You might have thought that Jesus would make it easy for people to become His disciples. He did! Those who obeyed His commands (fishermen to leave their nets, lame people to get up and walk, and sinners to repent) found immediate access to His kingdom (Luke 23:39-43). The difficulty about entering the Kingdom is not of God's making because He wants everybody to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); it is the resistance of people's hearts against obeying Jesus. The rich young man in this narrative (Mark 10:17-23) had been told to sell everything, and give the money away. But he refused and walked away - because his heart was hard against Jesus (even though he was enthusiastic for religion!).
That religious man would have been taught that riches were a sign of God's blessing - a foretaste of the Kingdom (Proverbs 10:22). But that sign was so corrupted by the man's sinful and acquisitive nature that it became a barrier against obeying the Word of God (1 Timothy 6:10). The man had made his possessions his god and they were in charge - that was why they could not be sacrificed. And so, the command of Jesus fell on deaf ears. The call of human ambition and self-satisfaction reflect the voice of the unholy world. It so easily drowns out the Word of God. 1 John 2:16-17 says, "For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives for ever."
The disciples were hungry for fame and fortune too (Mark 9:33-34) and could not understand how possessions could be a spiritual handicap. Jesus wanted them, as the future leaders of the church, to see how the apparent power and security of money would drive people away from security in God (Acts 8:18-23). He further amazed them by the ludicrous word cartoon of a camel trying to get through the eye of a sewing needle. Impossible, they thought. 'Who can be saved', the disciples asked, 'if rich, moral, religious people find it so difficult?' No! Not impossible, said Jesus ... if God is involved and in charge. Those who will listen to Him and respond in obedience will be glad. Otherwise their sadness will extend to eternal grief.
Jesus cannot be a bolt-on extra to a self-serving lifestyle. He has the right to be your God because He is God! So, He has the right to command according to His wisdom, and expect obedience. Refusal to submit (and its eternal consequences) is our problem and not His. However, the Lord is more than willing to help those who are willing to let Him. Our task is to tell the truth about how to inherit eternal life, and pray that the Lord will give them the desire to be obedient to the truth (1 Peter 1:13-16).
