Mark told stories
of Jesus bringing good news to people who were on the edge, the sick (lepers),
the poor (the widows mite), the disabled (the paralysed man), the unclean (the
menstruating woman), the unacceptable (the prostitute).
Marks gospel has a
main story and three sub-stories. The main story is about Jesus journey to
Jerusalem, to the cross. The three sub-texts or stories are about 1. The
creation of a Messianic community 2) his ministry of teaching and healing 3)
his confrontation of the rich and powerful.
As Jesus started on
his way, a certain man ran up to him, having knelt before him and asked him
this question. Good teacher (there is nothing offensive in this statement, but
Jesus reminds the man that no person is good (good=perfect, adulation is not
good!) “What must I do in order to inherit eternal life?"(inherit means
possess here). The phrase first appears in Daniel). There is an allusion here
to the Shema (the prayer the Jews say every day), "The Lord our God, the
Lord is one",
Jesus knows that
the commandments are the answer to the question about eternal life, not because
a man can keep them and so earn eternal life, but because, if he honestly tries
to keep them, he will be brought to recognize his own inadequacy.
"Do not
covet" is the tenth commandment in certain Jewish traditions, in which it
forbids not only craving for other' possessions but also usurping them (try
telling that to David Cameron!). Jesus uses do not defraud" a
common understanding of the commandment since he is leading the rich man up the
high moral ground of self-righteousness. The command "do not covet"
is directed against cravings which are impossible to deny, but the alternative "do no defraud", is capable of
being obeyed.
He said to him all
these things I have kept since I was a boy. Jesus looked at him and loved him and
said to him. "One thing you lack sell .and give everything you have (Francis
of Assisi) . Jesus is using the neighbourly law to
underline the fact that eternal life cannot be inherited by doing (thank God!).
This man, although a godly man, condemned with the rest of humanity. To love
his neighbor with such love is beyond him, as it is beyond us all.
Treasure in heaven
was a common Jewish saying to describe God’s blessings of God in general and
follow me. Like Peter and Andrew, the man is called to become a disciple of
Jesus. The man's face fell. He went away sad. The man has recognized the perfection
demanded of him and is broken before it. He cannot do it because he is very
rich!
Jesus looked
around and said to his disciples “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom
of God/gain eternal life”. Just as it is impossible for the largest animal in
Palestine a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle, so it is even more impossible for "a rich man"
to possess eternal life.
So can anyone be
saved? Impossible for men, but not with God
for everything is
possible with God". Peter began to say to him.
we have left
everything to follow you. Jesus replied for the sake of for me and the gospel.
Many who are first will be last.
Mark carefully
places the story of "the rich young ruler" between the blessing of
the children, and the rewards of discipleship. In the blessing of the children,
we learn that the kingdom of God is received by the humble seeker as a gift of
grace. In the story of the rich man we learn that the righteousness worthy of
the kingdom is beyond any of us because we are all "rich" in this
world's things. In the disciples' response to the rich man's sad departure, we
learn that the kingdom is given to the broken, not the proud.
The story of the
rich man comes is easily misunderstood. The story hinges on the question
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?" In response to this
question, Jesus proceeds to use the law to expose the man's sin. In fact, much
of Jesus' teaching serves this end. The rich man fails to recognize his sin
under the law and so Jesus takes "neighbourly" law (love your neighbour as yourself) to the
level of impossible perfection. If the rich man would be perfect and justified
before God and inherit eternal life, then he needs to sell what he owns and
give the money to the poor. Jesus' strips the rich man of any hope of self-justification
before God. He "went away grieving." The rich man's response is the
proper response for a person who has come to recognize their state in the
presence of God. When it comes to the business of gaining
"eternal life", Jesus has left him with only one answer, God’s mercy.
Mark then compares the broken state of this man before God with the
self-righteousness of the disciples who are reminded by Jesus that the
"first will be last and the last will be first".
Comparing this with
the parable of the Good Samaritan with a similar introductory question on the
how to gain eternal life. The point that Jesus makes is not just be good
Samaritan, but that we will fail! For the lawyer, doing likewise was not an
option. The law functioning exposes our inability to be perfect and drives us
to God for mercy and strength.
