Wonderous Salvation

It is still January; people are in holiday mode. Mind you for some of us it’s a time when we are busier than ever. So, I thought that I would take a little break from the series on Elijah and share something from my morning Bible reading. Late last year I was reading the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus. It is found in three Gospels: Matthew 19; Mark 10; and Luke 18. Let’s have a look at the account in [P] [Mark 10:17–27 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him (he was eager, it was urgent) and knelt before Him, (he was respectful, worshipful) and asked Him, (he was humble, teachable; he wanted to know, he didn’t think he had all the answers) “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Matthew says “What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” He wanted LIFE! He had everything else! A wealthy man, though young had come to realise there was more to life than his wealth. He was lacking something! He felt an awful lack! Jesus picks up on this concept of doing good) And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, do not defraud, Honour your father and mother.’” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (in Matthew he says: “What am I still lacking?” He knew that what he had done wasn’t enough. He didn’t have LIFE and he knew it. He knew He was lacking!) Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: (he did indeed lack something) go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” (interesting that Jesus equated getting eternal life with entering the Kingdom of God) The disciples were amazed at His words. (Why were they amazed at these words? Because they thought that the wealthy had it all! I mean, money opens doors. There are a lot of things we might like do; but we cannot because we can’t afford it. But if you have money, then there is no obstacle. That is the way the world works. The wealthy have their own way, the rest of us are limited in what we can do. This guy, although he was young, was a ruler; why? Because he was wealthy. The rich rule over the poor. Money gets you ahead, makes things happen.) But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! (not just for the rich this time; but for anyone! In fact it is impossible! Jesus went on to say:)“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.” They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”] The disciples were astounded that it was so difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God (v.24). Jesus said that it was "hard" (v.23). But Jesus went on to give a word picture to hammer home the point. He said: [P] [Mark 10:25 “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.”] That made it sound impossible! A camel going through the eye of a needle?! Now, you may have heard in reference to this verse that there was, in Jerusalem, within one of the large gates entering the city, a smaller gate; known as “the eye of the needle”. [P] If you arrived at the city after the main gate had been closed, you could enter through the little gate. But for a camel to get through it, it had to have all its luggage and saddle taken off and be forced through on its knees. The lesson being that it is hard to enter, [P] requiring humility and a removal of all your possessions and personal baggage. It is an interesting story; the only problem is that is that is a load of rubbish! [P] There was no such door in a gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle”. Apparently, this interpretation dates back to Jerome in the 4th Century AD. His approach to Scripture was to allegorize it. The only trouble with that, is that you can read into Scripture anything you want to. And, being a fine Catholic, he interpreted works, self-effort, self-abnegation; into the passage. But the Bible is not that complicated! I will give you the deep meaning of Scripture: when Jesus said “camel”, He actually meant camel; [P] and when Jesus said “eye of a needle”, He meant the little hole in the top of a literal needle! Here was one of the biggest animals with which they were familiar; and one of the smallest openings they knew. Jesus was not saying that it was hard; He was saying that it was [P] UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE! You can tell from the text itself that this is what Jesus meant; look at the disciples’ response [Mark 10:26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”] They were utterly blown away! If they were amazed before when Jesus said that it was hard; they were even more astonished when He said this. It wasn’t hard, it was impossible! Interestingly, you notice that they equated entering the Kingdom of God with being saved. How do you enter the Kingdom of God? By being saved. How are you saved? By entering the Kingdom of God. They asked “who then can be saved?” Jesus had just made salvation sound not only extremely difficult but IMPOSSIBLE. When Jesus spoke about the camel going through the eye of a needle, at that the disciples were even more astounded! The disciples had not realized how difficult salvation actually is – it is IMPOSSIBLE! Am I reading it correctly or has Jerome got it right? What is Jesus’ response to His disciples?: [P] [Mark 10:27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” ] Jesus didn’t back-pedal and say, “No, that’s not what I meant; I meant that you have to humble yourself.” No, He confirmed their understanding that He was saying that it was impossible. He reiterated: [P] “With man it is IMPOSSIBLE!” What is? Salvation, entering the Kingdom of God! Man cannot do it! It is an impossibility! We too tend to trivialize salvation. But it is a MIRACLE! A DIVINE work! A wondrous and amazing thing! Something that only God can do! Praise and glory to His Name! Praise God that He can do the impossible! [P] The parallel passage in Luke reads: [Luke 18:27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with man are possible with God.”] God does the impossible! Hallelujah! Salvation is something only He can do! [P] [Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongs to יהוה; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.] Salvation belongs to God alone – it is an impossible thing that only He can do: [P] [Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am יהוה, and there is no Saviour besides Me.] There are many today who are eager to see a miracle, to see God act. If God is God, should He not be supernatural, powerful? We should not expect His acts to be ordinary! Does God act today? Do miracles still happen? And so, there are those who flock to see someone’s leg made a centimetre longer, or be bowled over onto their back. It is supernatural, it is a miracle, it is God! But that is tiny! Let me tell you that salvation is a MIRACLE! No man CAN! Only God can save! It is a Divine work, a miracle! Back along we used to sing some corny choruses; you may recall one that went:

“It took a miracle to put the stars in place;

it took a miracle to hang the world in space;

But when He saved my soul;

Cleansed and made me whole;

It took a miracle of love and grace!”

