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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