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

 

 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?  No 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 

 

On Saturday, 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 notes that, according to Theophylact, the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought that children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  But Jesus rejects this thinking.  He sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, in the Orthodox Churches, little children are invited -- even as an example to adults -- to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  

 

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?  No one is good but One, that is, God." According to my study Bible, this man does not come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from a person whom he considers no more than a good Teacher.  We might be perplexed by Christ's response, but note that He does not deny that He is God; rather His response is designed to lead the rich man (often called the rich young ruler) to this knowledge.  

 

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?"  My study Bible comments here that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that He still lacked something.  So, he continues to press Jesus for an 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.   To be perfect, my study Bible says, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  It says that nothing is gained unless this sacrifice is given freely.  Importantly, one must note that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  In this case, because wealth had such a grip on this rich man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, according to St. John Chrysostom, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Christ in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling. 

 

It might be hard for us to imagine, but if we are to understand today's reading correctly, this rich young ruler (as he's often called), should he have taken Christ's advice and sold what he had and give it to the poor, would simply have made the first step in the journey of being a disciple of Christ.  From there, he would have to "Come, follow Me."  And that would start his journey of discipleship, just as the other disciples who follow Christ and learn from Him are on that same road.  This need given by Christ, to sell what he had and give to the poor might seem like some kind of harsh penalty, unnecessary for others, but in the reading that follows, Jesus will elaborate on this teaching for the other disciples.  In so doing, we'll understand that while none of them was particularly rich with possessions, each has also sacrificed and given of their lives in the deepest ways in order to freely follow Christ in all things.  So, what Jesus is teaching for this rich young man is not so much about wealth or possessions, it's not necessarily saying something about being wealthy per se, but He is giving a teaching about the necessity for detachment in order to freely follow Him.  As St. Chrysostom indicates, this commandment given by Christ is the least of His instructions, in the sense that the discipleship that follows would be more difficult.  But what we find and must understand is this need for detachment; whatever gets in the way of loving God in this sense becomes an impediment to faith and to salvation.  Christ will name as the greatest commandment the first given in what is known as the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (see Matthew 22:36-40).  So, His first commandment to this young man who seeks eternal life is to give away the things to which he is so attached and find a new way of thinking, one that will open him up to the ways of God for him in his life, the key to the beginning of discipleship.  In a very particular and important sense, Christ's advice to this young man is a kind of baptism to set him on the road of discipleship.  For Holy Baptism is meant as a death (when we are covered by water) and rebirth (when we rise from the water).  So it would be with him, if he followed the teaching of Christ.  He would be set upon a different road, re-oriented toward Christ and whatever Christ's mission for him might have been.  Jesus says to him "you will have treasure in heaven" for this reason.  Discipleship is the journey in the kingdom of heaven and our dwelling there and bringing the kingdom of heaven into this world, anchoring our citizenship in Christ's Kingdom, and living it in even in our worldly lives.  Many assume popularly that the kingdom of heaven is only the final fullness of manifestation in the realm where God dwells somewhere far away from this world, but this is not true.  This is not what Jesus teaches.  Indeed, He has come into the world as Christ Incarnate in order to draw us into this kingdom and to live the life of the kingdom as His disciples, until the fullness of that kingdom in this world is complete and He will return.  Jesus will say to the Pharisees, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  This reality of the kingdom of heaven as something we seek to live in this world, and not relegate to the next after we pass from this life, is the fullness of Christ's mission and teaching, for this is discipleship -- that is, what the disciples are trained for -- and this is the understanding of spiritual battle.  It is bringing the Kingdom into this world by living it and following His teachings.  So let us seek the treasure in heaven through discipleship, and find our place in His Kingdom by following as He teaches.