We have no need that any man teach us. We have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and He desires to teach us. We have a great privilege to address you, and we have good news; so our feet are beautiful, and we’re thankful.
Let me give this verse, and then we’ll go to prayer, and then we’ll look in the Word together. 1 John 1:3 says:
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us:
yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
As Tom and I got together before the Lord, and as we had many wonderful hours seeking His face, what we’ve seen and heard we proclaim to you. And here’s the reason that we proclaim it: that you may have fellowship with us. And the “us” is not this—I hope we have this too—but that you might have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father.
So what we share is with the hope, with the prayer, with the desire, that we enter into that rich, intimate union with our God. So, with that in mind, let’s commit our time to the Lord.
Our heavenly Father, thank You so much for the privilege we have. And once again now, as we open Your Word and trust Your Holy Spirit, we know that everyone who is taught of God comes to Christ. And so we know when we’re taught of God: when it leads to our Lord Jesus.
We pray this afternoon that You would take us once again to the Lord Jesus. We thank You for every part of the Word of God, and in a special way for the Gospel of Mark this weekend. We ask You to work in our hearts everything You have inspired these precious stories to mean.
And we pray that even now You would begin, and then continue, to conform us to Your vision. We ask and claim it in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
Well, in case I missed somebody, I want to begin by saying: the Lord delights in you. And He delights in you because He delights in His Son, and you’re in His Son. And so He delights in you.
As you know, this weekend we’re focusing on the six times that special Greek word is used in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus looked around. He gazed. He scrutinized. He slowly penetrated. And with every look that He gave, He raised up a truth that was so precious to His heart.
We’re trying to focus, as God assists us, on the times that our Lord Jesus looked. Now, five times He looked, and one time the disciples looked.
We all pray that we would have the mind of Christ. To have the mind of Christ is to think like He thinks, to have His Word. Our natural mind is not the mind of Christ. And when God shows us what He has said, and we agree, then we have the mind of Christ.
But this weekend we’re not looking so much at the mind of Christ, though there’s overlapping, but at the vision of our Lord Jesus Christ. I not only want to be conformed to everything He said; we also want to be conformed to what He saw. And that’s our focus this weekend.
So far in our discussion, we’ve looked at three of the five things that caught our Lord’s attention.
In the first story, the healing of the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day, Mark 3:5 says:
And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand.
And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.
And so we see the thing that angered our Lord and, at the same time, grieved His heart so much. There were some who had a distorted view of His great Sabbath day, of His great rest. And He looked around, and because they had that distorted view, that caught His attention. He focused on that.
Then the stories around it, as you know, show how He tried to rescue—He did rescue—His Sabbath: what it really means, that it was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
The story that illustrates His vision of rest is Jesus walking with His disciples in the grainfields, satisfying their hunger and setting a table before them in the presence of their enemies. And He was defending them.
That, brothers, is what He saw, and that’s what we’re praying that we see. We want to see what rest is. The Christian life—we’ve made it too complicated. The Christian life is not complicated. The Christian life is strolling with Jesus in the grainfields, in a finished work, letting Him feed us, satisfy us, meet all of our needs, and defend us against legalism in all of its subtle forms.
So may He give us that vision.
And then Tom took us through the second and third objects that filled the vision of the Lord in Mark 3:31-35. We’re not going to read it, but he shed light on relationship: “Who is My mother? Who is My brother?”
That look came in Mark 3:34:
And looking round on them that sat round about Him, He saith, Behold, My mother and My brethren!
For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.
As His focus defined rest in that first glance, His focus defined relationship in that second glance. Mark 3:35 says:
For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.
Tom took us to John 16:33, the last verse in that chapter, and he showed us the Overcomer. He showed us the stronger than the strong, the One who has overcome the enemy.
He showed us in 1 John that all that’s in the world—the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life—all that’s in the world is set over against the will of God. And in John 16:33, our Lord Jesus said:
Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
All that’s in the world, all those looks: “I have overcome the world.” And when Tom put it together, he showed us that our Lord Jesus has overcome everything that stands between you and the will of God.
He’s overcome everything that stands between me and the will of God. And so, what is relationship? By His vision, it’s trusting in the Overcomer, who has overcome everything. So now I am free to do the will of God—overcomers through the Overcomer.
