What Does It Take to Enter the Kingdom of God?

21st Sunday after Pentecost, 10/17/21 Mark 10:17-27 What Does It Take to Enter the Kingdom of God? I. It takes more than our best efforts. II. It takes the gracious power of God. I don’t think any of us is surprised that entrance requirements exist. In so many areas of your life, you have to be qualified to participate. If you are currently a high school junior or senior, and you want to further your education after high school, you’ll be taking the ACT perhaps more than once in the coming months. Most colleges and universities don’t just accept student. You need to be qualified to enter. And that experience follows you into the employment world. When a job is posted, it includes requirements, such as the level of education and a minimum number of years of experience. The employer just doesn’t want anyone to apply. You need to be qualified to enter into that position And that works the other way as well. When you’re seeking the services of a home repairman, an electrician, a plumber, a doctor, or a surgeon, you want to be sure that the person you select is qualified. You want to know what their education, training, and experience are. If you have any doubts, it’s wise to seek someone else. Many of you have spent a good amount of your life meeting the requirements to get where you are today. Perhaps you spent years of study. You have decades of experience. And you kept at it day after day, even though it might not have been particularly enjoyable. In fact, it may have cost you your blood, sweat, and tears. But that’s the way it is in this life. In this morning’s gospel, we hear how Jesus met a man who put in a great deal of effort to get where he was in his personal life. No doubt he had passed at least several entrance exams. But he knew there was still a position in his future that he desperately wanted to attain, and he instinctively knew that Jesus would know how to enter it. He wanted to know what was required for him to enter eternal life. His inquiry is common to any human being who has given any thought to the life beyond this one. Sadly, the vast majority of people arrive at the wrong answer. So, let’s be sure we have the right answer to the most important question anyone can ask. What does it take to enter the kingdom of God? To answer that question, let’s listen to God himself. Let’s listen to what Jesus has to say. Part I. Given the world in which we live, it’s easy for us to think of the names of people we don’t admire. The media are saturated with their names and their stories. But I’d like you to do the opposite. Think of the name of someone you admire, someone who’s virtuous. Think of someone about whom you may have thought, “I’d like to be just like he is or she is.” I’m going to guess that there were Jewish people living at the time of Jesus who thought that way about this man whom Jesus met on this day. Well, why do I think that? One of the reasons is the information that the other gospel writers supply about him in their accounts of this event. Luke informs us that he was a ruler. Ruler where? Over what? Luke doesn’t tell us, but it’s likely that he was the ruler of his local synagogue. If that were the case, he held a prominent and powerful position among his people. You had to have a lot on the ball to become such a ruler. And no matter what type of ruler he was, he had attained it at a relatively young age for a man in Jewish society of that day. Matthew describes him as a young man, and the word he used for him indicates he was between the ages of 24 to 40. His trajectory in life was all positive. In a way he reminds me of the Apostle Paul prior to his conversion. But most impressive of all was that he was a really good person. When Jesus reminded him of several of the commandments and what they required, the man quickly replied, “Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy.” He likely had become a son of the law at age 13 and from that time on, he paid careful attention to what the law of God required of him. He was convinced that he had fulfilled what God required of him. And yet deep down inside he knew that something was missing. And he knew that Jesus would most likely be able to help him find it. That’s why he appeared before Jesus on this day and knelt before him, paying him respect. He asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.” In spite of who he was and how he had lived his life, he lacked the certainty that he had met the requirements to enter life in God’s kingdom. He was convinced he had kept God’s law, but he still had his doubts. He was still missing at least one of the requirements. And Jesus knew what it was. He told him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And his words crushed him like a ton of bricks. Mark informs us, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Jesus had previously quizzed him about the commandments requiring love for his neighbor. And the man was confident of his performance. But now Jesus challenged him regarding his love for God—the very first commandment—and his confidence instantly wilted. The truth was that he was wealthy, and he loved his money and his possessions more than he loved God. He wasn’t qualified to inherit eternal life What does it take to enter the kingdom of God? Well, it takes more than our best efforts. It takes more than our best efforts. But aren’t our efforts worth something? Isn’t our Lord more pleased with us than he is with someone who struggles daily living the Christian life and fails daily? Don’t our best efforts move our God to favor us? Doesn’t a sense of fairness indicate loudly to us that our sacrifices for the kingdom of God—such as the fact that we don’t indulge our sinful desires—at least put us at the front of the line to enter the kingdom of God? In fact, don’t our best efforts qualify us for entrance into the kingdom of God? You know the answer. It’s the same one that Jesus gave the young man. Best efforts don’t qualify us. Only a perfect effort does. And the truth about ourselves is that we haven’t even kept the 1st Commandment. The truth is we chose to love ourselves over our God so often that it feels natural, like it’s the right thing to do. But that’s the power of the sinful nature within us. It screams for us to put ourselves first always and to sacrifice nothing for God. There is only One person whose efforts were prefect, absolutely holy, and that’s your Savior, Jesus. He not only loved his Father perfectly, he also loved his enemies perfectly. And then he offered himself for the sins of all people, and, by his resurrection from the dead, guaranteed eternal life to all who trust in him. That’s what it takes to enter the kingdom of God! Part II. That’s the truth that Jesus drove home with his disciples after the man walked away. He told them, “‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’” Please don’t misunderstand what Jesus said. He didn’t say it’s impossible for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. He said it’s hard. That’s due to two things. The wealthy need nothing. They can purchase whatever they want. They feel little need for the presence of God in their lives. They also tend to make their money their god. Money easily becomes the most important part of their lives. But the rich can enter the kingdom of God. We know from the Bible that people such as Abraham, David, and Joseph of Arimathea were wealthy and yet they were God’s children by faith. But it’s not easy. The disciples were confused. They said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Their reasoning went like this: “If it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, then what about people like us who desire to be rich? Our love for wealth and possessions disqualify us for entrance into God’s kingdom just as theirs does.” And that’s when Jesus assured them, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” It’s impossible for any sinful human being to enter the kingdom of God on his or her own efforts, no matter how pious and gody they may appear. Entrance into the kingdom of God doesn’t require goodness; it requires perfection. And there isn’t a single human being who can claim perfection on their own. That’s impossible. But that’s where the gracious power of God comes in. What we can’t do, he does. Through his word and sacraments, he sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts. By a miracle, the Holy Spirit creates faith in Jesus in our hearts. He brings us into the kingdom of God. We have nothing to do with it. And that’s the way we want it. If our entrance into the kingdom of God depended even in the slightest on our efforts, we could never be certain we had attained it. Our Christian certainty lives in the truth that it’s all God’s doing. What does it take to enter the kingdom of God? It takes the gracious power of God. I’ve spoken with many confused, dejected, unhappy people over the last year or so. I don’t know of anyone who likes the way things are going. So, what can we do about it? Just mope around and hope things eventually get better? Not at all. Instead, find your comfort and your joy in this great truth: By God’s gracious power you have entered the kingdom of God where all is well between you and your God today and forever. Your God has eternal blessings in store for you in his kingdom, blessings that your Savior won for you by his death and resurrection. God’s kingdom is all yours right now. It’s yours by his gracious power. Enjoy it today, tomorrow, forever! Amen.