(ESV Mark 10) 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 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.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 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." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Jesus' response-question in v. 18 is startling. Ironically, the question probably seems as strange to the Jewish man as it does to a believing Christian, though for the opposite reason. To a Christian, Jesus' question sounds as if he is reducing himself to the level of a humble, pious rabbi, trying to avoid veneration that alone belongs to God. However, knowing that the Jewish man probably had no intent on equating Jesus with the God of Israel, Jesus' response serves to press the man to re-evaluate the authority of Jesus in terms of the very God who has already revealed Himself in the Torah. Thus, despite the Jewish sincerity of the man's question, Jesus' question-answer reveals a heart captivated by pagan theology, especially the worship of the god of wealth.
In reminding the man of the commandments of the Torah, Jesus distances himself from the notion that his authority as a teacher is based upon newness or novelty. The man's question implies that he is looking for an answer that lies beyond what the Torah teaches. A heart that desires to find revelation apart from what God has already revealed in Torah, is inclined towards pagan worship. That is the point of Deut 30:11ff:
11 "For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.
Thus, a heart discontented with the revelation of Torah as if God has kept it far-off & foreign, will seek not for a deeper understanding of God's revelation, but for further, non-biblical revelation. But such revelation seeking leads to worshipping foreign gods, not the God who revealed himself in Torah. Eternal life seems foreign to this man, not because of what is lacking in revelation, but what is lacking in the man himself. The man shows respect for Jesus in his running to him, bowing before him, and calling him "good teacher". But Jesus is not a foreign god which a man can consult as a secret oracle to secure eternal fortune and go his own way. Instead, in reminding the man "No one is good but One, that is, God" (NKJV), Jesus recalls the exclusive devotion to listening to God as our teacher according to the the 'shema' of Deut 6:4, "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one."
Jesus reminds the man of the Torah in terms of the six commandments teaching how each member of God's redeemed community should love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus' selection and arrangment of these commandments beg a few important questions. The first is this: Why does Jesus end rather than start with the commandment to honor thy father and mother? It is obvious that the others are given in the order which they are found in Deut 5:16ff: "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness..." Why displace the 5th commandment? It could be that by putting that commandment last, Jesus is calling to question the duration of the man's obedience, hence the man's need to add "from my youth" in Mark 10:20(that is, even while under the authority of my parents). But I think the main reason is that the commandment functions as a kind of period for the end of the sentence which answers the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" As Paul says in Eph 6:3, "this is the first commandment with a promise: that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." The promise of living long in the land is a common way of expressing the notion of eternal life in the Old Testament. Thus, by ending with the 5th commandment, Jesus is saying, keep these commandments and you have what is promised.
The next, most obvious question, especially as you relate this text to the other synoptic accounts, is what happened to the command "thou shall not covet"? The accounts in Matthew and Luke drop it. Here, Mark replaces the commandment with "Do not defraud", perhaps to call into account how this man has already come to obtain and use his property in relation to his neighbors. The present form of "thou shall not covet" seems to focus upon envying the possessions of his neighbors. But since Jesus knows this man is already wealthy, perhaps the best way to express the commandment is not in terms of envy, but greed. Is he now the kind of man who will allow neighbors to redeem or buy property from him according to the fair and equitable regulations of the Torah? In any case, the alteration in the commandment does draw us to reflect further upon its relationship to this man and whether or not he is keeping it as he says he has from his youth. Is he truly willing to love his neighbors as himself with his property?
Perhaps the most important question concerns what Jesus seems to have left out entirely: What happened to the first four commandments concerning loving God with all your heart? Did Jesus forget the most important obligation of the Torah: expressed allegiance to God alone in worship? No, Jesus didn't forget. He began to get to the heart of that with his question, "Why do you call me good?" He now completes that thought in Mark 10:21--Jesus seeks the exclusive worship of sacrifice that belongs to God alone. The English versions say, "one thing you lack", though actually the pronoun for "one" is nominative and functions as a subject for the verb "to lack"--in effect, "One thing causes you to be in need". Thus, the man is enslaved to this one thing which impoverishes him from inheriting eternal life from God. At heart, Jesus is confronting idolatry and the worship of false gods. In commanding the man to "come follow Me", Jesus sums up the first four commandments which call for loving, worshipping, and serving the One God of the Exodus, not One Wealth for myself.
