As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 
You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’”
 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Mark 10:17-21

Jesus knew the man’s particular need of repentance in relation to his love of possessions, it seems to me that the man asked with hope of being able to continue living according to his own will while being granted the eternal hope that only comes from submitting to God’s will, Jesus gave no concession to the flesh either in Himself or in others, so He didn’t give an answer that satisfied the natural man’s will.

Jesus was often addressed as “Teacher” by His followers and those asking of Him, but on this occasion the man called Him “good teacher” and Jesus recognised and responded to this attribute in His first response, by humbling  Himself in the sight of those who were listening as He said “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone…” here as through His whole life on earth, we see Jesus in humility in the form of a man though still God, as the scripture states He humbled Himself He didn’t reveal to anyone the glory He has with The Father, (Ref.: John 1:1-13, John 8:58, John 10:30, John 10:36-38, John 20:28, Romans 9:5, Col 1:15-19, 1 Timothy 3:16, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8), His humility is example of what we should also do regardless of our earthly status before men.

5 Let this mind be in you all, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
7 But He emptied Himself,
    taking upon Himself the form of a servant,
    and was made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in the form of a man,
    He humbled Himself…

Philippian’s 2:5-8

He didn’t accept the praise of the man who called Him “good teacher”, but as Teacher His answer revealed a greater depth to which the earthly nature of man desires to manage spiritual outcomes ultimately for his own glory instead of God’s; Jesus didn’t teach only the man, but also taught the larger audience who were listening on that day, as well as all who read or listen to the account even to our present day. Jesus’s answer showed that there is deeper depravity in man than what we may like to acknowledge, He taught that if we do actually want to follow Him, we need to completely turn away from accommodating and practising things that are contrary to God’s will, such as Jesus identified in His response to the man:

  • Murder/Hatred: 1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
  • Adultery: Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery with her in his mind.
  • Stealing: Ephesians 4:28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
  • Lying. Ephesian 4:25  …Therefore, putting away lying, let every man speak truthfully with his neighbor,
  • Swindling/Cheating. 1 Corinthians 6:7-8  The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.
  • Dishonouring parents: Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise, “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
  • Idolatry (Prioritising/loving something or someone more than God.): Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.
    Matthew 10:37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me…” 

Until we leave this earth, we may determine what is acceptable in our way according to our own measure, but when we read of Jesus’s Way, we see God’s requirement lived to perfection, man’s way falling short and God’s help for us to do what is pleasing to Him.

Jesus’s answer to the question highlights that even a current act of repentance doesn’t grant the experience of eternal life, the answer to the man’s question wasn’t resting on initial obedience, repentance required selling his possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor, these possessions were the object’s of his affection (idolatry) rather than God being his greatest love; but giving them away was only the start of the process of getting to the appreciation of Eternal Life, after this instruction, Jesus said… “Then come, follow me“, eternal life can’t be bought with any earthly commodity or talent, the man could have sold all he had, then given the proceeds to the poor and received praise from men for being a great philanthropist, or he could have gone into numerus other avenues of occupation to regain his wealth or social position. The man had been obeying much of the law, but this hadn’t brought him to experience the Life that is from God, Jesus showed the man how to relieve himself of the things that were keeping him from experiencing eternal Life, but he wasn’t prepared to do this. Jesus showed the way to be really free, to take hold of the greatest eternal treasure: Eternal Life isn’t experienced through acts of charity as any person can do these things with no respect for God, it’s experienced by leaving our fleshes desires behind and following Jesus, this isn’t a once off task, it’s a personal daily discipline.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23

The desire of God to have men know freedom from sin and peace with Himself is expressed throughout scripture and again clearly in the passage considered here where verse 21 tells that “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”, another translation expresses this portion in the words “As Jesus looked at him, He felt love for him…”. Jesus came to free people from the hold and result of sin so that by making Him the greatest treasure of our heart we can experience the joy, peace and hope of eternal life now. “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14

Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin don’t destroy, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…

Matthew 6:19-21

“Then come, follow me“

 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:3

AO .11th December 2022