And then Tom took us through the third story. Again, I won’t read it; it’s on your sheet. Mark 5:30-34 tells of the woman who reached out and touched the hem of the garment.
Once again, in His focus: “Who touched Me?” And He looked around and found the woman. That little touch.
Tom called our attention to this: as he defined rest as walking with Jesus in the grainfield, and as our Lord Jesus defined relationship as trusting the Overcomer who makes us able to do the will of God, now what is faith?
He defines faith: faith is touching a sensitive Saviour. The smallest touch. Sometimes we get discouraged because our faith is so weak, so imperfect, so small, so feeble. He feels it. He touches it. He’s sensitive.
And so that is what faith is. That’s what filled His vision so far. He looked at rest. He looked at relationship. He looked at faith. And that brings us this afternoon to His fourth gaze.
Once again, He looked around. He scanned. He scrutinized. He saw rest and brought it up. He said, “That’s precious to Me. I want you to see that rest.” So, relationship; He saw faith; and now He sees something else.
I’m going to ask you to turn—this is not on the sheet—but I’d like some brother, if he would, who can read loudly so we all get it, to read the text. I’d like to actually get the text before us. It’s Mark 10:17-31.
Thank you.
And as He was going forth into the way, there ran one to Him, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? None is good save one, even God.
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother.
And he said unto Him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth.
And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.
But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions.
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it to enter into the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
And they were astonished exceedingly, saying unto Him, Then who can be saved?
Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee.
Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for My sake, and for the gospel’s sake,
but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
Thank you, Tommy.
To get this story before our hearts and to focus on what our Lord Jesus saw, I want to make a broad observation just to begin. It’s sort of a correction—not in the way it’s written, of course; that doesn’t need correcting—but in the way it’s often studied.
This particular story is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It’s in Matthew 19, Luke 18, as well as Mark 10. It is often referred to as the story of the rich young ruler.
It certainly is a story of the rich young ruler, and his story actually is told with tragic brevity. It’s a very sad story. But if all we see, when we read these precious verses, is the poor rich man—if that’s all we see—we’re going to miss the heart of the Lord.
I like to say this passage contains the story of the rich young ruler, but it’s not addressed to him. It’s not addressed to him—not primarily so.
Here, as in many other places, our Lord Jesus is dealing with His disciples. He’s training His children. He’s dealing with His disciples. And, as you know from your study of the Bible and your own life, sometimes His disciples can be rather dull and rather slow to take in the truth.
The rich young ruler in this section is an illustration. It’s not the point. It’s not the subject; it’s the illustration. He’s an example of a tremendous truth. He’s an object lesson.
Now, I don’t want you to misunderstand me. I don’t want you to get me wrong. God is dealing with him too. He loves this man. In fact, Mark 10:21 says:
And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.
When God uses His people as object lessons, it’s not that He’s detached. He’s not just going to use you as a show-and-tell, or me as a show-and-tell. He will use us as illustrations, but He can do more than one thing at a time. And so He’s dealing with this man; there’s no question about that.
But in a bigger way, He’s dealing with His disciples, because they need to see what He’s about to focus on. And so we call this little series “Conformed to His Vision.” We want to see what He saw. We want to see it the way He saw it.
We need to see that this is a story containing the rich young ruler, but it’s not about him.
He looked at the rich man. Look in Mark 10:21: “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.” He looked at him, but that’s not the word that we’re looking at—that Greek word.
The word that we’re looking for is in verse 23:
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
See, He’s looking around with that look, but He’s now addressing His disciples. Finally, it comes to a climax in verse 27:
Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
That look is directed at the disciples. Because this rich young ruler walked away, Jesus said, “It’s hard for a rich person to enter,” and they were amazed. Then He looked at them and said, “It’s not only hard; it’s impossible. With God all things are possible, but not with men.”
So that’s the first observation I want you to see: the story is really about Jesus teaching His disciples.
Now, the way I’m going to present this—and it’s not inspired; you can look at it another way—this is just the way I think it’s easiest to get it across. As I studied this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I saw three great contrasts.
It’s not as though I’ll show you the contrast and then we’ll get to the point, because the contrasts are the point. I want to show you how He contrasts this with this. They’re different. They’re opposites.
