Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 

 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "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."

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to 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,' 'Honor your father and your mother."  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For 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 those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

 

- Luke 18:15–30 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners; unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "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."  My study Bible comments that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  Theophan writes, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God."  My study Bible points out that this young ruler does not come to test Jesus, but to seek advice from one he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's full response (in the following verses) does not deny that He is God, but it is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.

"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,' 'Honor your father and your mother."  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  My study Bible reminds us that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man, it says, had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that he still lacked something.  Therefore, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.  Like the Pharisee in the parable Jesus has just told (see above, yesterdays' reading), he already knows the value of the commandments.

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  To be perfect, my study Bible says, one must willingly sacrifice all follow Christ.  Nothing is gained unless this sacrifice is given freely.  But the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  As wealth had such a grip on this rich man, my study Bible says, his only hope was to sell and distribute his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom comments that giving away possessions is the least of Jesus' instructions to this young ruler.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  Note that in Luke's Gospel, Jesus' language reflects the gospel of the kingdom of heaven; in selling all that he has and distributing to the poor, this ruler will have treasure in heaven.

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For 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 those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  My study Bible tells us that various interpretations have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel which goes through the eye of a needle.  One suggestion is that the word was not camel but rather "rope" as they sound alike in Aramaic.  Another is that the eye of a needle was a city gate through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  Even the Talmud has an expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  Whatever it is that the phrase refers to, it teaches the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is clearly shown in the response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, my study Bible says, even what is impossible for human beings can come to pass.

Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."  My study Bible points out that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this is a reference to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members might cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised many times more houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual one.  That is, in the many fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

There is an entire sense in which our earthly lives are transfigured by faith in Christ which Jesus speaks of here (and which my study Bible explains in its notes and commentary), but which isn't often taught or encountered when one seeks understanding of these verses.  The transfiguration of this man's great material wealth from that of worldly wealth to spiritual wealth is something central to the teaching in this parable.  Not only will he be saved in the sense that he himself would be transfigured through the giving up of his earthly material possessions in selling and distributing to the poor, but his life would also be transfigured within the context of serving and following Christ in the Church.  His wealth would be invested in the kingdom of heaven rather than an earthly kingdom with the rank and status of position that goes with his wealth.  He would work for the spiritual realities Christ brings into the world and contribute to them himself depending on what a life of faith would look like for one of his capabilities and potentials and history.  He would gain an entire population of those with whom he'd associate and call brothers and sisters, and fathers and mothers in the Church whose wisdom could guide and sustain his life with truth and meaning.  To participate in this movement and passion and possibility would be to gain a world of connections and centers of faith, adding to his life with dimensions that simply aren't available to him without this commandment from Christ.  But this young ruler is too attached to his possessions and whatever life or identity goes with his position to find out what that life would be.  Let us understand that what Jesus proposes here to this young man is done so with love.  Mark's Gospel tells us that before giving him this command to sell all that he had, Jesus, looking at him, loved him (see Mark 10:21).  This command is not meant to be punitive, nor to test the young ruler's loyalty, nor is it made for the sake of the Church per se.  Rather, we need to see this command as entirely and deeply therapeutic, offering to him something he desired and otherwise could not have, treasure in heaven and the eternal life of the Kingdom.  Altogether, there is a message here of exchange:  we give up one way of life for another, and in order to gain a magnitude of life and purpose which transfigures our present life in this world.  That's not to say we all leave everything behind in a material sense, but it does mean that we are changed, our lives are changed, and that we are given new direction and a whole host of new considerations and priorities for which to purpose our lives.  St. John Chrysostom comments that to give up his wealth is the least difficult command; to follow Christ in all things is harder.  But without that first step, we don't know where Christ would have led this man into his future.  He is called a ruler in today's text.  We don't know exactly who he was, but clearly his position was one of some authority and standing within the society.  Perhaps he was a ruler in the Temple, a member of a powerful ruling party.  But, if he had followed Christ's instructions, we might know him as an important disciple or early apostle or bishop of the Church.  Let us keep in mind that the beginning of the journey of faith is just the beginning.  This road or way of Christ will continue to transfigure who we are, and build spiritual realities in our lives as we go forward.  This rich young ruler asks Christ, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"   Christ transforms an earthly inheritance into an eternal one.