Materialism is one of three of the main idols of the heart condemned in Deuteronomy (along with moralism and militarism):
Deuteronomy 8:11-20 Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
The man has forgotten the Lord. But rather than direct condemnation, Mark prefaces the command in 10:21, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said...." The love of Jesus is the covenant love that God has for Israel, though she is a harlot of idolatry (Hos 3:1). Though Israel has experienced the Deutoronomic curse and exile from the land, God had promised to restore Israel to the land, when they had returned to the Lord with all their heart (Deut 30:1ff). The man somehow senses in his heart, that he is not yet experiencing eternal, final restoration, but recognizes that Jesus preaches of that kingdom. Jesus now calls the man to partake of all that his Father has promised for His Son in the restoration. In sharing this promise of inheritance, Jesus proves himself also to be the true keeper of the command "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
But such an inheritance requires pure, absolute devotion in following the Lord-- a heart circumcised by God's own Spirit (Deut 30:6, Mark 10:27, Rom 2:29). So Jesus tests his heart. Like Israel who stood blessed in the promised land under the command of Joshua who said, "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD." (Jos 24:13ff), this wealthy man must choose whether to serve Jesus or some other god. Is restoration-inheritance found in Christ alone or can one find such security through personal power or foreign allegiances?
The command "Come, follow Me" means great sacrifice to those who have much. In this context, Jesus is not simply asking to follow his moral example, but to follow Him as Israel followed the Shekinah glory in the Exodus. Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, was a journey to lead a final exodus from all idolatry that enslaves men from worshipping the true God and receiving His inheritance. And that new exodus required the greatest sacrifice of all, the ultimate expression of worship to God and love for neighbor--the crucifixion of the Son of God. Before Israel can experience fullness of restoration, God's Son must experience the fullness of the exile; He must be cut-off, circumcised from the land of promise. It is in expectation of this movement from exile to restoration that the prophets look for a new exodus in God's Son (Hos 2:15, 11:1).
The new exodus that Jesus brings, also comes with a new priesthood. Jesus' command to this man to have no possessions but those of heaven is reminiscent of God's election of Levitical priests in Deut 18:1ff: "The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them."
Likewise, the command of Jesus to "sell all, give to the poor, and come, follow Me" shares the message of Habakkuk, where the prophet is told to accept the exile and destruction of Judah, through which God will provide deliverance, not only for Judah, but for all the nations under a common oppressor. In this manner, all the earth will abandon their idols to worship the true God in His Holy Temple (Hab 2:20). It is this vision of God's glory through the destruction of Judah's inheritance (or rather, God's sacrifice of His inheritance of Judah) that the faith of the prophet can worship in psalm: "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." The temple was intended to be the footstool of God's throne of mercy and justice for the poor and oppressed, and a house of prayer for the nations (Mar 11:15-16), where all idolatry (including personal profit & prosperity) is abandoned for the glory of God.
Sadly, the man considers such a priestly calling and sacrifice for Christ as too costly, not worthy of the abandonment his own property. Ultimately, this expresses his lack of faith in Christ's own sacrifice. What a reversal! The man who at first willingly ran to Jesus, bowed before Him, and paid homage to His teaching authority, seemed willing to sign on the dotted line for any new contract involving eternal life. Now he walks away grieved that he could not have his own way--a way that allows him to keep his cozy condo in Egypt; to have his raisin cake and eat it too (cf. Hos 3:1); a way that allows for worshipping God along with his other pet god; a way that avoids the cross of Christ. In walking away from the love of Jesus, this "Torah keeper", fails to "follow in the ways of the Lord", thus breaking the whole of the Torah, choosing to love neither God nor neighbor.
From dust to dust, the man returns on his way back to Egypt a wealthy hobo, enslaved & eternally impoverished by his own prosperity, not content to live soley from God's manna from heaven and every word that proceeds from His mouth. In the end, the one who was known for his great property and possessions, loses his name. Literarily, he remains simply a generic 'man'; a son of our first rich younger ruler, Adam. And like the nameless man in Ruth 4:6 who, in hopes to save his own inheritance, refused to redeem Ruth, in the end the man has no lasting inheritance for which he might be remembered.