Then He says, “All right, set that aside. Now look at this, and this. That’s different.” Finally, He gives the how. He says, “Look at this and look at this. How can I get from here to here?” That’s what this story is about.
I pray God will guide us as we look at those three great contrasts. At the same time, as we look at the contrasts, by His grace I’m going to try to weave in that which leads up to His great look.
The first contrast is better illustrated by the story in the context that comes right before it. Mark 10:15-16 says:
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.
And He took them up in His arms, and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.
In all of the records, this story comes just before the rich young ruler. It’s the record of parents—women—bringing their children to the Lord Jesus, the disciples resisting that, and Jesus being indignant with the disciples because they resisted that.
The expression in verses 15 and 16—“whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all”—links it to the next story.
You’ve got to be like a child to enter the kingdom. Then, in Mark 10:23, in the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples:
How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
So you’ve got little children entering the kingdom of God. How hard for somebody like this to enter the kingdom of God, because he is not like this. That relationship links them together.
Mark 10:25 says:
It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
You’re not going to understand this story, and I’m not going to understand this story, unless I see that He’s connecting it to how to enter the kingdom of God.
In verse 17, He talks about inheriting eternal life. In verse 21, treasure in heaven. In verse 26, “Who can be saved?” In verse 29, “for My sake and the gospel’s sake.” In verse 30, “in the age to come eternal life.” He’s talking about spiritual things.
On one side, you have a child in his mother’s arms, and He says, “That’s how to get into the kingdom.” On the other side, you’ve got a rich young ruler, and He says, “It’s hard for them to get into the kingdom.” In fact, it’s impossible for them to get into the kingdom. That’s the contrast.
Now, we know that this rich young ruler had a lack. Mark 10:21 says, “One thing thou lackest.” As far as this world is concerned, on the level of earth, it looked as though he had everything.
He was rich. He was young. He had authority. That’s pretty much what the world wants to give you: wealth, youth to enjoy it, and authority.
Mark 10:22 says:
But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions.
That’s the first contrast: a child in his mother’s arms, entering the kingdom as a model; a rich young ruler, for whom it is hard—indeed, impossible.
Before I show you the second contrast, I want to show you how the first contrast is more powerful than it seems on the surface. I want to take the child’s side and home in on that. Unless you’re like this, you’re not getting in. Unless I’m like this, I’m not getting in.
What is this? What is “like that”?
Many have misunderstood the words of our Lord Jesus and interpreted them by saying, “Unless you have the disposition of a little child, you can’t enter the kingdom of God.”
You say, “Well, what does it mean to have the disposition of a little child?”
When I read through the balance of Scripture, I see many warnings against having the disposition of a child. For example, they say that in order to enter the kingdom of God, you’ve got to have a disposition like a child. You’ve got to have faith like a child—don’t believe anything.
Listen to Ephesians 4:14-15:
That we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who is the head, even Christ.
Understand, brothers, what our Lord is saying. You’re not getting in unless you’re like a child, but don’t believe like a child.
You say, “Well, what does it mean then?” Someone says, “Well, a child is simple. A child is naïve.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 says:
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men.
God says you’ve got to be like a child. Just make sure you don’t believe like they believe. You’ve got to be like a child; just make sure you’re not simple and naïve like they’re simple and naïve.
Well, maybe we should behave like little children. Is that what He meant? You’ve got to be like that—behave like a little child.
Matthew 11:16-17 says:
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows
and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn.
Children are fickle. They’re discontent. They’re not satisfied. But unless you’re like a child, you can’t get in.
Just don’t believe like that. You’ve got to be like a child; just don’t be simple and naïve like a child. You’ve got to be like a child, but don’t think like that. What’s He talking about?
The key is a word that’s used in Luke’s account of the same story. Luke 18:15 says:
And they brought unto Him also their babes, that He should touch them: but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
The word that Luke uses and some translations render “babes” is infants. I don’t know if you’re familiar with B. B. Warfield, the Presbyterian theologian. He was president of Princeton before they went down the drain. Anyway, he said that Greek word means “infant of days”—a newborn baby.
How young were the children? At least that child that Jesus took in His arms and blessed, and said, “To that one belongs the kingdom of God.”
