Steeplechase is a track and field Olympic event that most people have probably never even heard of. A 3000-meter, long distance, hurdling track event that has four hurdles and a fifth hurdle directly in front of a water pit on the track. Over the course of the 3000m race, if you do the math, runners must clear 28 hurdles and 7 water jumps—four hurdles and one water jump per lap. So you can imagine how much more difficult the hurdles and water jump become with each passing lap as the lactic acid builds in your leg muscles and fatigue sets in.

Everyone loves a train wreck—everyone loves to see people crash horribly and lose when it comes to sports, so spectators grab their popcorn and flock to the water pit to get the best seat in the house in hopes of seeing a runner crash miserably into the water pit—and they’re rarely disappointed. It happens all the time—YouTube it next time you’re having a bad day for a good laugh.

The water pit is 12 ft long and located at the end of the track on the last turn before the home stretch—and it has a barrier—a hurdle in front of it too. And I remember watching this viral clip a few years ago in 2015. On Oregon State runner named Tanguy Pepiot, emerges from the pack after the final water jump, 20 meters ahead heading into the home stretch.

He takes a look over his shoulder, doesn’t see anyone so he slows down into a jog—and actually starts raising his arm up in the air in celebration to get the crowd cheering. But he doesn’t realize that after that final water jump and after he last looked, another runner is sprinting full steam ahead in the final stretch and as he’s lifting his arm in celebration, thinking he’s coasting to the finish line, the other runner bursts past him to the finish by 1 tenth of a second. And he falls to the ground in horror/frustration.

And yes, the moral of the story primarily is pride coming before the fall in celebrating a victory before actually securing it, but there’s another lesson to be learned that’s analogous to the scribe in our story here this morning. This runner was so close to victory—1 tenth of a second to be precise—can’t get any closer than that. He had a massive lead, he was pole position, in his mind, he already won—and was close—painfully close—a hair away from winning the prize.

And it’s the same thing for this scribe—he has a huge advantage over the other scribes and religious leaders we’ve met up until this point in Jesus’ life and ministry—and is particularly ahead of those here in Jerusalem most of which are sworn enemies of Jesus…But this scribe is the odd man out—because he understands the true intent and heart behind the entire OT Law as one that can be summarized into two commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

He understands that this is of even greater importance to God than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices he or anyone could ever offer for that matter. And yet…Jesus tells him that as close as he is to winning the favor of God…he’s still not inside the kingdom of God.

And the reason he’s not inside the kingdom is because there’s only one way to get in. You can’t get in by being a good and moral person. You can’t get in by seemingly keeping the law of God perfectly externally like the scribes and other religious leaders thought they were in the eyes of those around them—because internally, nobody can keep God’s law perfectly.

Even if you managed to somehow find the foundational motivation for keeping the Law of God—loving him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others—like this scribe—you still can’t get into the kingdom by attempting to do that on your own—you cannot do that on your own…

The only way to get into the kingdom is by way of its King, Jesus—and you can try as hard as you want to please God on your own—to even love God according to his law like this man, and even love those around you—but the point is, it is impossible to please God without faith—and specifically, faith in Jesus. And because God alone grants faith as he sets his saving love and grace upon you in a moment and causes you to be born again, regenerated, with a new mind/heart that now accepts his witness about his Son, Jesus—unless God first sets his love on you by giving you faith in his Son, you cannot truly love him and love others.

Love for God, is a gift of God, that comes down from God. It is a love that God first gives and then receives back from you only in and through his Son—and only if you’ve first received the saving love of God are you then able to love him back in return—and demonstrate your genuine love for him, by your pure devotion and love of your neighbors and everyone else around you—by loving them, even as you love yourself!