Hard News

Joseph Winston

October 15, 2006

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
It must be a basic fact of our human nature. We never want to hear bad news.
This truism can be seen in the way we report unsettling messages to others.
The first example of how we try to hide problems can be found in our everyday
language. When we have some troubling information, which must be brought to
another person, we often will break the disturbing news along with something that
seems a little less bitter. We will ask the person, “Do you want the good news or the
bad news first?” Sometimes when we must speak about uncomfortable subjects,
we will speak in euphemisms. Instead of saying that someone going to be sent
to prison, we will say that the individual is headed toward a correctional facility.
And at other times when we are charged with bringing a terrible message, we will
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1
say nothing at all and we will completely avoid the issue.
We act like this because we know how it feels to be on the receiving side. Bad
news hurts.
Today’s Gospel Lesson contains all three examples of how we try to escape
from hearing bad news. We start out today’s reading with with a troubling message
that we do not want delivered. This is followed by a euphemism because we cannot
bear to say what is really happening. The text ends with several cases where we
ignore the bad news that has been given to us.
The difficult message that we do not want to hear is that the Son of God must
die for our sin. Or as described by the author of Mark, Jesus is on the way to
the cross. This message of Christ’s death is so upsetting that the translators have
deliberately obscured this key fact from us. Our reading from the New Revised
Standard Version translated the beginning part of the first sentence as, “He was
setting out on a journey.” In the original language, this text reads, “He was going
forth into the way.”
The word for the way in Greek is ådìc. <Odìc is a key word not only for the
author of Mark but also for the early Christians in general. John the Baptizer’s
message in Mark is “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Mark
1:2). While the disciples are on the way to Jerusalem, they fight over who is the
greatest (Mark 9:33). Every time Jesus prophesies His death on the cross, the
author of Mark tells us that Jesus is on the way to His death. In every one of these
cases, the word used for way is ådìc.
The use of ådìc as a keyword in alerting the listener that Jesus willfully lived

2
and died for us is definitely not limited to Mark. The authors of Matthew, Luke,
and John agree with Matthew because they all say that John the Baptizer’s most
important task is preparing the way for Jesus (Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4; 7:27, John
1:23). Matthew reminds us that Jesus is on the way to the cross (Matthew 20:17).
Luke tells us that the people throw their garments on the ground as Jesus makes
His way to the cross. After Jesus washes His disciples’ feet on Maundy Thursday,
He tells them in John’s account of the Passion narrative that they know the way
that He is going. The title for the early church in the early church in the Acts of
the Apostles is “on the way.” Once again, the Greek word used for way in all of
these examples is ådìc.
The substitution of the word way with journey by translators has hidden all of
these associations from us and it has obscured the fact that Jesus is one the way to
the cross to die for us and our transgressions.
The word euphemism or “good words” comes from two Greek words, eu ,
which means well or good and f mh , which means speaking. Euphemisms de-
velop because they are less offensive than the original word or phrase that they
replace. The most obvious phrase that fits this description is “on the way.” If you
did not know what these group of words referred to, you would ask, “On the way
to what?” As we discussed early, this saying really means that Jesus is on the
way to the cross. Because we find the idea that anyone, much less the Son of God
would have to die for us, absolutely detestable, we have shortened the phrase to
“on the way.”
The best example in this Gospel Lesson of how we do not want to hear bad

3
news is when Jesus tells us three different times that we cannot work our way into
heaven.
The first case of this deafness is when the man comes to Jesus and then asks
Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Because the man knows and has
kept the Law of Moses, we can safely assume that he is an observant Jew. And
because he is a Jew, he is a son of Abraham. As a circumcised child of Abraham,
he is entitled to every promise that God made to Abraham. God’s covenants to
Abraham specifically granted to Abraham’s descendants, land, children, and most
importantly, they will be God’s people forever. It is upon Abraham’s name that he
stakes his claim to inherit eternal life. Quite surprisingly, Jesus tells the man that
being Abraham’s son is not enough. This so shocks the disciples that Jesus tells
all of the Jews, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!”
Today, we still suffer from this same delusion. Some of us think that because
we “go to church” our children and grandchildren will be given the gift of eternal
life. If inheritance does not grant eternal life for an observant Jew then it will not
work for a faithful Christian either.
The second way in which we do not hear Christ’s Words is when we associate
wealth with God’s blessing of eternal life. This happens in two completely differ-
ent ways. The first form is not seen as often today. Because the rich do not have to
work for a living, they have more leasure time on their hands than ordinary people
do. In this free time, the rich can do whatever they want to do. For faithful Jews
or Christians, this time could be spent in prayer or studying the Scriptures.
The second form can be easily found today. Its logic is one of simple cause