What’s his disposition? You say, “He had faith.” He’s too young to have faith. You say, “Well, he was humble.” He can’t be humble or proud. He’s too young to be humble or proud.
You say, “He’s simple. He’s naïve.” He’s too young to have a disposition. He can’t behave, good or bad. He can’t have a disposition.
Our Lord Jesus was saying, unless you become like this—not have the disposition of a child, but have the condition of a child.
What is the condition of a baby days old?
Helpless dependence. Total dependence. That’s what He was contrasting. Here is a baby, totally dependent. Leave that child alone for hours, and he’ll die without somebody helping him.
Jesus said, on this side you have a child—not his disposition, but his condition: helpless dependence. And on the other side, a rich young ruler who is absolutely self-sufficient in every way.
You’ve got to see that contrast if you’re going to understand what our Lord Jesus is teaching.
All right, I’m going to set that aside and ask you to hold that. I want to show you the second contrast that our Lord Jesus gives in this story.
Not only do you have, on one side, a helpless baby days old over against a self-sufficient rich young ruler, but the second contrast is between what the Bible says he possessed—and if you look, the Bible actually says he owned. But we know, at best, we’re stewards. So in that sense he didn’t own it.
On one side is the physical. Mark 10:22 says:
But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions.
Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man. He’s a rich man. Luke 18:23 says he was extremely rich—a very rich man.
I pointed out earlier that to have wealth, youth, and authority all at the same time, you’re pretty much on the way to the millennium. That’s what this world is offering.
Now, there’s an expression—and I’m taking it out of context, so all of you hermeneuts have a little mercy on me here. It’s in 1 Corinthians 15. I know in this chapter he is contrasting this present life with life after death. I know that. But the way he words it, I think, is a great illustration of this contrast.
So I’m going to just steal his words. 1 Corinthians 15:46-49 says:
Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
From that passage, I just want to pick up that expression in verse 46: that which is spiritual is not first, but natural. On this side, you have natural; on this side, you have spiritual. On this side, you have earthy; on this side, you have heavenly.
You see the contrast that I’m making. I’m contrasting the physical with the spiritual. And just like the babe is contrasted with the rich young ruler, now all of his possessions are contrasted with heavenly wealth.
Jesus said, “But you don’t have heavenly wealth. All of that earthy is not this—the spiritual, the heavenly.”
Matthew 19:20 says:
The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I observed: what lack I yet?
You see, it’s not only that Jesus said, “You lack one thing.” This guy knew he was lacking. “I’m rich. I’m young. I have authority. What am I lacking?”
And I’ll tell you, rich young ruler, what you’re lacking: you’re lacking this. You’re lacking the other side. You’re lacking that which is spiritual.
Now, when our Lord Jesus was talking in this record, He is speaking in proverbs. He is not speaking literally. The rich young ruler took everything He said literally, and the disciples took what He said literally. But He wasn’t speaking literally.
In Mark 10:17, the question is, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Eternal life is spiritual.
In Mark 10:21, Jesus speaks about treasure in heaven. Treasure in heaven—you’ll have it. And He’s not talking about only when you die; you can have it now.
In Mark 10:23, Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard will it be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is a spiritual concept. It’s what Jesus told Nicodemus: in order to have it, you’ve got to be born again. It’s a spiritual thing.
The disciples then say, “Who then can be saved?” Getting saved—that’s spiritual. You see, He’s talking about spiritual things.
Mark 10:29-30 says:
Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for My sake, and for the gospel’s sake,
but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
That has to be spiritual. It can’t be literal. You can’t have a hundred mothers; I can’t have a hundred mothers. He’s speaking spiritually.
So this contrast: this is the temporal, and on this side is the eternal. In the balance of Scripture, these are things that are seen; these are things that are not seen. This is physical; this is spiritual. This is external; this is internal. This is the world; this is the kingdom of God, the will of God.
These are things that are beneath; these are heavenly things. This is the present; this is the future. These are things that are shakable; these are things that are not shakable. This is under the sun, the things that vex, the vanity. On the other side are things that are eternal in the heavenlies.
And so that’s the second contrast: the earthy and the heavenly.
One clear example that shows Jesus wasn’t speaking literally is when He said in verse 21, “One thing you lack. Go, sell all you possess. Give to the poor. You’ll have treasure in heaven. Come, follow Me.”
