The Way Of Eternal Life

Mark 10:17-34 KJV
(17)  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
(18)  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
(19)  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
(20)  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
(21)  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
(22)  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
(23)  And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
(24)  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
(25)  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
(26)  And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
(27)  And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
(28)  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
(29)  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
(30)  But he shall receive an 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.
(31)  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
(32)  And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
(33)  Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
(34)  And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

This lesson is about the way of eternal life. The way of eternal life is about taking up your cross and following Jesus. A man came to Jesus and asked what must I do to inherit eternal life, only for Jesus to quote the laws of God to him. The man then replies I have kept the laws of God. Many people do keep the laws of God because they value a good life hear on earth. Yet good works will not get you into heaven. Jesus tells the man go and sell all you have and give to the poor and you will be rich in the kingdom of heaven, and then follow me. Only way one is rich by giving up what they have is when they die, they can not take their possession with them to inherit heaven. Jesus says we must take up our cross and follow him. The sad truth is no one truly gives all up to follow Jesus. Yet there must of been some thing or someone in this man's life that he was not willing to give up for Jesus. Whether it was some thing, someone, or sin no one knows. This portion of scripture is before Jesus death on the cross, so what would the cross meant to the crowd before Christ own death on the cross. To pick up your cross would mean to pick up you own burdens, and follow Jesus. Take responsibility for yourself. Take responsibility for your sin.

When a person confess their sins, they are taking responsibility for their mistakes. When they ask Jesus to forgive them, it is allowing Christ to put their burdens on his cross and bury them with His death. God taking responsibility for our imperfections because of how he made us. Christ being the sacrifice for sin. When we follow Jesus we are willing to sacrifice ourselves not on a physical cross, but be willing to admit our mistakes to God and taking on the burden of saying it is my fault, that Jesus had to die for my sins. Part of giving up all we have for Jesus does not mean we loose it all, it has to do with being willing to give it up for Jesus, if he has need of what you have. It has to be willing to sacrifice for the sake of the ministry. The possessions of the Hebrew people as they left Egypt was great, but on the road Aaron and Moses asked for gold to be used in the tabernacle. In fact they asked for all gold rings and earrings. All was taken for the purpose of the building of the tabernacle.

Today if a church asked for all your possessions would you give it. Most of us would think the church was crazy. No one minds giving out of what they have. I think that Jesus point to his disciples of the fact no one gives all they have to the poor. Instead most give out of what they do have and keep what they at least need to live or like themselves. The rich man likes and loves many things because of his wealth and so it hard for him to give up all the things he has for God. The expression it is easier for camel to go through an eye of a needle. then for a rich man to enter heaven is only speaking of how difficult it is for the rich because of their desires of their heart to serve themselves and their family with the wealth of there hands and not to trust God for their wealth. The proverb is taken from the culture of the day, and is consider both arabic and Jewish. Jews had a gate that was called eye that camel would go down on their knees to crawl through. Another interpretation claims that the camel was a thick cord that would have to be unraveled to go through a needle eye. Yet the similiars to Arabic proverb gives the same meaning of the difficulty in something would have to be done. Jesus spoke both arabic and Hebrew of his day. No doubt as he spoke to cross cultures of his day, the proverbs of his time would have more meaning to some then others. It is much like when we watch a tv show and say I'll be back, only those that watch the Terminator movies know I speaking of the terminator's return. Yet with scripture whether we know the exact meaning of the proverb we do not know that a rich man has great difficulty following Jesus. He only sees what his hands can do and not the power of what God can do. In truth you do not have to be rich to fail to see the power of God and His ability to make eternal life available through the cross of Jesus. Your works will never repay the debt you owe to God, nor will your works buy entrance into heaven. It is only by the power of God we come before His presence at his judgment seat that sentences each of us to life eternal in heaven or hell. It is only through the power of Christ that any of us can and will be saved. For He is our intercessor before the throne of God, to all that believe and follow after Him. God provides salvation for mankind, mankind can not do it for themselves.