Rich, Young, Influential - Loved
| As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' " "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," He said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is 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." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mark10:17-27) |
I can't help but wonder if the rich young ruler was Joseph of Arimathea, who eventually went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus and buried His body in his own tomb... that would make this account less sad and even more beautiful...
Let's pick up the highlights:
- From the other gospel accounts we know he was young and influential. We can also see that he is devout and earnest. But this was obviously not satisfying him, because he runs to Jesus and falls to his knees.
- He's rich and influential, and Jesus is just an itinerant carpenter-preacher, and yet he runs, kneels and calls Jesus "good teacher". It's clear that the man has seen or sensed that there is something about Jesus. Jesus picks up on this and confirms his suspicion - "no-one is good, except God alone..."
- Jesus then lists some of the commandments from the "second tablet" (commandments 6-10). These are the commandments that have to do with loving people. This is the "usual" expectation that people have of religion: "Just be a good person..."
- The young man isn't boasting, he's sincere when he says "I've been doing this."
This is why Jesus looks at him and loves him. (It's a sentence that takes my breath away every time I read it.) - But the man has been doing it all himself, and so Jesus asks him to do the one thing he can't do. "Sell your stuff..." And the key issue isn't that the poor need it, but that his stuff was getting in the way of the first tablet commandments "No other gods and no idols" or "Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength."
- And the man walks away. If I were in Jesus' shoes I would have been tempted to say "Ok, let's start with half..." But Jesus is resolute. The man is possessed by his possessions and he needs to be free.
This is why Jesus consistently warned about how impossible it was to serve God and money (Mammon). - Then He talks about how hard it is for the rich to shake their "possession obsession." People have tried to soften Jesus' image about the camel and the eye of the needle, saying that the "eye of the needle" was a narrow gate that needed you to unpack your camel before going through it. But I think Jesus meant a literal camel and a literal eye of the needle. It's impossible to get free of "possession obsession" unless God changes our hearts.
While it is pure speculation on my part, this is why I like to think that the rich young ruler was Joseph of Arimithea and that God's Spirit eventually softened his heart to stand up before Herod and give his tomb to Jesus.
All things are possible with God.