4
and effect. The well to do reason: “Since I have money, God loves me. Because
I am loved by God, I will have eternal life.” Jesus tells us that both forms of this
calculus are wrong.
Jesus says, “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.” This teaching by Jesus is
so hard for us to hear that we have deliberately distorted it throughout the years.
Some scholars have argued that the recorded text is defective at this point. Their
assumption is that Jesus really said, “It is easier for a rope to go through the eye
of a needle, than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”2 Other
authorities have taught us that Jesus is referring to a narrow gate in the walls of
Jerusalem called either “Eye of the Needle” or “Camel’s Gate.”3 These people
tell us that because of economic necessity, the camels must come fully loaded to
the city walls. They also remind us that even in those days, the city of Jerusalem
needed to be protected against terrorist attacks. They put two and two together and
say that the camels had to be unloaded before they could pass through the narrow
gates. Both of these guesses are wrong and they are nothing more than blatant
attempts to reduce the impact of Christ’s Word.4 There is no substantial evidence
that Jesus really said rope instead of camel or that such a gate which required the
camels to be unpacked before they could proceed ever existed.
It would only take you a few minutes to find people who would be willing to
tell you that health and money are sure ways of seeing God’s love for you. We have
2
?, .
3
?, .
4
?, .

5
false preachers down the road in Houston saying on their billbords and their web
sites, “Discover your purpose in life.” (Grace Community Church) Or, “Discover
the champion in you.” (Lakewood) While these may be good phrases for a self-
help course, Jesus tells us that they never belong in His church. If possessions and
property cannot buy a faithful Jew’s way into heaven, they will not work for rich
Christians either.
Our final case of hearing loss occurs when we think that being a follower
guarantees us a place in heaven. When Peter tells Jesus that he has left everything,
Peter is simply looking for a reward. Jesus quickly sets Peter straight. He tells
Peter that following Jesus for the sake of adventure is not enough.
Of course, these sort of people can be found in our churches today. They come
to church because they like to follow Christ’s moral teachings. For them, Jesus is
nothing more a good teacher. If following meant that you could go to heaven then
Peter and the other disciples would have been welcomed into eternal life. Jesus
told them no and the same word applies to us.
Woven throughout this discussion of today’s Gospel Lesson, we have heard
how Jesus has flatly rejected anyone who claims eternal life based on either a
birthright, a financial claim, or a role. Each one of these demands on God’s graces
is just a symptom of a much deeper illness that we all share. Our disease is one of
greed. We want what is not rightfully ours. We want to be like god.
This trend that we have seen can be completely generalized. Except for one
notable exception, any time that we make ourselves the subject of a sentence with
God as the object, we are sinning. When we say, I deserve God because of my

6
parents, I demand God because of my money, or I follow God. We have made
ourselves into a god. This is our original sin.
The one isolated example to this rule is when we say, “I have sinned against
God.” This statement of guilt does not transform us into a god but instead moves
us down to the least deserving person in all of creation. When God gives us the
grace to see all that we have done wrong, then we can say with God’s help, one
of the most basic theological questions of all times, “Then who can be saved?”
(Mark 10:26)
At this our lowest point, what we think is bad news actually becomes Good
News. Jesus tells you, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God” (Mark 10:27)
With this promise, Jesus tells us that God does all of the work that is required for
our salvation. We have nothing to do and we have nothing to give. God has done
everything, including dying on the cross for you. Because of this, we have eternal
life.
Humans do not like to hear bad news and we do our best to try and avoid it.
Language is one of our primary tools that we use to isolate ourselves from the
problems of the world.
Jesus reminds us that we are not to worry about making the grade and arriving
in heaven. That problem is God’s and Jesus has already solved it for you.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”5

5
Philippians 4:7.