Himself elsewhere in the Gospels, and is implied by Peter’s question to Jesus which follows these verses. If inheriting eternal life, if being saved was about having your sins forgiven, then Jesus contradicts nearly everything else in the New Testament right here in this passage and sets people up for trying to earn their forgiveness from God.
Clearly, forgiveness and inheriting eternal life or “being saved” are not the same thing, and Jesus never says they are. Forgiveness is always found in turning away from selfish and harmful behavior, and if one is practicing Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself, then all the commands are kept whether you intend to or not.
Also, clearly, the man was telling the truth. He really had kept the commandments and was sincerely wanting to know. But as Paul pointed out in his writings, the Mosaic Law, the Torah, had no ability to actually fix the problem. It could only restrain behavior, it could not deal with the malfunction itself. The man sincerely wanted a solution to the problem, and Jesus loved him for it. The next logical step for him was to become one of His disciples, and learn to follow and imitate Him so that, like Jesus, he could learn to inherit the life of the Father.
And fear stood in his way. Fear of losing those things he was attached to. Fear of letting go of the life he was grounded in. Maybe fear of losing his position, his social status, and so on as well. All of those things which he depended on for his self-identity and security he would have to let go of and jump off into the unknown with the Teacher.
And it was impossible for him, because he believed it was impossible for him. It was impossible to just let go of everything in his mind and devote himself to Jesus’ teachings and practice. Notice Jesus did not say it was impossible for the wealthy man to enter into the kingdom of God, just insanely difficult. What happens when you try to fit a large thread through a small hole? Only a little bit might get through, but the rest of it will be stopped and prevent even that small bit of thread from getting through. In order to fit something through a hole that small, it has to be shaved down to a size which will fit if the hole itself doesn’t shave it in the process. Those who have a lot of property had to be shaved down in order to actually be a disciple, and the process was incredibly painful.
Jesus did say that deliverance, inheriting eternal life was impossible for human beings on their own, but not for God. Human beings, because of their malfunction, don’t believe letting go of the things they cling to, either positively or negatively, will be beneficial for them. It is impossible to let go because they believe it to be impossible, because they are hardwired by the malfunction to not let go, and they literally require God’s intervention, one way or the other, before that barrier can be crossed. God does understand it. He does not judge it. It is just a fact of our existence which must be overcome while still respecting our free will and freedom to choose with all of the positive and negative consequences which follow our choices.
The wealthy man did have a choice. That choice was made insanely difficult by his wealth, but it was still there. Jesus neither insulted him nor judged him for the choice he made. He just used it as a teachable moment when he left. Jesus never said the door was closed to him once he left either.
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