The Lutheran Hour

"Getting Saved"

#71-08
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on November 2, 2003
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: Mark 10:17-27

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The open tomb is the Father’s victory proclamation that through faith in His risen Son, we have inherited eternal life. This truth of God’s grace, given to all who believe, is their assurance that Jesus has done all that is necessary for believers to enter the kingdom of God.

It was a number of years ago that three military recruiters showed up at a high school for Career Day. The time allotted to the three men, one from the Army, one from the Navy, and one from the Marines was 45 minutes. Each was supposed to have 15 minutes to make the case for his branch of the service. I say, “supposed to have” because the Army and Navy men got carried away. Both used more than their 15 minutes, and thereby, cut considerably into the time which had been allotted for the Marine recruiter’s presentation. As he approached the microphone, the principal leaned forward and told him, “You only have two minutes.”

The Marine nodded, and began his presentation. This is what he said: “It is my opinion, having looked over the students in this school, that there are, maybe, two or three of you who could make it in the Marine Corps. If you think you are one of them, I want to see you in the hallway after this meeting.” With that, he did a sharp turn, and sat down in his chair, ramrod straight. Need I tell you that the Marine was mobbed in the hallway by a mass of students who thought they were among the elite who could cut it in the Marines?

The ending to that story is not surprising to you, is it? No doubt, you guessed how it would turn out before I gave the final line. A story like that is supposed to turn out with a happy ending, and maybe it does for an excellent organization like the Marines. But there was no happy ending the day when Jesus was approached by a new recruit, a rich, young ruler. It had been an interesting day for the Savior. He had been approached by some of His critics with a theological question about the propriety of marriage and divorce. Rather than splitting legal hairs with them, the Savior shared with them God’s simple plan for a man and a woman to live together in complete concord. In so doing, Jesus gave a quote that has been used at almost every Christian wedding: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

But the day had just started. Soon the Savior was swamped by mothers who wanted to have the respected Rabbi bless their children. Jesus’ disciples, acting as self-appointed bodyguards, tried to block the tide of maternal pride. Even as Jesus reached out to pick up these, the youngest of His followers, He spoke a quotable directive for Christian congregations in all centuries: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.” That’s two profound quotes in sixteen verses. Not bad for a day’s work. But there is one quote yet to come.

Jesus is just starting to walk down the road when He is approached by another questioner, and what a questioner. This questioner has so much good going for him, any parish and pastor would love to recruit him for membership. I know, I know, everybody who joins the church is supposed to be equal, and that’s true. But sometimes, at least in the myopic eyes of humans, some recruits are just a little more equal than others. Look at this guy. He’s enthusiastic. He doesn’t come sauntering up to Jesus. He doesn’t come strolling. He comes running. He has to get to Jesus. He doesn’t want to waste any time. Then there’s the fact that this man has the right attitude. He doesn’t come to Jesus like he’s doing the Savior a favor. No, indeed. This man kneels down in front of Jesus. That is the respectful thing for anyone to do. We are all lowly sinners; He is the Savior. We need to treat the Lord with respect.

Yes, this young man is something special. He certainly isn’t a flighty fellow. He asks Jesus a very spiritual question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” While the rest of the folks in his crowd were probably debating what beer to buy, this young man was searching for answers to the important questions of life. There are so many good things about this guy. He is upstanding. He has been keeping the commandments since he was a little fellow. And then, of course, he was wealthy. Money isn’t everything, but given a choice between having rich parishioners or poor ones, I can tell you which way most pastors would pray. Of course there was the fact that this man was young. And then there’s the final fact: he is a respected member of the community.

I said every pastor and parish would like to have such a man join them. Let’s take it farther. I don’t know if this guy was tall, dark and single, but if he were, he would complete most parents’ picture of the perfect son-in-law. Almost every father and mother I know, who have an eligible, unmarried daughter would rush to invite this guy over for dinner. Excuse me – I’m wandering; forget about the matchmaking fathers and mothers. Let’s get back to the story.

The rich, young ruler comes to Jesus and asks, “How can I be saved?” The disciples don’t say a word; they’d been shut down already that day. But you can almost hear them thinking, “Please, Jesus, please don’t let this recruit get away.” Matthew, the ex- tax collector and social untouchable, thinks, “His reputation can’t hurt us.” Judas, the holder of the money, is calculating how much he can steal from him. Peter, James, John, all of the others are thinking, “We won’t have to sleep in the open anymore. We won’t have to grind grain in our hands when we’re hungry. This guy’s bank account is the ticket to easy street. Besides which, he’s young. He can do some of the hard work.” I don’t know if that’s what they thought, because Scripture is silent, but it is what many people would think. “Jesus, don’t let this recruit get away.”

