At first glance it appears as if the
scene where Jesus blesses the little children has nothing to do with the second
scene of Jesus talking to the rich man about eternal life. But the two are very deeply connected.
Commentator Pheme Perkins notes this:
“Modern readers find it difficult to avoid romanticizing the ideal
of a child. They typically look at some
characteristic of children, like innocence or dependence or acceptance, as the
meaning of ‘become like a child.’
However, ancient societies lacked such romantic notions of childhood….
“The child in antiquity was radically
dependent upon the pater familias. The father decided whether the child would
even be accepted into the family.
Children belonged to their father and remained subject to his authority
even as adults. The saying ‘to receive
the kingdom like a child,’ …refers to the radical dependence of the child on
the father for any status, inheritance, or, in families where children might be
abandoned, for life itself. It warns the
disciples that they are radically dependent upon God’s grace.” (New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume
8, Pg. 647)
Jesus means
nothing about naiveté or innocence when Jesus talks about receiving the kingdom
as a child. He is talking about
dependence upon the Father – God; depending on God for any status or
inheritance or life itself.
Return your
thoughts to the story of Adam and Eve.
What is at the root of their sin, the eating of the forbidden
fruit? It is their desire to define
themselves apart from God. Their action
was an act of rejecting God as Father. A
child has nothing to do with age. It has
everything to do with who defines you.
Now let’s look at
the story of the rich man. He comes to
Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That’s contract language… What must I do to inherit eternal life. That’s
the kind of conversation you’d have at a business meeting. He’s trying to figure out how to make a deal
with God. He treats salvation with
legalism.
You’ll remember
from previous weeks that Mark wants us to know that God loves us, and God loves
us abundantly and radically. That we can
depend upon. However we can never think
that love means that we can limit God, predict God or manipulate God. You simply can’t.
But behind this
rich man’s words we discover that he wants to.
He’s followed all the rules. Jesus
says to him, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness’ You
shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’”
You can almost
feel the warmth rising in his heart and the smile spreading across his face as
he jubilantly says, “Teacher, I have kept all these… from my youth!” He’s ready to walk away with that good
feeling you have when you’ve done a truly good deed, and while you don’t feel
smug about yourself, you feel happy and content. This guy’s got it. He works hard. He’s a good guy. People like him for his virtues. And now he knows God will reward him for his
goodness.
And then Jesus
keeps talking, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
The man is
crushed. His whole life of virtue has
just been pulled out from under his feet.
We learn that he has many possessions.
He is probably a generous guy. He
knows the pleasure of helping out someone less fortunate.
He can’t bear the
shame of being needy himself and being on the receiving end of charity.
His possessions
and money give him status. They give him
safety. If there’s suddenly a famine or
economic catastrophe, that’s okay. He
can pull some from savings and weather the trouble.
He loses that
earthly safety if he sells it all and follows Jesus.
He can walk down
the street with his head held erect.
He’s a solid dependable person.
People know him. He’s
respected. He’s responsible. People turn to him for advice about how to be
successful because he is a model of success.
Giving it all up
and following Jesus is going to mean that people are going to look down on
him. They’ll think he had a nervous
breakdown or became a religious freak.
People will whisper behind his back.
He’ll go from the model of success that he is to falling to the bottom
of society.
He walks away
grieving because he can’t do it.
Subconsciously he
wants eternal life on his terms, which are the terms of earthly honor and
status. He wants to be a good guy as he
and others define a good guy, not how God really thinks.
The disciples are
just as shocked as this man is. They say
to one another, “Then who can be saved?”
In their opinion rich people were rich people because God liked
them. Poor people were poor people
because God didn’t like them.
Perhaps that’s
too cut and dried. They certainly had
the idea that God loved the poor and the orphan and the widow. They knew God would be with those who suffer
innocently. That was part of their
Jewish faith. But they had the same
subtle belief that still exists today.
Good, hard working, clean cut people are to be emulated. They’ve got it together. People like them. Therefore God must like them too.
That doesn’t mean
that God can’t love dirty, drug-addicted, lazy people, but they are more of a
burden to society, so of what value are they?
If they want to be noticed and worthwhile then they’ve got to get their
act together.
From the
disciples perspective, if even the good, clean cut hard working people can’t
enter the kingdom of God, then who can?
Jesus says the
key thing, and it is impossible to overstate its importance. “For mortals it is impossible.”
Can you get to
heaven? Can you have eternal life? I have bad news for you. You can’t do it. It’s impossible. You’re helpless. You’re powerless. You’re trapped. You’re lost.
If you hope in yourself or your possessions or your goodness or your
reputation you’re hoping in vain.
Jesus goes on,
“For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are
possible.” When it comes to salvation or
eternal life or going to heaven we’re all hoping for the impossible. Because that’s the only hope we have.
Notice Jesus said
to the disciples, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!” He calls them children. And we go back to the previous scene where
Jesus says, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will never
enter it.”
To be a child is
to be subject to the pater familias, be subject to the Father. The Father alone gives us worth. The Father alone gives us safety. The Father alone gives us an inheritance. It is the Father’s power alone that can save
us. Returning to Pheme Perkins thoughts
again, she says we are radically dependent upon God’s grace. We cannot set the conditions for entering the
kingdom.
The rich man
wanted power and order in his salvation.
He wasn’t willing to become needy.
He wasn’t willing to become a child again. He wanted to be the pater familias, not be
radically dependent on God.
It is a challenge
for us who are often so successful at being successful. We know how to look to ourselves to meet our
needs. We can provide for our own food
and shelter and comfort and entertainment.
We feel that our reputations rest in our own hands, in our own efforts. It is difficult to imagine giving all that
up. And it is just as difficult to
imagine being a child that is needy and dependent. It is difficult to imagine being a beggar
before God just like every other person, but it is true.
It is not all bad
news. In fact there is quite good
news. Jesus promises abundance for those
who do come to trust in God: needs being met, friendships, acceptance and
worth. These are all part of God’s
kingdom on earth. So may we be able to
trust God. We have to. It is our only hope for the impossible. And blessings will come with it too.
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