Be perfect!

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:16-22

In this story Jesus tells “the rich young ruler” that the way to “get eternal life” is by “keeping the commandments”. Is that a contradiction of the teaching of Paul that all that is needed is simply to trust in God’s kindness and mercy?

It might seem that way. But the answer is No; and last time I tried to explain why.

But I had a second question in mind which I didn’t have space for, so we’re back to the same story today…

The young man claims that he has kept the commandments, but then goes on to ask “What do I still lack?” He sounds really keen, doesn’t he! (I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt his sincerity.) And Jesus responds: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor…”.

The question is: Why does Jesus suddenly bring in “perfection”? Is he implying that his followers fall into separate categories: “ordinary” followers on the one hand; and “perfect” followers on the other? First-class and second-class followers?

Down through the history of the church this verse has sometimes been taken that way: there are ordinary Christians who carry on living lives which, outwardly at least, are not particularly different from anyone else’s; and then there are special Christians such as nuns and monks and “clergy” who aim for something better and higher.

Is this the kind of thing Jesus is hinting at?

Again, No. If we go back to the Sermon on the Mount, we find that “perfection” is asked of all of Jesus’ followers: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

What does the word “perfect” in fact mean? We tend to assume that it is much the same as “sinless”. But that can’t be right, because the New Testament makes clear that even the most devoted followers of Jesus still need to repent of sins (for example,1 John 1:8-10).

No: the word literally means “complete”, “mature”; it applies to something that has reached the end it was designed for. So a “perfect” Christian is someone who, through obedience, suffering, and deep, childlike faith, has reached a level of maturity which truly reflects the holiness of Jesus and the fulness of the Spirit. And when Jesus tells the man to get rid of all his worldly goods, give everything to the poor and “come and follow me” he is saying, in effect “This will lead to you growing up spiritually in ways you would never have imagined!”

This, I think, is what Jesus must mean – but even here we need to be careful: let’s not forget that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:3, makes it clear that there can be such a thing as loveless sacrifice, sacrifice which is completely barren and sterile.

There’s something else that it’s easy to skim over. This story appears in each of the “synoptic” Gospels (ie, Mark and Luke as well as Matthew), but with significant differences (some of which are hard to harmonise!). And Mark adds one little detail which I find quite touching.

After the young man insists that he has faithfully kept the commandments, Mark tells us that “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21).

Well of course! we might say. So what? Doesn’t Jesus love everyone? Certainly! But by mentioning it in this particular way Mark seems to be hinting at something deeper: that Jesus warmed to this young man in a special way.

Yes, he was naïve; yes, he was perhaps rather arrogant and over-sure of himself; yes, he was self-centred, even greedy. But Jesus recognised also his childlike sincerity and – this is the point – saw great potential in him. He saw not simply what he was; he saw also what, by God’s grace, he could be. Matthew tells us that he “went away sad”; and I suspect he wasn’t the only one who was sad…

Most of us, I imagine, aren’t extremely rich, like the young man. Probably Jesus doesn’t make the same requirement of us (though let’s be careful: why shouldn’t someone with relatively little wealth be called to sacrifice it all?).

But if, by making that demand, Jesus touched a sore spot – the Achilles’ heel - in his life, perhaps it’s not a bad idea for us to ask ourselves: “What’s my Achilles’ heel? At what particular point do I fall short of the ‘perfection’ to which Jesus calls me? What weakness prevents me from being ‘the best that I can be’?”

On Judgement Day, how many of us will feel sad – not because we have lost our salvation, but because we failed to respond to the call of Jesus to something which seemed too hard. But something which would have brought us, oh, such fulfilment, such usefulness, such joy…

Lord God, please help me to reach my full potential in Christ, however hard the sacrifice might seem. Amen.