Jesus begins the dialogue by reminding the young man that God alone is good enough to set the criterion for salvation. The Savior doesn’t go into any details about the fact that He is the sinless Son of God. He doesn’t share that His entire life, His coming death and subsequent resurrection are all God’s gracious plan to free sinners from Satan and give repentant believers an eternity in heaven. Although the young man may not know it, he is standing before Jesus Who is the only Way to eternal life. (John 14:6) The rich young ruler is questioning the Savior of the world Who is humanity’s only Escape from death; our only Hope for heaven. To the ruler’s query about eternity, Jesus says, “You know what to do. Obey the commandments.” The man’s reply is basically, “Yeah, OK, I’ve done that. What next?” He just made his first mistake.

His was a mistake that many people still make. You see, in all probability, the man was thinking, “Compared to everybody else, I have been good.” And quite likely, he was. Compared to a revolting Roman warrior, or a greedy tax collector, he was good – maybe very good. He hadn’t lipped off to his parents. He hadn’t gone around swearing or bad mouthing other people. He was a good guy, a very good guy. So good that many parents who had an eligible daughter might … oh, sorry.

Jesus, listening to the man’s answer, pulls up short. He looks at the man, closely. Now I know that look. You probably do too. It’s the look your mother gave when you said, “I don’t know who tracked in the mud” and you were the only person in the house. It’s the kind of look a policeman gives when you tell him, “I didn’t know I was speeding, officer.” It’s the kind of look you get when you’ve said something so outrageous, so outlandish, that the person to whom you’re speaking almost has to laugh. Or they have to love you. That’s what Jesus did. The text says, Jesus, “loved him.”

Jesus loved the man because he didn’t get it. The man, like so many others who think they’re “pretty good,” didn’t realize that his life was not ultimately going to be evaluated in a comparison with everybody else. If that were the case, he might have done pretty well. So might you. No, his life was going to be judged by the all-perfect God. Just for the record, yours will be, too. God doesn’t care if you don’t murder like the Washington snipers. He doesn’t care that you don’t run a strippers’ bar, or sell drugs to schoolchildren. No, he measures your perfection by His. When that happens, nobody, not you, not me, not the rich young man, not anybody, comes off looking that good. “All have sinned,” Scripture tells us, “and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

In spite of his silliness, Jesus loved that man. In spite of ours, Jesus loves us too. While we were yet sinners, Jesus in love, came to live for us, suffer for us, die for us, and rise for us. (Romans 5:8) Jesus came to carry our sins, to conquer our corruption, to die our death. He took our place, and because He has, everybody who believes on Him is saved. That goes for the rich, young ruler. It goes for you, too. If you have, for any reason, been thinking that you, all on your own, are OK without Jesus, think again. If you have been living your life confident that you will escape the final judgment because of your excellent lifestyle, you’re wrong. Only by faith in Jesus’ grace can you be saved. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation. You cannot be saved by your works. You cannot boast about how good you are. Only by grace is God’s kingdom yours. (Ephesians 2:8)

That’s what that rich, young ruler should have known. That’s what Jesus was trying to tell the man when He said, if that’s the case, “you’re lacking only one thing. Go, get rid of everything you have, give it to the poor, and then, in poverty, follow Me.” The disciple Mark, recording the event said, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad.” Going away. That was his second mistake. He wasn’t the only one who would have been sad at the parting. The disciples would have been sad. If I had been a parent, trying to marry off an eligible daughter, I would have been … sorry.

The saddest one there, that day, would have been Jesus. He would have been sad because the young man was lost. God had wanted that rich young ruler, and the recruit had shut the door.

Explaining to His disciples what had just happened, Jesus gave His third memorable quote of the day: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.” Now, I know that some Bible scholars try to explain that line by saying, there was a small gate in Jerusalem and for a camel to go through that gate, he had to do so on his knees, and without anything on his back. In the many times I’ve been to Jerusalem, I’ve never seen that gate. I think Jesus was trying to say, “it’s so tough for rich people to enter heaven, that it just isn’t going to happen.” Not on their own, anyway.

Did I hear you breathe a collective sigh of relief out there? Do you feel relieved because you’re not one of the rich? Do you remember that look we talked about a few minutes ago? That look you get when you’ve said something so outrageous and outlandish as to make a person smile, or love you. Well, those of you who have been thinking you’re safe because you’re poor; I’ve just given you that look. Why? Because you’re not poor.

