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Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? Now one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
- Matthew 19:13-22
Yesterday, we read that Jesus departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, '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." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. My study bible tells us that the disciples rebuked the mothers of the little children to Christ for two reasons: because their manner was "unruly" and also because they thought children diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master (according to Theophylact). But Christ clearly rejects this thinking, even setting the children as examples of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven. Earlier, Jesus taught the disciples they must "become like little children." In other words, humble.
Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? Now one is good but One, that is, God." It's important to see Jesus' first emphasis here. The emphasis is on a complete reliance on God for what is good, and the relationship to God as that which makes "the good." It is like Jesus' statement that any blasphemy could be forgiven, even "against the Son of Man," but not against the work of the Spirit. My study bible says that the young man considers Christ only a "good teacher," but Christ's response is designed to lead this man to knowledge, without denying that He is God.
"But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus names the commandments of God, given by Moses. But the young man has been following all of these commandments. My study bible says that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God. It notes, "This man had an earnest desire for eternal life and sensed that he still lacked something; thus, he continues to press Jesus for the answer."
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Jesus makes the point that nothing should stand in the way of our following the path to the kingdom of God. In this case, this man's attachments to his possessions stood in his way. The things we may be asked to let go of will be different for each person, depending on our own attachments and how we may need to go forward with a heart more fully committed. St. John Chrysostom has commented that giving away one's possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here. Following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.
So how do we know what it is we need to let go of for the kingdom of heaven? It's interesting that Jesus speaks to this man of treasure in heaven, because it is a sense in which the life of the kingdom may overlap with our life in the world. It's a sort of exchange, whereby doing something good for the kingdom gives us treasure in heaven. In this case, giving up wealth to the poor. It's not a legalistic formula though: this particular choice was important for this man, the one of great possessions. It's not formulaic in the sense that one can just choose something to sacrifice, or a particular good deed. Too often we think of Christ's teachings that way. But teachings based on love are always healing for us. Even a chastisement from Christ, or a great challenge such as this one, is made in love, meant to heal and offer much more than it seems to ask of us. So this challenge, "if you want to be perfect," is a way of making an offer, and it is asking the man to make a choice for an exchange. The treasure in heaven isn't so much about having wealth "somewhere else." It's rather about living a life in which we magnify that kingdom within ourselves and among the reality of the worldly life we have. This is an expansion of the soul, a way to live life as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven even as we live in this world. Hosea's call to repentance tells us, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Consistent with that, we are to see this challenge by Christ not as a sacrifice so much as a way to come closer in relationship to God, to participate in the Kingdom, and to be called to a kind of mercy that is born of the love of God. This man does not lack in love of his neighbor, as he's already stated to Christ he follows this commandment. But the fullness of love asks more, the perfection of life in the Kingdom is a wholehearted, all-the-way commitment. Christ doesn't ask more than we can give. He doesn't ask more than we receive in return -- the exchange is infinite on God's side. But it's not easy to give up our attachments, and that's the particular reality that may stun us here. The true mark of generosity is the giving up of what we're deeply attached to. This is not an easy challenge, it's a tough one, for all to see. But the life we receive in exchange is worth all of our loyalty, with a whole heart. It all depends on what we love most. I don't think this man is asked for only his possessions, but rather a whole life of particular attachments that may come with it: to particular friends, or social circle, or even family and status. Christ asks him to "come, follow Me." We shouldn't minimize the difficulty.