We read of God’s mighty miraculous deeds in the Bible. We hear them at Sunday School. They tell the story of Jonah, and we all know it well. How the reluctant prophet ran away from preaching to Nineveh, the enemy of his people. He ran away to sea. But you can’t outrun God. God sent a storm that threatened to sink the ship he was on. The sailors were terrified and ascertained that Jonah was the cause. He admitted that he was indeed to blame and told them to throw him overboard. He was thrown into the depths of the sea! A tumultuous sea at that! – He was drowning! Today when we think of saving, often the association it with the sea. We talk about life-savers – those who rescue people from drowning. Jonah needed saving! He was drowning! This is what Jonah said: [Jonah 2:2–5 and he said, “I called out of my distress to יהוה, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; (he was dying) You heard my voice. For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. So, I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless, I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ “Water encompassed me to the point of death. (he needed saving!) The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head.] Jonah was in a dire situation! He cried to יהוה and יהוה saved him! It was a miracle – He appointed a fish to swallow Jonah and to spit him out on dry land! It is an amazing story, a miracle, indisputably the hand of God! This is what Jonah said: [Jonah 2:6–9 “You have brought up my life from the pit, O יהוה my God. “While I was fainting away, I remembered יהוה, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols Forsake their loyal commitment, [P] but I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from יהוה.”] We are amazed and thrilled by the story of Jonah, a miraculous salvation. But he was only saved from drowning! We have been saved from a far worse and more terrible fate! Held captive to satan, rebels against God, going our own way and therefore rightly subject to Divine judgement and wrath, under the sentence of eternal torment! We need saving! We were without God, without hope in the world! Who can save us from the consequence of the evil that is within us? Only God can! Salvation belongs to יהוה. Salvation is from יהוה! Hallelujah! Bless His name! At the end, the ultimate salvation, when we are finally rescued from the power of evil and all those opposed to God, who have arraigned themselves unitedly against God. The whole world is set against God and His people, but God delivers, saves His own, out of that and brings them home to Himself. What a cry of praise goes up to God for His wonderful miracle of salvation! [P] [Revelation 7:10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”] Salvation is only from God, it is through the Lamb; Jesus who was slain, bore the penalty that was due to us. At the very end when the evil rule of man is ended, a cry goes up: [P] [Revelation 19:1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;]. Salvation is the provenance of God alone! He alone can save! The disciples were astonished. They thought that salvation was easy, a trivial thing. No, no, no! Jesus confirmed their impression that it was impossible! Indeed, salvation is impossible ... for people. For man it is an impossibility. The only way it can come about is by God who does the impossible, [P] for whom "all things are possible"). Hallelujah! All things are possible for God! Nothing is too difficult for Him! When we appeal to God to save us; we are asking for Him to do the impossible. Something more inconceivable than getting a camel through a needle! But our God does the impossible! Praise His Name! Nothing is impossible for Him! Hallelujah! This is what Jeremiah said: [P] [Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah Lord יהוה! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,] And in reply, this is what יהוה said: [P] [Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am יהוה, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”] When, 100 years old, Abraham and his 90 year old wife hadn’t in all their years of marriage been able to have a child; this is what יהוה said: [P] [Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too difficult for יהוה? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”] What about the impossibility of a virgin giving birth?! When Miriam asked the angel how it would be that she would give birth? Man giving birth to God!!! IMPOSSIBLE! The angel Gabriel replied: [P] [Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”] Praise and glory to His Name! God does the IMPOSSIBLE! And that is our salvation! A miracle! A Divine act! We must never lose our wonder at our salvation. The trouble is that we get used to it, accustomed to it, and trivialize it – we talk about it so much, “are you saved, brother?” "Oh, I was saved when I was three ..." No, "I have been SAVED! WONDER OF WONDERS! A MIRACLE of God! The IMPOSSIBLE has happened!" Stand in awe, otherwise bow on your face! Salvation is an utter impossibility! [P] [Mark 10:27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”] It is something that man just cannot do! No matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, no matter how wealthy; NO MAN CAN redeem, pay the price, purchase the soul of another. Jesus said that it was hard for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God. We think that money opens doors, if you have enough money, then you can do anything you want. The psalmist considered those who were wealthy. [Psalm 49:6–12 The iniquity of my foes surrounds me even those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance of their riches? (there is the wealthy man doing whatever he wants relying on his wealth and oppressing others. But despite all their wealth) [P] No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him—For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever— that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay. (it doesn’t matter if you are wealthy or poor, wise or foolish – the same fate gets us all!) For he sees that even wise men die; the stupid and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. (ultimately, what good was all that wealth that the rich young ruler had?) Their inner thought is that their houses are forever and their dwelling places to all generations; (they delude themselves that they are secure, their wealth is their safety net) They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.) What a depressing picture! We all die! None can escape it. No one can save Himself! BUT GOD! [P] [Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me.] Praise His Name! Praise God all things are possible for Him, that He does the impossible; otherwise we are totally lost and without any hope. Praise God that He is my salvation! The Israelites were delivered from the Egyptian army, passed through the Sea of Reeds on dry land. The classic example of deliverance, of salvation. They were about to be wiped out by Pharaoh and his mighty army; but יהוה saved them. This is what Moses and the Israelites sang: [P] [Exodus 15:2 “יהוה is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will extol Him.] It was not just that incident, it is a principle for YHWH’s people: Isaiah said [P] [Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For יהוה יה is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.”] And the psalmists agreed: [P] [Psalm 18:1–3 “I love You, O יהוה, my strength.” יהוה is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon יהוה, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.] This psalm was given to me at my baptism, so it is precious to me: [P] [Psalm 27:1 יהוה is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? יהוה is the defence of my life; Whom shall I dread?] In Habakkuk they were facing desperate times; things were not going well: the fig trees were not blossoming, there was no fruit on the vines, the olive drop had failed, the field had produced no food, the flocks and cattle were not there! What if all this happened, everything turned to custard? [P] [Habakkuk 3:18–19 Yet I will exult in יהוה, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.]. We should be praising God for the absolute wonder, the miracle, the great and marvellous Divine work of our salvation [P] [Psalm 40:16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, “יהוה be magnified!”]