Matthew 19:16-22
Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And 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 mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
So many interesting details! Three in particular stick out to me in Matthew’s distinct take on this familiar story.
First, notice the human inclination to assume that eternal life is linked to good deeds. There is no imagination that eternal life might be about relationship with God, let alone that it could be a gift of grace. Rather, it is seen only in terms of a commercial exchange: I do this and you give me that. Perhaps this young man acquired the many possessions that Matthew reports he had by being a shrewd businessman and so this is a natural assumption for him. Or maybe it’s just that we so often construct our lives as an exchange of goods rather than a sharing of and in relationships. Whatever the reason, it’s difficult for this young man and, experience tells me, all of us to move beyond a quid pro quo understanding of life, including our eternal life with God.
Second, I think it’s interesting that Jesus responds to his question but changes the terms. He responds by saying, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Not eternal life, mind you, but life. Which reminds us that the law was given, in fact, to increase our quality of life here and now. I recognize that Jesus may mean eternal life and is just using “life” as shorthand for that. But it might also be that there’s not such a sharp divide between the life we lead now and the eternal life of which this man speaks.
Third, Jesus then invites the man not just to obedience but perfection, or perhaps better, completion (from the Greek, telos) – that is, reaching the intended end for which he was created. In this case, the imperative to go and give all he has is not a requirement for eternal life but rather is his life’s purpose, the goal for which he – and all of us – were created. For ultimately all of life is a gift, and the only way to live into that gift pefectly is to give it away by sharing it with others.
Prayer: Dear God, let us recognize that true wealth, as with true life, is measured not by what we have but by what we give away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Am I incorrect to see a correlation to the story of Abraham?