And you say, “Oh, yes I am.” And I say, “Oh, no you’re not.” Look, forget about the rich young ruler. Let’s take a look at Tiberius. Tiberius was the reigning Roman emperor at the time our story took place. Tiberius was a rich guy. Let’s compare you with him. Do you have air conditioning? Tiberius didn’t. He had slaves that fanned him, and fanning’s not the same thing. Do you have ice cream? Tiberius didn’t. The best Rome’s emperor could do was have runners bring snow down from the mountains. Do you have penicillin and a host of miracle drugs? Tiberius didn’t? How about a car, a television, a telephone?

Are you rich? Folks you have no idea. Here’s an idea of how accustomed people in our society are to their riches. These are suggestion cards given to the staff at a wilderness park. Suggestion 1 – The trails need to be rebuilt. Please avoid building trails that go uphill. 2 – There are too many bugs, spiders and spider webs. Please spray the area to get rid of these pests. 3 – Please pave the trails. Chair lifts need to be installed in some places so that visitors can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them. 4 – The coyotes make too much noise and kept people awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals. 5 – Escalators would help on steep uphill sections. 6 – A McDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead. 7 – There are too many rocks in the mountains. Folks, any country that can come up with such suggestions is rich.

Which is why I’m talking to you rich people. No, I’m not asking you for money. I’m encouraging you to avoid making the same mistake as the rich, young ruler. I’m encouraging you, today, to place your faith in Jesus. Set aside anything; everything that is separating you from Him, stopping you from following Him. He has come to you today. He wants to forgive you. He wants to save you. He wants to love you. Do not, with a sad face walk away. Do not turn from heaven and keep walking toward hell. Jesus loves you. He has died to save you. Today, He is recruiting you. He wants you to repent, believe, be saved. Amen.

Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for November 2, 2003
with Dr. Jeff Gibbs

ANNOUNCER: On this All Saints’ Day, the Church remembers those who have gone before us. I’m Mark Eischer and my guest today is Dr. Jeff Gibbs, of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Dr. Gibbs, today’s question is: what happens to the soul, prior to the resurrection of the body? And, does the answer have anything to do with clouds and harps?

GIBBS: A lot of that is just pure speculation to tell you the truth, at least for those who believe what scripture says about things. So often, as a pastor, when I was asked the question, “Well, Pastor, can my grandmother, of course they mean the soul of my grandmother, can she see this, what’s it like, etc. etc.” And the answer is almost always “we don’t know” because Holy Scripture does teach, quite clearly, that when a Christian dies, his or her soul goes to a blessed existence, and here are the phrases: “with Christ”; “in paradise”; “in the bosom of Abraham.” You know, there are a few clear passages like this, and so that’s what we do teach – that there is a blessing, a rest, a peaceful existence for the soul, separated from the body. But other than that, it doesn’t say much. The Bible, especially the New Testament, points us chiefly to the day of Christ’s return.

ANNOUNCER: And this other thing that you’re talking about, this blessed existence in the presence of Christ – that’s really kind of a temporary state until the return of Christ in judgment?

GIBBS: Exactly. Our German forefathers in the Lutheran faith, called it the “between condition.” That’s the name – “zwischensustand.” So it’s between the death of your body, which again remember, is still not what God desires. Death is not a good thing; although, yes, especially if there’s physical suffering and the deterioration caused by disease, in that sense we can say that death is a good thing, because it means the end of suffering – physical suffering. But God does not want us to die. And so this blessed rest of the believer, the soul of the believer, about which we actually don’t know too much, is called in our theologians – the between condition, which by its very name, means that it’s not the big prize, if you will.

ANNOUNCER: There’s something more to come.

GIBBS: Something much, much more – that’s right.

ANNOUNCER: How is the resurrection of the body different from the notion of reincarnation?

GIBBS: That would be a radically different thought. Let’s see, how would I compare those two? Reincarnation views history and our existence as a kind of an over and over again, a cycle – you know, you just repeat – and there, at least in the classic eastern religions, once again the goal is to escape; the goal is to stop being reincarnated. So along with all of the other error that’s associated with that view, it’s essentially a view that does not treasure the creation. It does not treasure the body; you’re stuck in another body because you didn’t measure up good enough.

ANNOUNCER: Another body that will eventually also die?

GIBBS: Exactly, and the goal is to get away from the body, where as for believers, the goal is not to get out of the creation, but for God to come down – this is our God, isn’t it – He comes down, He came down to save His people Israel, He came down in the Person of Jesus, He comes down to us in Holy Baptism, He comes down to us in the Word and the Supper of the Eucharist, and He will one day come down again, and again save us, not just soul, but body and soul together.

ANNOUNCER: We’ve been talking with Dr. Jeff Gibbs of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. If you have questions or comments about today’s program, call us at 1-800-876-9880; that’s 1-800-876-9880. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.