Mark 10 - Then Who Can Be Saved?

February 22nd, 2026 “The Who Can Be Saved?” Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 10:17-31

Today we continue our deep dive into the gospel of Mark. Last week Jesus began to tell his disciples that the path of the Messiah looked different then they imagined. He told them that he would suffer and die, and that if they were to be his followers then they needed to be willing to suffer and die as well. Today Jesus continues to turn the ideas of God’s blessing on their heads.

As they travel along a rich man approaches Jesus. He has been faithful all his life, following the commandments and seeking after God. Jesus can see that he is a pious man and looking at him, he loves him. And so, Jesus offers for the man to join the movement. “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man leaves crestfallen. Surely, he longed to join the movement, but he is unable to pay such a high price to do so.

The disciples are astonished at this. Just like us, they assumed that to be rich is to be blessed by God. Jesus teaches them just the opposite. In fact, to be rich is a hindrance to the life of discipleship. “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.”

The disciples don’t know what to make of such an astounding teaching. It is totally contrary to their understanding of the world. “Then who can be saved?” they ask. Jesus replies, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

The disciples still don’t get it. Peter speaks up asking for clarification. “We left everything to follow you. We are going to get rewards for that right?” Jesus’ reply leaves a lot to be desired. “Sure, you will get back 100-fold in this life, but it will all come with persecutions. For the first will be last and the last will be first.” Once again, following Jesus doesn’t look like what the disciples thought it would be. Mark’s Messiah continues to astound and challenge his followers.

This is as hard a message for us today as it was for the early disciples. Give everything away? That’s an impossible ask! No one could possibly do that, could they? For years the church, itself wealthy, has tried to soften this message. In the 9th century the story began to circulate that there was a gate in Jerusalem called the needle and if a camel was too loaded with possessions, it couldn’t get though. See, people would say, you just give some of your stuff away and you can do it.

Unfortunately for us, that’s totally made up and not what Jesus meant at all. Jesus meant a literal camel and a literal needle and there is no way that is going to happen. Jesus meant what he said, “it is impossible for a rich person to enter heaven!”

Why? Because you can’t place your trust in God if you are still trusting in your earthly resources. I know a lot of folks think the church only talks about money when its stewardship time, so here is a money sermon not tied to your giving to the church.

All of us here today are rich. While we might be of varying incomes in the American economic system, when looked at from a global viewpoint our wealth is staggering. Compared to the majority of the world’s population, our wealth is beyond imagination.

And it’s not hard to see how much our possessions control us. If any of you have had to clean out the home of a loved one after they have moved into a care facility or passed away, then you know what I’m talking about. We have so much stuff and we have such a hard time letting go of it. It reminds me of that cartoon of a father and son standing outside a garage stuffed with boxes. “Someday son, all of this will be yours.” Man, do we have a lot of stuff.

All those possessions have a special power to hinder Christian discipleship. All those possessions are signs of where we trust in the world to save us instead of trusting in God. We build these little caves and fill them with treasure and hide there from the world, looking at everything we have that makes us feel important and special. But those things don’t really keep me safe, and they don’t make me important or special. In fact, they do just the opposite. All my stuff is a barrier between my heart and God.

Jesus looks at the rich man, the pious man, who has followed all the commandments and lived a good life, and he loves him. He calls him to join the movement. To place his trust in God alone and to give up his trust in earthly treasures.

Jesus knows that a disciple cannot be a rich person with all the accompanying complex socioeconomic ties and relationships. Right before this reading, Jesus teaches that a disciple must be like a child. They are called to set aside all elements that confer status and power over others, and enter into a relationship with God, utterly dependent on God’s mercy and care. This is all part of that same conversation about denying yourself and taking up your cross. This is meant to be shocking, and it still is today.

To be rich in our world is a contradiction to the gospel. The gospel is about conversion, a change of heart. We are called to move from trusting in ourselves and the world, to trusting in God. We are called to care about the people around us and to share everything that we have with others. Once again, living a life of faith is more about what we do than what we think. We find here again today that it’s one thing to say you believe in Jesus and something else entirely to take action and live into that faith.

I would wager that today many of us would go away grieving like the rich man. We have too many things and we are too wrapped up in a culture that tells us we can’t live without those things. We might feed the homeless on Tuesday, but we don’t want to be homeless. Like Peter we want to find another answer. “We’ve been faithful, what about us? Really Jesus. Then who can be saved?”

Jesus reminds us that we cannot save ourselves and that the world will not save us either. On our own we can do nothing. But with God all things are possible. With God a camel can go through the eye of a needle. With God a rich man can give away everything he has and follow Jesus. With God we too can be saved.

Today I am not going to tell you to give all your stuff and your money to the poor. I probably should, it’s the right message, but I endeavor never to ask anything of you that I am not willing to do myself. But today I do invite you to consider the role of wealth in your life.

Low hanging fruit in this conversation is all your stuff. Go home and imagine that you are dead. How much of that clutter would you like your loved ones to have to deal with? I mean seriously, no one needs a storage unit. Go through your books, your clothes, your knick-knacks. Can things be sold and the money given away? Can things simply be given away or the clothes donated? Cleaning out your closet can be a meaningful Lenten discipline. If you haven’t touched that thing or worn that outfit in over a year, it might be time to pass it on to someone else.

And if you have money, then think about that too. How can you use the resources God has given you for the most good? How can you share what you have with others who are in need? What can you do to be a blessing to someone else today?

My friends, as we continue our journey into Lent, Jesus continues to offer us challenging lessons. Today we face the truth that our wealth, our money and possessions, are a barrier to Christ. If we want to welcome Jesus into our lives, then we are going to need to clear all this other stuff out of the way first. Amen.