He Makes the Impossible Possible

The Ninth sunday after pentecost (vogel/jones installation)

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Mark 10:17-27

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

He had poured his heart and soul into the project his boss assigned him.  He sacrificed time with his family, to the point that his relationship with his wife had become quite strained, and his children would hardly catch a glimpse of him over the course of each week.  Long and late hours at the office had become the norm.  He had done his research.  He had consulted experts in various fields.  He had received positive feedback from others throughout the duration of the project.  As the deadline approached, he was on track to have everything completed and ready to present.

But when the moment of truth arrived, he was dealt a horrible blow: his boss rejected it.  Impressive as it might have been to others, it was missing a certain element that the boss had determined was too crucial, too essential to be without.  He was asked to scrap the whole thing and start again, approaching the project from another angle.  He was absolutely crushed.  He was convinced he had put together something pretty special, something that would knock his boss’s socks off.  He didn’t think it was merely “good enough”; he thought it was above and beyond what was expected.  He was devastated.

So it was with the young man who visited Jesus.  He thought he had all his ducks in a row.  He had made great effort to carry out what he thought was necessary for eternal life.  He had researched, he had studied, he had lived as he thought he should live.  Now it was just a matter of seeking approval.  He was fairly confident, but in the event that he had missed or overlooked something, he wanted to approach a respected rabbi just to be sure. 

It must have initially been refreshing to hear the “to-do” list Jesus gave the man, a list which he was (overly) confident he had kept carefully ever since he was a young boy.  He assured Jesus, “all these I have kept since I was a boy” (v.20).  And then he got hit by a freight truck with Jesus at the wheel when Jesus 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” (v.21).  He was crushed.  He was devastated.  He thought he had put together the perfect project of a righteous life, only to find out it was a failure, a bust.  Knowing what a tall order it was that Jesus had just given him, to go and sell it all and give it away, the man went away dejected.

Equally shocked were the disciples, who, after hearing Jesus say how hard it was for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, must have thought to themselves, “if this guy, who has led a virtually flawless life can’t get in, then what hope do we have?”  After all, the implication of Jesus’ words, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (v.23), was that the young man didn’t cut it; he wouldn’t get into heaven the ways things currently stood.  They were shocked.  They were astonished.

Jesus gave them hope. He said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (v.27).  Our Sky VBS theme said it this way: “Everything is possible with God.”  Last week the words gave confidence to all the VBS children that they could trust God.  Each day of the week that theme was underscored in a different way: no matter who you are… no matter how you feel… no matter what people do… no matter what happens… no matter where you are, trust God.  We emphasized that we can trust God because he keeps his promises, just as he did in sending Jesus.  “Everything is possible with God.”  Those words also undoubtedly brought peace to Jesus’ disciples.  They were worried about their salvation, about their eternal life.  It had been brought into question and they weren’t so certain they were able to be saved.  Jesus calmed their nerves by reminding them that God Makes the Impossible Possible.

“Everything is possible with God.”  Those words bring no small amount of comfort and hope to Christians.  But they also pose a potential danger if taken out of context or if the emphasis is misplaced.  Misused, they can become relegated to nothing more than the Christian’s lucky charm.  A person can emphasize the “everything” and draw the conclusion that the sky’s the limit, so long as a person is a Christian.  He can do anything, because God can do anything.  You want to be a successful businessman?  It doesn’t matter if you have no business acumen whatsoever, because “everything is possible with God.”  You want to get into a prestigious university?  It doesn’t matter if you aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed, because “everything is possible with God.”  You want to play in the NBA?  It doesn’t matter if you can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, because “everything is possible with God.”

Then what happens when the business fails, the university application is rejected, and you’re cut from the high school basketball team?  One of two things: the conclusion is drawn that you must not have trusted God enough, because after all, everything is possible with God.  If you conclude you didn’t trust enough, then you end up spiraling into despair and lamenting that you’re such a weak Christian.  You may even begin to wonder if you deserve to be called a Christian at all.  With that conclusion, Satan has successfully shifted the Christian’s focus from the cross onto self.  The other conclusion that may be drawn is this: you conclude that it’s God’s fault, and he is supposed to take the fall for your failure, as if he needs to answer to you when this or that doesn’t pan out.

Those being installed, this promise can even be misused in the classroom.  A teacher who expects a student with C gifts to be getting A’s, even though he’s trying as hard as he can, may be emphasizing “everything is possible with God” in the wrong way.  A teacher who skips classroom preparation because “God can get it done either way” is not trusting, but testing, and is abusing these words of comfort.

But the grossest misuse of this promise of God is to misuse them in the realm of salvation. Some apply these words to salvation, but rob them of any comfort, reasoning that all God has done is made salvation possible, but that it is still necessary for us to do our part to make it certain.  “Yes” they agree, “Jesus has made it possible to acquire life eternal, but we still have to do the work.  To make sure we’re saved, we must live rightly in obedience to God, in order to make it through the door into heaven that Jesus opened for us.” Such an understanding cheapens grace, nullifies the cross, and makes a joke of Jesus.  What could be more offensive to God than that?

No, to rightly understand these words is to let them remain in the proper context.  Jesus was speaking with the young man about his salvation.  When the disciples had drawn the conclusion that it was impossible for anyone to be saved, Jesus spoke these words to emphasize that God makes the impossible possible.  Even when it seemed to the disciples that the young man’s situation was hopeless, that their situation was hopeless, and that yes, all people’s situations were hopeless, Jesus told them that nothing was impossible with God.  And the focus of that statement needs to be and remain on the God part, not the “everything” part.  Yes, God can do all things, but Jesus’ point was that God can do salvation.  God makes the impossible possible.

Who would know that better than Jesus, who himself would be the means by which God made salvation possible?  For the rich man, salvation seemed impossible because he couldn’t let go of his wealth and replace that love with a love for God above all. But God made the impossible possible.  Jesus looked at man – and this is no small detail that Mark shares – “and loved him” (v.21).  God loved man enough to pull the impossible.  He sent a Savior.  Everything is possible with God.  Death has been swallowed up and rendered powerless.  Everything is possible with God.  We are no longer slaves to sin and Satan.  Everything is possible with God.  Forgiven in Christ, we have an inheritance in heaven that awaits us, one that it would be impossible for us ever to attain on our own.  Everything is possible with God.

The story is told of a poor woman who looked longingly at the beautiful flowers in the king’s garden.  Her daughter was sick, and she hoped to buy some of the flowers for her.  The king’s gardener refused, rather rudely informing her that the king’s flowers were most certainly not for sale.  At that same moment, the king himself came by, plucked a bouquet of flowers and gave them to the woman.  “It is true” he said, “that the king does not sell his flowers; but he does give them away.”  So, too, our Great King does not sell eternal life.  He gives it.   If it were for sale we would be helpless to purchase it.  But since he gives it freely, by faith we can receive it.  Were it up to us, salvation would have been impossible, but God makes the impossible possible.  He makes eternal life a reality for all who believe. 

Our congregation exists to proclaim that very message.  Our school is one of the ways we communicate it.  Tim and Mary, as you are installed to teach at Shepherd of the Hills, you have been called to teach about the gracious God who made the impossible possible.  You have the joyful privilege not just of educating young minds, but of transforming hearts and lives as Jesus and his salvation shines brightly in everything you teach.  Yes, you will prepare young people academically.  You will prepare them socially.  But more than anything, you will prepare them spiritually.  It’s why we exist, and there’s nothing more important, in our world today as much as ever, than Jesus and the gift of eternal life he offers to all.  May God richly bless you as you faithfully teach Jesus, through whom God makes the impossible possible. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)