Let’s say He did mean that literally. Then listen to 1 Corinthians 13:3:
And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
If it were just literal, if that’s what he had to do to get treasure in heaven, then 1 Corinthians 13 wouldn’t be true.
So there are two worlds. On one side, there is that condition of a helplessly dependent babe; on the other side, a rich young ruler. And he’s asking, “How can I get here? How can I inherit eternal life?”
On one side you’ve got the heavenly things, and on the other side, the earth.
Before I look at the third contrast, let me give you a transition between the second and the third. You might get the idea that the only way I can get the spiritual is to dump the physical. That’s what it looks like.
When you read a verse like Matthew 6:19-21:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.
Then verse 24:
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
It looks like if I’m ever going to have the spiritual, I’ve got to dump the physical.
Mark 10:21 says, “One thing you lack. Go sell everything you have; give it to the poor.”
Don’t answer this, because you’ll steal my thunder. I want to answer it. Don’t answer this: is that what God is saying? If I’m going to have the spiritual, I’ve got to surrender the physical?
Is it possible to have both? Can I do what the disciples did? They gave everything away—they gave their boats and their nets—and then a couple chapters later they’re fishing in their boats and nets. Did they give it away, or didn’t they give it away?
Is He saying, “Don’t hold it like this, because then, if I want it, I might have to do this, and that could hurt. Hold it like this. And if I ever say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ then it can go”?
Can I possess both? Can I live in time and realize eternity at the same time?
When we look at many of the Bible saints, it looks like they were so detached from this world. Saints today—it’s a little different today. Unless someone is on their deathbed, they hardly ever think about eternity.
Or unless some preacher gets up and mentions the shortness of life, and the vanity and vexation of this world, then they start to think about it for a little bit. Or if their life gets so screwed up that they just want to get out, then they think about it.
But when you look at the New Testament, when you see Paul with his new eyes and his new value system, and he looks back, he says, “That’s all done.” What happened?
He seems to be living in the world, but at the same time there is something else. They talked about themselves as citizens of heaven. They knew that all things were working together to conform them to the image of the Lord Jesus.
They knew that what was going on in their life wasn’t worthy to be compared to what was coming. They seemed to live realizing eternity. They claimed to be living in the heavenlies with the Lord Jesus.
When people came in and stole their stuff, it says they accepted joyfully the spoiling of their possessions. What’s going on? They’re living in time, but they’re realizing eternity.
They called themselves pilgrims, aliens, and strangers. They said, “We live here, but we’re ambassadors from another country, and we’re representing that other country, that other kingdom.”
Bible saints seemed to have entered in more than the modern Christian. If they didn’t embrace the full measure of spiritual living, clearly the Bible teaches that they laid hold of the foretaste.
They had the foretaste, and to them the foretaste was not a blessing; it was not a thing. It was a Person.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says:
Now He that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God;
who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
And 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 says:
For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life.
Now He that wrought us for this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
In Romans 8, you get the same idea. To them, the foretaste—the indwelling life of God, the Holy Spirit—was a foretaste of everything that is to come. They were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
The foretaste was a Person. It was the precious Holy Spirit.
All right, let’s get back. There’s the contrast: this helpless babe, this rich young ruler, this beautiful kingdom, the wealth of heaven, all the spiritual life. On the other side, there’s this world that’s fading away, that’s passing away.
The rich young ruler has a question. “I live here.” I think he’s saying, “I want both. I live here. How do I get that? How do I get over to that side—that spiritual world?”
Let me give you the third contrast. This is the most important, because it ties into the look. It ties into the gaze. This is what captured our Lord Jesus.
What the Bible says is that when they began to hear it, they were astounded. When He finally revealed it, they were even more astonished. What did He see that took their breath away? What did He see that made them know, that astounded them? That’s what we want to see.
Mark 10:17 says:
And as He was going forth into the way, there ran one to Him, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
On one side, you have works. This man is saying, “What shall I do?” Immediately, Jesus took him to the absolute.
In verse 18, Jesus said:
Why callest thou Me good? None is good save one, even God.
