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Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
- Mark 10:17-31
Yesterday we read that Jesus left Galilee and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him. And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." My study bible points out that this man approaches Christ as "a mere human" and Jesus responds as the same. He puts emphasis on the goodness of God, and focuses the man's attention entirely on the same. Then Jesus goes on to affirm the power and validity of the Ten Commandments as a guide to life; this obedience, says my study bible, is "an essential aspect of the quest for righteousness and eternal life." In this way, the Gospel also establishes for us what type of man is before Jesus, and his righteousness in accordance with the Mosaic Law.
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. I think it's important that we note first what the Gospel tells us: Jesus loved this man, and with this motivation goes on to teach him what he must do. My study bible has a lengthy note here: "Jesus recognizes and approves the man's moral righteousness. But He tests him at his point of greatest vulnerability, where he needs to repent most. It is his money that is keeping him from salvation. Jesus challenges him with the ideal of total sacrifice for His sake. The command to sell all is for this man, or for any other whom Christ may call in this particular way, but should not be construed as a universal requirement. Christians are to use their possessions according to God's purposes, above all to help the poor and needy, but they are not to reject ownership of property. However, voluntary poverty is a legitimate part of a freely chosen way of life -- for example, for monastics."
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!" My study bible tells us, "Riches grip the heart like few other things. When people trust in money more than in God, refusing to return their wealth to Christ, they fail to gain eternal life."
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." My study bible says here: "Jesus uses an exaggerated image to indicate the extreme difficulty of entering the kingdom for those given to riches."
And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." This is an interesting passage: the disciples are stunned at His teaching (Who then can be saved?), but at the same time, Peter soberly reflects, We have left all and followed You. My study bible points out here that justification is never by faith alone, though it is by faith apart from the law (Gal. 2:16). It says, "God calls on people to believe and to act because they believe."
So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." A note here reads: "Discipleship is radical self-denial, a total offering of oneself to God. This implies readiness to give up dear possessions or even relationships that stand in the way of following Christ." . . . "That disciples will receive earthly rewards a hundredfold now in this time is not an absolute promise: countless saints and martyrs were not so rewarded. However, God has a way of returning and multiplying earthly blessings along with persecutions to faithful men and women according to His will."
There's a lot to think about in today's reading, particularly in terms of how we view wealth and how we live with it. There are multiple parallel things going on here. There is first of all the young man, who is not only a morally upright person in all ways the Law might require of him, but we're told that Jesus loves him. So here, the attachment to wealth goes deeper than merely a moral or perhaps even an ethical approach to how we may use wealth. I think this is important to understand here; Jesus is getting to our very core of ourselves as human beings, how we think of ourselves, and what we are attached to. This is something He will do with His teachings over and over again. He will ask us to go to our hearts, to our core, and make choices there, especially about what we love. So often we tend to identify ourselves with our possessions. Our homes and what we have become symbols, tangible things we show to one another, of who we are. I think this is the place where Jesus is taking this young man when He asks him to give away what he has to the poor. Possessions are just that -- they are things we have, not what we are. By teaching that he should give his possessions away, Jesus is clearing the way in a psychological sense for a true identification: "treasure in heaven," and "take up the cross, and follow Me." It's a radical re-setting of identity, of what real treasure is in the heart, and what comes first in what we love. That is what is going on here. The disciples reflect that they've done the same (through Peter's sobering realization) and this tells us something about what it is to follow Him. Perhaps we may not even understand where it is we're being led, but upon reflection, we see what He has taught us and how He has taught us. They've left everything behind for His sake and the Gospel's. Perhaps, each in our own way, Christ may call upon us to do the same, and if we reflect we may come to realize how we were led -- even when we didn't quite realize it at the time. The difficulties signified by a person who is, perhaps, born into great wealth are no joke. Again, we come to the problems of identification with the possessions we have. And, I think that particularly for we who live in a modern world full of tremendous material capacities, there is really a great danger when we take all of these things for granted, and lose sight of who we truly are and our dependence on God. We also can't merely focus on ethics or morals as the things that save us; this young man already is an upright and righteous person in those terms. Who we know ourselves to be changes how we act. Jesus' radical prescription for the spiritual health of this young man may also be a prescription many in our modern world can voluntarily take -- at least psychologically -- by seeking to see ourselves as God sees us, and not identify with what we have in life as the things that define us. God may give us many blessings in life, but they are just that, blessings. They do not form the core of who we really are. For that we need to be radically clear about who we are in the heart, what we truly love and treasure, who and what tells us who we really are. Blessings are meant to be put back in God's hands, so to speak, to be used responsibly the way God teaches us to be stewards of whatever gifts we have; I'd say that talent and even children also come under this topic of blessings or gifts. This would be a sacramental kind of life. We may suffer from persecutions in living this type of life, but the gift we get back is the great gift of who we really are, possession of our souls, for which there is no substitute and no security greater, nor freedom, nor independence of heart. In this way, the first may be last, and the last first. We can't do this all by ourselves, but with God, all things are possible.
