On Pins and Needles

October 17, 2021




GOSPEL LESSON:　　Mark 10:23–31
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And we agree, ‘Yes, there are rich people who do not believe in God, and besides they probably made their money by breaking all ten of the Commandments. Surely, they will not go to heaven. Oh, there are some good rich Christians who love the Lord and their fellow man, and they will go to heaven.’ And we can probably think of some examples of both the good richi and the bad rich from history and in our modern times. If a person has lots of money, they can do a lot of good, or they can do a lot of evil.

But we cannot condemn other people because in the eyes of the word, we too are rich. We have a place to live and food to eat. And so, Jesus is speaking about us. Whenever we read the Bible, we must realize that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us personally. The Bible often condemns us or warns us. When the disciples heard Jesus say this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?” Can they, the disciples be saved? Can we, the modern-day disciples of Jesus be saved? It is also hard for US to go through the eye of the needle which is the gate to heaven. Just like a camel, it is impossible for any of us to pass through the little eye of a needle. In fact, it is impossible for any person to enter heaven. But Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

This is a very important teaching of the Christian Church. October is Reformation Month, and we remember that at the time of Martin Luther, people realized that it was hard to get to heaven and so they had to work hard or buy indulgences. They feared hell and purgatory. They were on pins and needles about how to pass through the eye of God’s needle to get to heaven. One big theme of the Reformation would be “How to Get to Heaven.” If you were rich, you could buy a lot of indulgences. If you were poor, you could do a lot of good works or say a lot of special prayers. In this way you could build up your credit in heaven. The trouble with all this was first that purgatory is not taught in the Bible, and second that if a person could buy or work their way into heaven, then Jesus would not have needed to die on the cross. It was anti-Christ. But this was the teaching of the church in the Year 1517.

So on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses protesting the sale of indulgences and purgatory, it upset things. If these things were bad, then, the people thought, as the disciples who asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” And Luther’s answer was the same as that of Jesus, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” It is the grace of God which we accept through faith. In Latin, “Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone.” That is the only way we can pass through the needle; it is the work of the grace of God alone.

And what is that work of God? It started when Jesus passed through the impossible gate to come to this earth and be born in Bethlehem. On the cross Jesus took upon himself a burden larger than any camel. Making it impossibly large to pass though the needle eye. The sin of the world, the sadness, the sickness, the riches, the poverty, the anxiety, the fears, all these were nailed to the cross with Jesus. Then Jesus died. Then what was humanly impossible happened. Jesus passed through the narrow door of the tomb in resurrection to open heaven for us.

Which side of the needle are you standing on? The earthly side or the heavenly side? Perhaps we have a foot on both sides. Another Latin phrase that was made popular from the Reformation is “Simul Justus et Pecattor, at the same time both saint and sinner.” A saved sinner, a sinful saint, a person totally trusting on the grace of God, a confession of sin, a confession of faith, trusting God to do the impossible.　

Following Christ, we are both poor and rich at the same time. That is life in the Kingdom of God.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


Sermon Index

マイケル・ニアフッド、牧師
沖縄ルーテル教会


説教のリスト