"What Must I Do?"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As Jesus was going along the way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, fell on his knees before the Lord, and asked Him, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus tells him to keep the Law, then give everything he has to the poor. And the man went away crestfallen, because he had many possessions.

From our perspective, taking this account in the context which Mark records it, the man's question is a bit ironic. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus has just told His disciples twice, and is about to tell them a third time, that the Son of Man must go to Jerusalem, be handed over into death at the hands of the Jews, and on the third day rise again. Then this man comes up and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. It is easy to dismiss him as wrong-headed.

But the man, misguided as he might be, is coming to the right place, even if he is asking the wrong question. Consider how he addresses Jesus: “Good teacher”. This is no accidental title. The man is not merely flattering Jesus, but making a statement about who Jesus is, even if he does not understand his own words.

The term he uses – agathe – is a technical term in Greek which indicates not simply a nice person or thing, but a morally right and virtuous person. According to Greek philosophical standards, things cannot be good; neither can women or children. The man is acknowledging that Jesus is the most virtuous teacher, that the Lord's life and teaching are above reproach. The man is confessing that Jesus is above the standard of the teachers of the Law.

And of course, that is precisely how Jesus is good – through the Law. Jesus is the paradigm of good because He keeps the Law perfectly. He keeps the Law perfectly because He is the author of the Law, and the commands of the Law all revolve around Him. Jesus could be nothing other than good according to the Law.

This is what stands in stark opposition to the rich man at Jesus' feet, as well as to you. You are not good, no more so than the man here. You have not kept the Law of God pure and holy. You have not acted in accordance with perfect virtue. You have missed the mark of divine perfection by a mile. But the man does not see this. So he asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Now, there are two facets to this question which bear consideration. First, the obvious: “What must I do?” He seeks from the Good Teacher a formula, a check-list, a road map that will lead him to eternal life. As you heard before, this is simply the wrong question. This will be shown to the man by Jesus' response to him.

Second, he asks what he must do to “inherit eternal life”. He does not ask to obtain by overt show of works or force or virtue, but through inheritance. In one sense, this is a passive reception. You do not choose to inherit something; it is given to you by the one to whom it first belongs. But, on the other hand, an inheritance can be earned by means of patronage. In the ancient world, it was fairly common for wealthy men to adopt unrelated younger men who had acted virtuously or courageously and make them heirs of the estate, especially if the patron had no such sons.

In this second sense, perhaps, you might say that the man in this account was starting on the right track. He knew that he could not obtain eternal life all by himself, but he still thought that perhaps he could do something to earn the patronage which would lead to that inheritance.

This is not an uncommon idea when it comes to the grace and favor of God. There are many who think and say that you must first prepare yourself to receive God's grace, and only when you have sufficiently prepared the soil, so to speak, will God plant the seed of life within you. Your faith must be evident through terrors of the soul, or it must be primed by works of service and charity to your fellow man. Then, if you have done enough in preparation, God will come along and perfect what you started and fill in the blanks, eventually bestowing upon you the gift of eternal life.

But what is the first thing Jesus says in response to the man? “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Our Lord first deals with what the man is saying about Him, and then He will get to answering the actual question posed. “Why do you call Me good?” is a leading question. For if the man calls Jesus good intentionally, then he is confessing what he believes about Jesus. If Jesus is good, as the man says, and only God is good, then the man must be confessing Jesus to be God. And if Jesus is God, then the man must accept His answer to the question.

Here you may learn an important lesson. When you come before God and ask for His divine mercy, favor, and guidance, you must be prepared to accept His answer. He has promised to hear you and to give you all that you need, but He has not promised to give you the answer you want or are hoping for. If you ask for His help, you must accept it. If you are not prepared to accept the gifts as God gives them, then do not go looking for them.

Then, Jesus tells the man to keep the commandments. “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.’” This is not news to the man; this is simply the second Table of the Law of Moses. Jesus commands the man to keep the Law.

But notice the ordering. Rather than keep the order of the Ten Commandments, Jesus sets them in a specific order. His list is in escalating order of difficulty. It is simple enough for you to say that you have not murdered anyone, that you have not committed adultery, that you have not stolen. But it is more difficult to say that you have never lied, slandered your neighbor, or gossiped. And it is pretty much impossible for you to claim that you have always perfectly honored your father and your mother.

Nevertheless, the man says, “All these I have kept from my youth.” The man says that he has kept what Jesus commands for himself. He has kept them for his own sake, that he might appear holy and righteous. Outwardly, he is probably a fine upstanding citizen, a pillar of the community. But you might almost hear a note of lament in this response to Jesus' command.

You see, the man is on the verge of true, saving faith. He says that he has kept the outward requirements of the Law for his own sake. He has done what the Jews say is necessary. And yet he knows in his heart that this is not enough. His conscience accuses him, even if he cannot put his finger on the wound. It is like a vague itch, a creepy-crawly sensation, a faint prick that will not let you be. And you feel it also. That is your conscience. The terrors of your conscience disturb you because you know, like the rich man, that you have not kept the whole Law, even if you are outwardly righteous.

At this lament, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Jesus was not there to condemn the man eternally. Our Lord knew that this man desperately wanted to believe, wanted to be at peace. And our Lord loved him. He desired to show grace and mercy to this poor sinner. But the man must be fully broken, and realize his need for a savior.

So Jesus says, “One thing fails you; go, whatever you have, sell and give for the poor.” On its face, this is a seemingly ridiculous and impossible demand. The man was very wealthy, and this would have altered his whole way of life. How would he provide for his family? How would he keep his status and place in the world? How would he go on living? But this is precisely the point. He cannot keep living as he has been. His conscience knows this. His soul feels the prick of sin. He must give away what is his, that he might receive what is a gift from God.

For who is the one who sells everything He has and gives for the poor? It is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He, the perfect sacrifice and gift, sells Himself, uses Himself as the currency which purchases your freedom from sin, death, and the devil. He gives Himself, all that He is and has, for you upon the cross. He gives up His throne in heaven, His divine majesty and glory above all creation. He gives up His life for you, that you might receive His life and salvation. He gives His body into death, that He might be the perfect atoning sacrifice for your sins, and for the sins of the whole world.

Our Lord commands this man to become poor, just as He commands you to become poor in spirit, that you might receive the kingdom of heaven. For when you are poor, when you have nothing of your own, then you are ready to receive the all-sufficient gift of God – the forgiveness of your sins and the life of Christ within you. O you poor ones, you have been filled with the life of Christ through His Holy Word and Sacraments! It is no longer you who live, but Christ lives in you! You bear about in your bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in you.

You are poor in the sight of the world, foolish, lost, and feeble. But you are rich in heavenly treasure. You are full of the Spirit of God, full of the life of Christ. You come to His font dry and barren, and He wells up in you the spring of living water. You come to His Altar empty and starving, and He fills you with the Bread of Life, the food of immortality. You once were poor, but now are rich in blessing.

The Lord commands you to follow Him. And you will. You will, and you do follow Him, because He has the words of eternal life. His is the life which courses through you. His is the food and drink which satisfies your aching in body and soul. You come to Him, receive His gifts with faith, and you return with joy and thanksgiving because He has filled you with good things.

O grant that nothing in my soul

May dwell, but Thy pure love alone;

Oh, may Thy love possess me whole,

My joy, my treasure, and my crown!

All coldness from my heart remove;

My ev'ry act, word, thought be love. (LSB 683.2)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.