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“What Else Do I Lack?”
Categories: Author: David Carrozza, Elder Articles
When the rich young ruler approached Jesus asking, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I might have eternal life?” The first thing the “good teacher”, Jesus said was, “Why to you call me good?”
Goodness has a definition, it is identifiable, it’s manifested and has observable characteristics.
Jesus was asking the young ruler to consider his own reasons or reasoning on what goodness means and what it was in Jesus…the good teacher that identified him as being good.
Jesus immediately in this goodness context clarifies and sets the standard that no one but God is truly GOOD. “But, Jesus continues, “if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
At the risk of projecting, the young ruler’s impulsive reply strikes me as being a bit self-confident, just short perhaps of arrogance, like he was thinking to himself, “I’ve got this!”
And so, Jesus begins with the portion of the ten commandments that addresses relationships between men and mankind. Social justice matters.
This is one part, but not the only part that defines and describes goodness. These are the “DO NOT” commands and descriptions of goodness. They are the “unspotted” parts of pure religion.
More on this in a moment.
At this point in his conversation with the good teacher, I imagine the young ruler’s chest beginning to swell…”Nope I haven’t done any of those things…indeed I HAVE kept the commands, even from my youth!"
Bingo! So far so good on the quest for eternal life.
“What else do I lack?”
Jesus completes the second half of goodness when he answers what is lacking. “If you want to be perfect [complete], go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
In this short and sad encounter, Jesus gives us both the commandment aspect and the definition aspect of what his brother James describes as religion that is “pure and undefiled before the Father is this, “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
The rich young ruler took great pride in “being unspotted”, having kept the commands on social justice, personal piety, and the things he had NOT DONE that violated the law.
It was the other half of pure religion that the young ruler was lacking, the other aspect of goodness, compassion and care.
The orphan and the widow represented the most poor, helpless, and needy in society, pure religion cares for the least of these and the rich young ruler, himself, individually and personally had NOT DONE this.
These are as Jesus declares on another occasion, the WEIGHTIER MATTERS ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Matt.23:23
James, the Lord’s brother when by inspiration penned this poignant definition was not as John alludes to, “writing a new command, but an old one which you have had from the beginning [1 John 2:7] about pure religion.
In fact, we can read and hear a clear echo from Isaiah on this very same admonition and definition of God’s expectation from his people as they “practice their religion”.
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:6-7
So, when we are assembled together, in the building this Lord’s day, let us remember both halves of pure religion and as we praise our God and proclaim our faith let also remember “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26
