And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honour your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Comment: There are several things to be learnt from this short portion, part of a longer teaching session about wealth. 1.The young man came to the right person for advice! He asked, ‘How do I work my way into heaven?’ 2. Jesus replied, ‘Firstly, talking about ‘good deeds’ do you know that God is the only One who is truly good! But secondly, you as a Jew, already have the prescription for being good’ Note that when requested Jesus only listed off the commandments about how we are to treat one another. But don’t forget that Jesus had already told the young man about the goodness (?perfection) of God. 3. The young man replied that he did already obey the commandments relating to interpersonal relationships. I think that the young man was thoughtful and noted that Jesus hadn’t quoted the commandments about loving God. In fact Jesus had given what He taught in other places as, the second commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself!” His following up question is the crux of this passage! He said, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 4. We must be careful to interpret Jesus’ answer in the light of the whole Biblical context. In Exodus 20, if you care to look it up, God in summary says that a) He alone is God. b) that He will NOT tolerate being replaced by anything which becomes central in His follower’s life! Because the young man walked away I think that he understood exactly what Jesus said in reply. ‘Get rid of what is replacing true worship, which is being committed to God as the goal of your life – your love is at the moment ‘wealth’! Make heaven the place where you store your wealth not your pockets. Use your wealth wisely as God has prescribed. And follow me; he didn’t add but He meant ‘because I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!’ (Jn 14: 6)
Isaiah 58: 6-7 – 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? – look around and be involved, but don’t forget your family!
Prayer: Help me to not be worldly wise but to fear You, the only God, and gain true wisdom
As I read it! 