GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:30
Catch-22
Joseph Heller published the novel Catch-22, in which a pilot can be grounded only if he is mentally unfit; however, he must request to be grounded because he is mentally unfit. If he recognizes that he is mentally unfit, he is therefore sane, and if he is sane, he must keep flying dangerous missions.
In another scenario, a pilot asks to be relieved of duty because he was mentally unstable. The physician approved his request and told him to go down the hall to the third door, then walk down that hall to the fourth door. The pilot took his form, walked down the hall to the third door, then down that hall to the fourth door, walked through that door into the ready room—if he could follow those directions, he was mentally ready to fly.
One must read Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man who came to him seeking eternal life carefully, for it contains a subtle dilemma. The young man was morally upright and held a responsible social position. “Well and good,” Jesus said, “now dispose of everything that anchors you to this world, and come follow me.” Startled and amazed, the young man walked away. It is harder for one tied to this world to seek eternal life than to push a camel through the eye of a needle, Jesus taught. One disciple, hearing this, said they left everything to follow him, to which: “Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or fields because of me and because of the gospel, if he does not also receive a hundredfold, now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming age, life eternal.’” (Mark 10:29-30) Here seems to be the catch: if one reads verse 30 without seriously considering verse 29, one is unworthy of verse 30. Even if one receives a hundredfold more, one must still be willing to leave it in order to be a disciple—to have eternal life.
Jesus also added “with persecutions” to his list of discipleship acquisitions. If one focuses on the “hundredfold” without considering the “persecutions,” one misreads this lesson. In the final analysis, Jesus was a teacher of light and blessing, for he ended this lesson with “and in the coming age, life eternal.”
Previous
Next
Directory