God is absolutely good. The best you can do is be relatively good. But in order to have the spiritual, you have to be absolutely good, and only One is good. So let’s settle that right at the beginning.
Now, as far as relatively good, when I read the record, I don’t see him going out getting drunk, carousing, chasing skirts. I don’t see that. I think he was relatively good.
I give him an A on the level of earth. He ran to Jesus—that’s good. He fell down at His feet—that’s good. He knew that Christ had the answer—that’s good. He knew he was lacking something—I think that’s good.
As far as the letter of the law was concerned, he didn’t understand the spirit, but as far as the letter, he said, “I’ve been doing that. I’ve been keeping the commandments.”
But what he lacked, what he was seeking, what left a hole in his life, what sent him away sad and grieving because he didn’t get it, required absolute good—not relative good.
So on one side, you have works. When he walked away sad, Jesus said to the disciples in verse 23:
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
That amazed them. Look at verse 24:
And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it to enter into the kingdom of God!
Then we come to the heart of the story. May God help us here: the gaze, the look, the focus, the vision that our Lord Jesus had.
Mark 10:23 says:
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
The thing that made them so amazed was that it was believed at that time—and they believed it—that prosperity was a sign of blessing. God blesses people, and that he was young and rich and so on, that was a blessing.
When Jesus said, “How hard for him to get in,” then the disciples said, “Then who can be saved?” If You’re not going to let those who are blessed in, that was their confusion.
But that look of Jesus and the comment that followed brought them from amazement to verse 26, even more amazement.
On one side: works. Mark 10:25 says:
It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
I’m not going to take your time this afternoon to debunk the idea of the hole in the wall, the needle’s eye. Perhaps you’ve read about that. That makes it difficult, but not impossible. And He’s dealing with impossibility.
Mark 10:27 says:
Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
You know, we read that, la la la. Here’s the contrast, the third contrast: with man, it’s impossible; with God, all things are possible.
How am I going to get from this world to the spiritual world?
Here’s the stunning answer. We think it’s not; we don’t enter in. With man, it’s impossible to get from here to there—absolutely impossible.
The camel has to pass through the eye of the needle. That’s a sewing needle. That’s the eye of a needle, where they made tents. It’s a sewing needle.
That look that Jesus had, and the announcement that He made, absolutely blew them away. They were stunned. They were amazed—absolutely amazed. They were dumbfounded. They were speechless after that. They were subdued.
It’s a truth that stunned them. And if God gives us a revelation, it’ll stun us too.
It’s hard to believe what I’m about to tell you, but this is the truth: in order to get from this world to the spiritual world requires a mighty miracle of God.
Apart from that miracle, there is no path. There’s no path.
You say, “Well, I want to be helplessly dependent on the Lord. I want to be like that little babe—not trying to have the disposition of a child, but to have the condition of a child. I want to be helpless.”
That takes a miracle. You can’t be helpless. You say, “Well, I’m going to really, this time, trust the Lord. I’m going to be helpless.” With man, it’s impossible. It is impossible.
To learn by revelation that the camel has to pass through the eye of the needle. You know, brothers, we all long to be spiritual. We want to live in the heavenlies. We want to enter in. We want to abide in the Lord Jesus and walk in the Spirit.
We want to be detached from this world and its influences, its pleasures, its vanity, and its vexations.
There are not two ways. There’s only one way.
Jesus’ look and His comment brought that way to light: the shocking truth. It’s absolutely impossible, at any moment, for me to trust the Lord unless He does a miracle.
Every time I trust Him, the camel passes through the eye of the needle. Any time you trust the Lord, it’s because God has enabled the camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
Every time He doesn’t work that miracle, you’re going to walk away sad and depressed, like that rich man did.
We don’t believe that our whole Christian life is maintained by a continual miracle. We don’t enter into that. But that’s exactly what He’s saying. We need that miracle.
The truth, if God dawns it on us—that this vision, if we’re conformed to it—will deliver us from two great snares.
Number one, it’ll deliver us from thinking, “This time, I’m not going to be proud. I’m going to be humble.” Yeah, good luck with that, brothers. It’s not going to work.
You want to be helplessly dependent? You can’t make yourself like a baby days old. I can’t work that up. I can’t just say, “All right, I’m going to be humble this time.”
