Commentary - Oct. 9, 2009 BLD Newark Worship

Imagine that we are the rich man in the gospel narrative. We have run up to Jesus, knelt before Him and asked Him, “Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Suppose the Lord answers as He did in the gospel, “You know the commandments: you shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother. ”

Before responding, note that the Lord used the word know in the sense of faithful observance, not merely mental knowledge. The rich man understood this correctly, when he responded “Lord, all these I have observed from my youth.” Can we honestly say, “Lord, all these I have observed since I joined BLD?”

“Jesus, looking at him…” When the Lord looks at us, what will He see? “No creature is concealed from Him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must render an account.” This thought alone should bring us to urgently plea, “Lord, have mercy!” Thankfully, the Lord sees not as man sees. For when we see our brother sinning, what comes to our heart? Is it judgment or compassion? Are we moved to condemn or to correct? Do we run away from our brother or run to him that we may bring him back to the Lord?

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him” This verse captures God’s deepest essence- love. God sees our sins and all, yet His love for us remains as great and as unfathomable as ever. And because Deus caritas est, the Lord guides us to the road leading to salvation. “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

What is that one thing that the rich man was lacking? He may have tried to faithfully observe all the commandments summed up in the 2^nd great commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:31). But his love of neighbor was hollow, because his love of God was lacking: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mk 12:30). When the Lord looked at the man, He saw that the man’s heart was in his earthly possessions. His love for wealth competed with his love for God.

The Lord’s sermon on the mount regarding the foolishness of worldly wealth is clear: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Mt 6:19-21). “You can not serve God and mammon” Mt 6:24. “But seek first the kingdom of God and is righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).

Some might be tempted to say, I am not rich, so that teaching does not apply to me. Perhaps our treasure comes in other forms. Am I attached to power and authority that I would zealously protect my turf against an interloper? Am I attached to my ideas and preferences that I would insist on always having my way? Am I attached to my personal good or that of my “group” that I would actively advocate for them even at the expense of common good? The Lord said that we can not serve both God and mammon. To identify our mammon, ask these questions: What opposing love competes against our love for God? What rival thrones wage war against Jesus’ lordship in our life?

Hearing the Lord’s command to go sell what he had and give to the poor, the man’s “face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” He did not love God enough to give up his possessions. Why does giving to the poor equate to love of God? Jesus Himself said: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40). The disciples were present during the exchange between Jesus and the rich man. They heard Jesus say “how hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” They heard Jesus’ next statement as well, “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.” So they asked, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus then said, “For human beings, it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” Meaning, we can not work out our own salvation. We can only enter the kingdom of God with God’s grace.

Then Peter spoke for himself and the rest of the disciples, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Although Peter said this plaintively, his statement does provide a contrast to the reaction of the rich man. Looking at our own discipleship in BLD, we too are asked to give up all for Christ. Our CDFP’s for phases are Come & See, Love Me, Give Up All, and Follow Me. Is the Lord placing an unreasonable prerequisite – giving up all- or detachment from worldly possessions - upon His disciples? The way to answer this question is to look at His own example. Is this not something He did Himself? Didn’t the Lord give up all? God, He became man. Self-sufficient, He became dependent on His mother as an infant and child. Indestructible, He died for us. Our God gave up everything, for the sake of the poor. That poor is us! Now, can we truly say as Peter did, we have given up all to follow You?

The Lord reassured the disciples that God is not unjust so as to overlook the disciples’ work and the love they demonstrated for His name by having served and continuing to serve others (Heb 6:10). On what do we base our confidence for our hope? The gospel narrative cites two reasons: 1^st, He loved the rich man, in spite of his lack. We are confident of salvation because of His love for us. The 2^nd reason is His Word. He promised, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters of mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”