October 14, 2012 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one
thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’”
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That was
the question posed by a man to Jesus. The question indicates a desire to
possess something that he did not have. The man wants eternal life. He thinks
that Jesus has the wisdom to direct him how to get it. For those who believe in
divine judgment and reward, “What must I
do to inherit eternal life?” is a good question to ask.
So how does Jesus answer the man’s
question? What is His response? “And
Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.”’”
It is an interesting response, beginning with a statement about the goodness
that only God has. That statement is followed by Jesus’ restating of the
standard of righteousness that God has established.
The path to eternal life seems
quite clear: keep the commandments that God has given. The man who asked Jesus
the question receives this answer well. It is not foreign to him. In fact, he
says that he has been devoted to this very thing: “And he said to [Jesus], ‘Teacher, all these [commandments] I have kept
from my youth.’” The commandments had formed this man’s piety. They were
the charter for his daily living. And he believes that he has indeed done what
was demanded of him. So he should receive the inheritance of eternal life.
But the man’s joyful response to
Jesus’ answer ignores one of the first things that He said: “No one is good except God alone.” The
commandments define what is good, right, and salutary. But Jesus’ statement
indicates that the hearers of those commandments are not good; rather, only the
One who gave those commandments is truly good. There is something that the man
is missing here. He has not truly kept the commandments: their demands required
more than the efforts that he had given. The man is not truly good, despite his
belief that he had done all that the commandments required. Either the man does
not recognize his faults or does not fully understand the demands of the Divine
Law.
So Jesus responds to the man’s
statement: “And Jesus, looking at him,
loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’” Jesus
points out something that the man does not possess: “Here’s what you’re
missing. Let Me tell you what you still need to do. Give up all that you own
and donate it to those who have nothing. Then you will have great riches for
eternity.” What Jesus gives in this statement is a taste of the full
requirements of the Divine Law: “Let Me talk to you about where your love is.
Have you kept the first and greatest commandment, ‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and soul and mind’? Or is your love and devotion
directed toward your possessions? Will you ‘love
your neighbor as yourself’ by selling all that you have and giving them the
proceeds? Or will you refuse to give of yourself to them?”
Jesus’ statement shows the full
requirements of the Divine Law. They point out the flaw in the man’s thinking.
It is true that the man who speaks to Jesus may not have committed the grave
sins mentioned by the prophet: “you who
turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth…you trample
on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him…you who afflict the
righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.” No,
this man who speaks to Jesus seems to have a desire and willingness to abide by
the Commandments. Yet, there are demands that he has not met. More than that,
there are demands that he would never meet. That will keep him from inheriting
eternal life. And the man knows it: “Disheartened
by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
The words of the Gospel Reading
show that the attempts to inherit eternal life through obedience of the Divine
Law are ultimately futile. That is not to say that there should be no desire to
abide by the Commandments. Striving to follow them is good, right, and salutary
to do. It is the Lord’s will that
they be kept. But Jesus’ statement is true: “No
one is good except God alone.” And the Divine Law demands that all be like
Him. In a way of speaking, the answer to the question “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” is “Be like God.”
But this dialogue between Jesus
and the rich man is not simply a statement of what is demanded that leaves all
hopeless. A statement about Jesus is found in this dialogue. There is testimony
about His character and His actions. Hear again what Jesus said to the man: “No one is good except God alone. You know
the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not
bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’… You lack
one thing; go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven….” These were the required actions, what the man had to
do, to inherit eternal life.
But what Jesus declared to be
the required actions are what He Himself has done. They outline exactly what He
was doing during His life here on earth. Jesus kept the Commandments, even from
youth. It was not a superficial keeping, but a fulfilling of them. Jesus sold
all that He had and gave it to the poor. This is the apt description of what it
meant for the Son of God to make Himself nothing, come in the form of a
servant, and suffer death, all for the benefit of the world. Jesus gave the
last full measure, so that we would have the riches of eternal life.
Those acts of Jesus are what we
sing about, especially at Christmastide: “He undertakes a great exchange, /
Puts on our human frame, / And in return gives us His realm, / His glory, and
His name.” or “We are rich, for He was poor; / Is not this a wonder? /
Therefore praise God evermore / Here on earth and yonder.” Jesus’ acts of
obedience and humility are done for us who were disobedient and proud. But they
turn us around; they bring us something that we did not possess, no matter how
much we might have thought that we had done or could do what was demanded of
us. The inheritance of eternal life is made to be yours because of Jesus’ work
done for you.
So in this dialogue between
Jesus and the rich man, the Gospel is found, not just statements of Divine Law.
You ask the question: “What must I do to
inherit eternal life?” And Jesus speaks the same words to you as He did to
the rich man. The answer is to be like God, be righteous like God, be good like
God. This is something that you cannot accomplish. If it was left up to your
own effort, you should go away from here sorrowful and disheartened like the
rich man. For you know what the Commandments really require of you. But Jesus’
answer does not leave you hopeless; His statement points you to the salvation
that He has won. The call that Jesus gives to the rich man is issued to you: “Come, follow Me.” And in that statement,
eternal life is found.
For what will it mean for you to
follow Jesus, to be a disciple of Jesus, to be one who belongs to Jesus? It
means the reception of the new identity and status and life that He issues to
those who are His. For following Jesus, becoming a disciple of Jesus, being in
fellowship with Jesus brings salvation. It is bestowed to you when you are
united to Him in baptism, incorporated into His body, the Church. It is granted
to you in the participation in His sacrificial death as you eat of the Lord’s
Supper. It is issued to you, as you are called and recognized as His people.
What is given in these things? The righteousness of Jesus is given to you, the
holiness of Jesus is given to you, the perfection of Jesus is given to you. Salvation
is not found in what you have done, but what has been done for you.
Ultimately, Jesus’ answer to the
question “What must I do to inherit
eternal life?” will either bring despair or hope. It will bring despair
when focusing on the demands of the Divine Law and comparing them against your
feeble efforts in life. But it will bring hope when seeing that what was
demanded is what Jesus has done for you. Then Jesus’ gracious call to follow
Him is the most pleasing words that you hear. It is the call that grants you to
receive His righteousness to be counted as your own.
Because you have that new
identity given to you by following Jesus and being His disciples, you have the
inheritance of eternal life made to be yours. You are members of the Eternal
Father’s household. This is what Jesus’ fulfilling the Commandments, His giving
Himself in sacrifice, and His bestowing of gifts bring to you. So you are
called to receive His great legacy, a place in the Father’s house for eternity.
This is what brings joy after
hearing the dialogue in the Gospel Reading today. It lets you say: “I have
cannot do anything to inherit eternal life, but You, Lord Jesus, have made that
inheritance to be mine. Your actions have brought me salvation.” Or you can repeat
the words of the hymnist which you sang: “All righteousness by works is vain; /
The Law brings condemnation. / True righteousness by faith I gain; / Christ’s
work is my salvation. / His death, that perfect sacrifice, / Has paid the
all-sufficient price; / In Him my hope is anchored.”
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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