For Jesus to take me in His arms and bless me, I’ve got to have that condition. That condition is a mighty miracle of God. The camel has got to pass through the eye of the needle if I will trust Him for one minute.
It delivers me from that foolishness of thinking that I can be humble. “Humble yourself”—you’ve got to get that in context. What does that mean? It certainly doesn’t mean that you go out and try to be humble.
The second thing that it delivers us from is the snare of thinking that I will be spiritual the more I surrender. “If I give this up, if I give that up, if I sell this, give it to the poor”—that’s not making you spiritual. It’s probably making you proud.
If you’re surrendering and surrendering and surrendering, surrendering is a great enemy of union with Christ—wrongly understood. There’s a right way, but the way a lot of Christians look at surrender, it’s nothing more than a baptized work.
They’re just trying to work. “I’m going to surrender. I’m going to give this up. I’m going to give that up.” Brothers, may God help us to see this.
You say, “I’m not going to trust my job. I’m not going to trust my own wisdom. I’m not going to trust my resources. I’m not going to trust the advice of my friends.”
You need a miracle not to do that. I need a miracle not to do that.
This rich man becomes the extreme illustration. He couldn’t. He could not leave what he had. Of course, he had a lot. But that applies to the poor too. Their lust to have is as bad as his lust to keep. It’s the same thing.
I need a moment-by-moment miracle. You need a moment-by-moment miracle.
You know, a lot of these things we hear sound so spiritual: “Let go, let God.” It don’t work. It doesn’t work. You can’t let it go.
You need Jesus to pick you up in His arms, like the little baby that you are.
You know, the only time you’re going to trust the Lord is when you must. You always must. You’re only going to trust the Lord when you have to, but we always have to.
We need to recognize that we are as helpless as an infant days old. When we are brought to Jesus in that condition, He takes us up in His arms and He blesses us.
Then we can live in time and realize eternity. We have the foretaste of His indwelling life. We have Him.
That’s the vision that Jesus saw: with men, it’s impossible; with God, all things are possible. The only way to get from one world to the other world—to be a spiritual brother, a spiritual man, a spiritual husband—is to trust God to work a miracle in your heart.
Well, I tell you, that was shocking for them, because I know it took a miracle to get saved. But I thought, now that He did that miracle, do I actually need a miracle every time I trust the Lord?
Isn’t He just calling me to trust Him day by day, moment by moment? He’s calling you to let Him do a miracle day by day.
If your life is not the camel passing through the eye of a needle every moment, you’re missing out on the Christian life. That’s what the Christian life is: one continual miracle.
There’s only one Person on the planet who has ever lived a Christian life, and His name is Jesus. And He’s the only One who can live it again—in you, in me, in us.
He desires to live it. It’s His life. That’s the foretaste. It’s His life. That is what spirituality is: having His life and living by a miracle.
Enough of this foolishness that I’m going to be more humble in the days ahead. You can’t. Enough of this: the more I surrender, the more spiritual I become. You can’t let it go. You can’t. You can’t let it go.
Surrender is allowing the Lord Jesus to work His miracle.
May He give us the vision that He had of rest. Just, brothers, you come up here this weekend. You’re here for a weekend. Would you get it? May God help us get it.
Stroll with Jesus in the grainfields. Let Him provide all your needs. Don’t miss it.
Relationship: trust the Overcomer who has already overcome everything between you and the will of God. That’s how easy it is.
You say, “Oh, but I have such little faith.” Touch Him, touch Him. He’s sensitive. He’ll feel your faith. These things are precious to Him.
And now, surrender. What is surrender? It’s not letting go of this and letting go of that. It’s allowing the Lord Jesus to pick you up in His arms and bless you like a little baby.
When He blesses you in your helpless dependence, you can live in time and realize eternity.
May God help us to see things as He saw them. May He conform us to His vision. Let’s pray together.
Father, thank You so much for Your Word, and once again, all that You’ve inspired it to mean. Deliver us from self-sufficiency and independence, and from thinking we can survive one lonely moment without a miracle of God.
Thank You that You live in our lives to continually work that miracle. We know it was begun by a miracle, and we know now it is sustained and continued by Your precious working.
Teach us what it means: with man, it’s impossible; but with God, all things are possible. Work it in us, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.