Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 24 “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
A young man had been listening to Jesus when he said, “Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it (Mk. 10:15). He addressed Jesus as ‘Teacher’ (Master) and asked what good deed he must do to have eternal life. The early Christian Church had difficulty with Jesus’ response to the rich man especially in the Mark and Luke versions: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone (Mk. 10:18).” This appears to be a denial by Jesus that he is God which contrasts with the beginning of the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn. 1:1).”
Jesus told the young man that if he wanted to enter the Kingdom of God, he must keep the Commandments. When the man asked Jesus “Which ones (v. 18),” Jesus quoted the ones dealing with man’s behavior towards his neighbor (Ex. 20:12-17; Deut. 5:16-21; Lev. 19:18) to which the man replied, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack (v. 20)?” In addition to obeying the Commandments, Jesus told the young man that to be ‘perfect’ he must give up everything and follow him (Mt. 19:27). Jesus was explaining what must be done to fulfill the demands of the Torah not just to observe the external demands of the Law by avoiding actions the Commandments forbid (Mt. 5:17, 20).
Jesus’ response to the rich young man raised the question in the early Church of whether there was one path for ordinary Christians and another ‘perfect’ path for other Christians. All are required to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48). Jesus’ extreme exaggeration amplified how difficult it is for those with many possessions to sacrifice everything for the Kingdom of God. All are obligated to obey the Commandments, but God does not expect all to renounce everything. Each one of us has gifts and a specific mission from God and we should try to live our lives in accordance with God’s will; “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit (1 Cor. 12:7).” That is our perfection in this life.
Almighty God, help us to hear what the Scriptures say to our hearts and to obey your commandments as we walk in Christ and hold fast to Him no matter what trials we encounter. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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