Introduction II to the Commandments

Sermon by Rev. Ray Silverman

“What Do I Still Lack?” – words of a rich young man to Jesus

Lessons: John 15:10

Sermon: Long ago a rich young man came to Jesus and asked, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:16, 17) Throughout His ministry on earth, Jesus emphasized above all the importance of keeping the commandments. “If you love me,” He said, “keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. If anyone loves me, he will keep My word. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10) Above all, Jesus emphasized the sacred duty of every person to keep the commandments. “If you want to enter into life,” He said, “keep the commandments.”

The Ten Commandments cut to the core of all religions. They contain what is essential in every faith, no matter what name people give to the path they follow. What shall we do so that we may have eternal life? Again and again Jesus answers, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

For a moment, let’s try to put ourselves in the sandals of the young man who came to Jesus. The culture was full of religious regulations — laws about what to wear, what to eat, when and how often to worship, laws about circumcision and washing and the control of animals. The scribes and Pharisees of the time had exalted even these ceremonial and civic laws to the status of commandments. In addition, the commandments themselves began to be covered with numerous man–made regulations. For example, you would be breaking the commandment regarding the Sabbath if you squeezed a lemon, wrung out a garment, or milked a cow. If you washed your head or combed your hair or shined your shoes, you would be working, and that’s violating the Sabbath command to rest. Animals could not be lifted out of pits, and it was unlawful to heal a sick person. If a mother was giving birth on the Sabbath day, you were not allowed to kindle a fire to warm the mother and child. You could not pluck a piece of corn, nor could you even defend yourself in case of attack. The historian Josephus writes, “They avoided to defend themselves on that day because they were not willing to break in upon the honor they owed the Sabbath, even in distress.”

In the sandals of that young man we would quite understandably be confused by the multitude of laws and commandments in our life. If Jesus had just told us that we must keep the commandments, it would be reasonable for us to respond with a further question: which ones? “Which ones,” said the young man; “Which commandments shall I keep?” And Jesus answered, “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.” (Luke 18:20, 21) These five commandments were all given by the Lord through Moses at Mount Sinai, and then Jesus adds a commandment from the book of Leviticus which sums these up: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Out of the confusion and proliferation of commandments and regulations, these five come to us as clear and do–able. And so we may respond with the young man: “All these I have kept from my youth; what do I still lack?” Jesus now makes His supreme point in regard to the commandments: “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 young man, like each of us, asked the Lord what he could do in order to have eternal life. “Good teacher,” he said, “what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?” He was probably thinking in terms of never experiencing physical death, of having eternal longevity, but Jesus spoke primarily about spiritual reality, about spiritual longevity rather than physical longevity. “My kingdom,” He said, “is not of this world.” This was a disappointment to the young man. In order to enter into life, he would not only have to keep the commandments, but he would also have to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Jesus. When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Turning to the disciples Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, and again I say to you, 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.” (Matthew 19:23, 24) This was an amazing pronouncement. The disciples could hardly believe their ears. Their whole value system had been founded on the belief that if you obeyed the commandments, you would prosper. The rich young man had obeyed the commandments. He had prospered and had great possessions, and yet it would be almost impossible for him to enter the kingdom of heaven; a camel would have a better chance of getting through the eye of a needle. They were startled, amazed, taken aback, and said to Jesus, “Who, then, can be saved”

Who, then can be saved? It is a vital question. Until that point in time people believed that salvation consisted in keeping the commandments. Their whole upbringing, their entire life, revolved around that simple yet profound value. If you kept the commandments, you would prosper. If you disobeyed them, you would perish. No one had ever said anything about the liabilities of being rich; no one had ever said that rich people hardly stand a chance of entering heaven. To them, wealth had always been a sign that a person was especially favored and blessed by God. Jesus was introducing something radically new, and it seemed as though their world was being turned upside down. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked, and Jesus answered with the immortal words that ring out across the centuries: “With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

This is the supreme point in all of Jesus’ teaching. No one can get into heaven by his own efforts; no one enters the kingdom of heaven merely by keeping the commandments. Heaven is not attained through human striving, though we must strive. Heaven is not attained through human effort, though we must make efforts. Heaven is not attained through human will, human power or human strength, though we must strive with all our might. If we want to enter into the experience of heavenly life, if we want to feel the joy of heaven even now, if we want to open ourselves to the glory of an existence above the merely physical, it takes something more than keeping the commandments, though we must certainly strive to keep them. They are important, central, crucial — but it takes something more.

What is it? What is it that we lack? What is that certain something that we must possess in addition to keeping the commandments? One more thing is needed, and it is this: we must acknowledge that we can’t keep the commandments by our own power. It sounds like a paradox. In order to truly keep the commandments, we must acknowledge that we can’t. To sell all that we have and give to the poor is to acknowledge that all our ability, all our knowledge, all our success at keeping the commandments is granted to us by God. We “give to the poor” by acknowledging our own spiritual poverty. It is to acknowledge that without God, we are nothing; that without God, we can do nothing; that without God, it is harder to get into heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.

This is the one thing that the rich young man lacked. He was too full of his own merit, his own sense of achievement. He was puffed up with the pride of self. It was evident, even in the opening words of his address to Jesus. He said, “Good teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?” The words “what good things shall I do” betray a sense of merit, a belief that good is done from oneself, without the aid of the Lord. Jesus discerned this immediately and said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but one; that is God.” It is only after He had clarified His point that he adds, “But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Each of us is called to keep the commandments. It is our sacred duty, our supreme calling. The word of God is crystal clear about this. As Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” (Corinthians 7:19) And yet, no matter how diligently we persevere in striving to keep the commandments, we must never lose sight of Him who conveys the power and ability to keep them. No one can do good but God. No one can conquer hell but God. By His power we are redeemed. By His power we are saved. Our job is to pray for this power.

Emanuel Swedenborg writes, “By the power of the Lord man is given the ability to shun evil, as if of himself, if he prays for that power.” Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given to you.” We must ask for that power. We cannot keep the commandments by our own power, but through Christ, who strengthens us, we can do all things. We must pray for His power – the power to shun evil, the power to love our neighbor as ourselves, the power to keep the commandments. Jesus’ promise is true. In keeping the commandments we enter into heavenly life. But He cautions us from the outset that we cannot do this from our own power. “Not by your might, not by your power,” says the Lord to each of us, “but by My spirit, by My might, by My power.” With man, it is impossible to keep the commandments, but with God, all things are possible. Jesus said to each of us, “If you want to enter into life, pray for my power; then, keep the commandments.”

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