What challenge did Jesus put before the rich young man in Mtt19?

Question

We see in Mtt 19:16-21 ,the rendezvous of Jesus and the Rich Young Man :

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments........20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Note the usage ' perfect'in Verse 21. Jesus is putting a challenge which the young man does not accept. Now, the usage 'perfect' is peculiar to English. It has no Degree of Comparison as in 'good-better-best'. Many oriental languages do not have have an original one-word counterpart for the term. Some of them have a roughly fair translation to imply completeness. We may never know the Aramaic word that Jesus used and its implications. It is quite likely that Jesus used the word for completeness or wholeness, akin to what he said of the Redemptive Passion on the Cross ( Jn 19:30). My question is : What exactly was the challenge Jesus had put before the rich young man in Mtt:19 ?

Answer 1

There is no 'challenge'.

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Jesus offers the man 'treasure in heaven'. This treasure must be vast in value, being heavenly, and also must be a righteous thing to possess, if it is 'in' heaven.

This is a truly staggering offer. Why, on earth, would anyone not desire it and drop everything to obtain it ?

Jesus asks for no works, no effort, no ability, no competence, no persistence - nothing. Just give what you have to the poor. And this immense treasure will be yours.

Whyever not do it ? What sane man would refuse ?

And then ?

Come, follow me.

. . . . . . . . What ?

Follow this One ? This 'Good Master' ?

The opportunity of a lifetime. Breathtaking.

To learn of . . . Him ! To be led, to be governed, to be instructed.

Staggering.

That the man is crestfallen and gives no response reveals volumes about himself, his true spiritual condition and his real motives in life.

And there he stands, exposed.

Not 'challenged'. He had nothing to do. All was freely offered.

He just had to release.

And that, he could not do.

So what of the tenth commandment ? Exodus 20:17.

If he gave it all away, he admits, by not doing so, that he would long, yearn and crave - to have it back again.

He can't let it go.

That is what is revealed by the wisdom of Jesus, and his perception into the soul of one who came to him, desiring to know what he might do to gain eternal life.

Eternal life is not a matter of doing anything.

It is a matter of believing on the One who has already done all to obtain it. John 3:16. 1 John 5:13. Romans 6:23. John 4:14.

And believing means yielding all to the One who is believed on. Everything.

He that forsaketh not all that he hath - cannot be my disciple, Luke 14:33.

It is all or it is nothing.

It is all . . . Him.

It is being crucified with Him, being risen with Him, being ascended with Him and being seated in the heavenlies in Him. Ephesians 2:6.

But there is nothing for the flesh to do. Nothing to boast in. Nothing to covet.

Come, follow me.

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. [Galatians 6:14 KJV]

Answer 2

If there is a challenge (and I'm not sure challenge is the right word) it is here: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God".

Who do you say that I am?

The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

If I am Good (God) then why are you bringing your failed self righteousness before me, your works, as though they have merit? If your reliance is upon these things then your lack is absolute.

If I am merely a good human teacher then I will point you to the Law and exhort you to labor there to the point of unreachable perfection.

Who do you say that I am?

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Making no choice is, in itself, a choice which brings great sorrow.

Answer 3

The point of the passage and the discussion with the rich young ruler was to set the stage for the new covenant modality.

In the old covenant you could live like the devil but so long as you had the finances to offer sacrifices you would always be covered on the technicality of the law.

Jesus was trying to point out to the young man that he was not in alignment with the old covenant law and that the young ruler had broken these laws but the young ruler with the old covenant thinking knowing he could afford the sacrifices felt that he had kept all those laws.

We know that no one is justified under the law. Because it is faith that justifies. That’s why Jesus ups the ante and says if you want to be perfect. Why perfect? Because the young man was not perfect and because perfection is required for eternal life.

And Jesus gives the young man the solution, sell everything you have and come follow me, in other words live by faith and so being self reliant, stop trusting in your finances to atone for your sins, God is not a fool, God knows you are not trusting in God, but trusting in your flesh and your resources to get you into eternal life.

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭25‬ ‭

Why astonished? Because they were thinking like old covenant thinkers with sacrifices for sin and this young man was covered for life, he was practically guaranteed eternal life because he could afford to meet all the requirements of the law.

Jesus is pointing to the fact that it is faith that saves not works.

“But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭

We are saved by faith not by works.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‭

And that was the problem for the Jews they were focused on works.

“but Israel, who did strive for the law of righteousness, did not attain that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭

Conclusión

What was Jesus’ challenge to the young man? Stop being self reliant, don’t rely on the flesh/carnality, don’t put stock in your works and your striving, trust me (Jesus) to take you to eternal life by faith.

Answer 4

I happen to be conducting an in depth study of Mark at the moment and would offer this by comparing Matthew's account to Mark's. It is clearly the same episode, but Mark's closing is different:

Mark 10

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

The challenge in both narratives is to forsake one's worldly goods and attain 'treasure in heaven' by accepting discipleship. I suggest that the OP may be looking at the wrong concept here (achieving perfection rather than discipleship). Both Mark's version and Matthew's show Jesus to be telling the man to give up all his earthly goods and "come and follow me." That is the challenge. Achieving perfection - by any definition - comes later, after the man has responded to the challenge to divest himself of his wealth and has accepted the invitation to discipleship.

Answer 5

The initial challenge for the young man in Matthew 19 is one of understanding. Beginning with his first question, the man’s misconceptions and Jesus’ efforts to educate him are explored from a semantic and lexical perspective. Conceiving eternal life as a reward to be earned, the man asks Jesus what he can do to have eternal life.

“What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” – NKJV

In his response, there is a notable difference in the verbs that Jesus uses. The changes in wording represent a subtle but significant reframing of the relationship between eternal life and God’s commandments. Rather than one of work and reward, Jesus presents eternal life as a goal/destination and the keeping of God’s commandments, the point of entry.

“If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

“All these I have kept,” the man says in reply. “What do I still lack?” The word translated as “lack” is hustereó (ὑστερέω G5302), a verb that means “to come late, be behind, come short.” That the man has caught on to the idea of eternal life as an end/goal is reflected in his use of the word hustereó.

Although he has kept the commandments mentioned in vv. 18-19, the man acknowledges that he has yet to reach the goal. From a semantic standpoint, Jesus’ use of the word perfect/teleios (τέλειος G5046) – literally, “having reached its end” – dovetails nicely with the word hustereó. It also fits well within the conceptual framework that Jesus is trying to convey.

Note also the infinitive that Jesus uses in v. 21: “If you want to be perfect.” At the start of the discourse, the man considered eternal life as a reward to be earned. Here, Jesus redefines it as a state of being.

“If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

The word teleios occurs 19x in the TR but only twice in the gospel of Matthew: Mt 19:21 and 5:48. To understand what “to be perfect” in Mt 19:21 entails, Jesus’ detailed description in Mt 5:44-48 is a good place to start.

Matthew 5:44-48

⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:44-48 also accords with Jesus’ words in v. 17: "No one is good but One, that is, God.” For men, there is only one path “to be perfect,” to follow Jesus, but it requires that we let go of everything that might stand in our way. Ultimately, the challenge for the young man, as it is for many of us, is this: to live according to what he believes and has finally come to understand.