St. Luke 18:15-30: "15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.' 18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' 19 So Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not bear false witness," "Honor your father and your mother."' 21 And he said, 'All these things I have kept from my youth.' 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' 26 And those who heard it said, 'Who then can be saved?' 27 But He said, 'The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.' 28 Then Peter said, 'See, we have left all and followed You.' 29 So He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.'"
The rich man went away sorrowful, because he had much wealth. This man approached the Lord Jesus in what seemed to be a good way, for he addresses our Lord Jesus as "Good Teacher." But our Lord's rebuke of this address to Him, should perk up our ears, for even when the devils proclaim Him to be the Son of God He does not rebuke them for their what they said. (Even though He may say to them to be quiet, and not let this fact be known). Therefore, this should be of interest to us.
We are shown the answer to our Lord's rebuke in the question and answer of this man. For his question is what "he must do" in order to inherit eternal life. Our Lord lists for him the Commandments of the Second Table of the Law, the ones having to do with our neighbor.
This rich man, tells our Lord that he has kept all these since his youth; To which our Lord responds that he still lacks one thing. Now, this rich man in posing the question in the first place, already knows there is something missing. Why else would he ask the question about what he must do? This man already senses that he is lacking something.
But we see our Lord's grace in his response to this rich man, for the our Lord purposely relates the Commandments dealing with our neighbor, because this man's heart is not right toward his neighbor, even though he thinks it is. Therefore, our Lord tells this man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, in order to show this man that he is not keeping the Second table of the Law, regarding his neighbor. Our Lord further adds that this man should then "follow" Him.
This is why the man goes away deeply saddened, for he realizes his lost condition. He realizes that he has not kept the law as perfectly as he thought he had. He also learned that he did not have the faith of a little child, like our Lord spoke about in the beginning of this pericope. The faith that trusts our Lord completely without questions, and not having learned cruel malice, does not openly seek the harm of one's neighbor, but openly and freely loves without prompting.
The thoughts of the rich man are expressed through the responses of the disciples and the crowd, "Who then can be saved?" Everyone, who has been listening, has heard the Law, preached clearly and succinctly, and had it applied to their very hearts by our Lord Jesus. They are now ready to hear the Gospel, that inheriting eternal life, that is, receiving forgiveness of sins salvation, is impossible through any work of man, but with our Lord God it is possible.
For only our Lord God, in the person of our Lord Jesus, could fulfill the Law perfectly for us, filling in that which we lacked. And only He could offer up Himself as the perfect, unblemished and holy Lamb as a sacrifice on our behalf. Only He could die for our sins, and the sins of the whole world, and buy us back from sin, death, and the devil.
It is to this faith, that our Lord Jesus died for us, that we are to cling to and believe in like little children. Therefore, let us come before Him as little children. For of such as these, belongs the Kingdom of God.
May God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
