TGBC: sell and give

The Good Book Club Week 6
Sunday, March 18. Luke 18:18-43

 A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus says to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’ Hearing this, Jesus says to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’


 Those who heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ He replied, ‘What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.’

 Then Peter said, ‘Look, we have left our homes and followed you.’ And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’ 

 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Thoughts & Comments. Commonly called “the story of the rich young man,” Luke’s story about the rich ruler is lifted from Mark 10 with insignificant but interesting variations. Matthew 19 says he’s a young man with many possessions. Luke calls him ἄρχων a ruler (probably a synagogue official) and Luke says he’s very rich. Mark just calls him a man with many possessions. He seems to get younger, richer, and more powerful with every retelling. 

 Anyway, Mark 10:21a says “ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ἠγάπησεν αὐτὸν” - - “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”  


Don’t panic, of four Greek words for “love” this is agape’ love, which Jesus very commandment to him, "sell and distribute" would constitute agape'. Matthew and Luke omit that verse, perhaps considering it presumptive to know the mind of Christ, although the evangelists (gospel writers) seemingly have no qualms doing so. My direction, even though we’re studying Luke, is that this is where, studying the Gospel according to Mark, we come up against what scholars call “Secret Mark” which introduces, in Mark only, someone reminiscent of Lazarus in the Gospel according to John. It happens right here. The same Jericho place in the story, nicely clarifies a subtle puzzle in Mark about Jesus arriving at and leaving Jericho, and also about Salome at the sepulcher on Easter morning. Most people who’ve studied with me know “Secret Mark,” and anyone who doesn’t is invited and welcome to join my Sunday School class, we’ll get back round to it in due course.

Back to today’s Luke reading. I still wonder if Luke, fifty-five or sixty years after Easter retrospectively reporting that the people asked Jesus about being “saved,” isn’t anachronistic, as gospel conversation about “the cross” is an anachronism. What means “saved”? Jesus wasn’t preaching about salvation into an afterlife, he was preaching about the kingdom of God here and now - - God's kingdom is all around you, repent, change your ways of living from a life of and for self to a life of agape', and step into God’s realm. I’m not quite comfortable applying the term “saved,” with the later church’s afterlife connotation, to Jesus’ realized concept of the kingdom of God.

Also uneasy with Jesus’ apparent self-contradiction first saying it’s impossible for the selfish rich to be saved, but then, when challenged, taking the pressure off by saying well okay, all things are possible with God. However, anything can be rationalized, if only we realize that rationalization is not the same as logic and Reason.

Jesus preached for the poor and against the selfish wealthy; but I’m uncomfortable with the notion of Jesus suggesting we give up our wealth so that we can “earn” eternal life, have “treasure in heaven”. I don’t believe Jesus preached or taught that implied “buy your way in” sort of theology. The gospel calls us to live this life in the image of God, i.e., walking the Way of the Cross as Jesus did, because of what Bonhoeffer called your “exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ,” not to buy your way into heaven. Whatever happens after this life is up to God, we are simply to trust God, blind faith; we have not “bought” our way into heaven, “as sure for heaven as if we’re already there,” silliness at best, kindergarten theology for most, blasphemy at worst.

In the conversation about Jerusalem and the prophets, Jesus again ratifies one of Luke’s prime agenda items about Jesus, the promised long awaited prophet, and Bar Enash, Son of Man. 

As always, I realize that my way of Bible study, including this Lent’s study of Luke, more questioning than piously faithing, may not be conventional; which bothers me. But not much.