Comments on: In The Study: Five Questions From Mark 10:17-27 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/in-the-study-mark-1017-27 ...dispatches from the post-evangelical wilderness Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:58:24 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: bookdragon http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/in-the-study-mark-1017-27/comment-page-1#comment-8445 bookdragon Mon, 20 Nov 2006 20:55:28 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/in-the-study-mark-1017-27#comment-8445 Hi Michael, Just one criticism: in that passage, it wasn't the rich young man who focused on the 2nd tablet of the 10 commandments but Jesus. He is the one who asks about keeping the commandments and runs through the ones that are centered on how we behave toward each other. There are a couple ways to look interpret that. One is to point out that maybe Jesus is putting the primacy on those commandments. That would certainly be in keeping with so many of His teachings that boil down to how we treat each other is a direct reflection of how we love God. A message also well within the prophetic tradition. Another is to say that since the young man was pious Jew and dressed in a way that made this obvious, his commitment to the first set of commandments went w/o saying, and so Jesus focused on those that people who claim to follow the first set are more likely to fall on. That would be consistent with how Jesus regularly took the wealthy, elite religious class to task for getting puffed up about following the ritual commandments but ignoring or creating loopholes to circumvent the ethical commandments. When the young man replies humbly that he has kept all of these (rather than being offended by the question or rationalizing), Jesus loves him. And so Jesus THEN, very subtly, leads him back around to the first set of commandments - esp. You shall have no other gods before Me. The young man is wealthy and enjoys the prestige that comes of that esp. in an age wherewealth was considered a clear sign of God's favor. Can he place God before Mammon? In fact, can he be so commited to God as to abandon Mammon entirely? The answer is 'no', the young man is too chained to his wealth to choose real freedom. And this leads to Jesus' meditation on the difficulty of a rich person entering the Kingdom. (A very apt one really since the needle's eye He is referring to is a narrow gate in the wall of Jersalem - one which a trader's camel laden with goods could not pass through without most it's burden first being removed.) Hi Michael,

Just one criticism: in that passage, it wasn’t the rich young man who focused on the 2nd tablet of the 10 commandments but Jesus. He is the one who asks about keeping the commandments and runs through the ones that are centered on how we behave toward each other.

There are a couple ways to look interpret that.

One is to point out that maybe Jesus is putting the primacy on those commandments. That would certainly be in keeping with so many of His teachings that boil down to how we treat each other is a direct reflection of how we love God. A message also well within the prophetic tradition.

Another is to say that since the young man was pious Jew and dressed in a way that made this obvious, his commitment to the first set of commandments went w/o saying, and so Jesus focused on those that people who claim to follow the first set are more likely to fall on. That would be consistent with how Jesus regularly took the wealthy, elite religious class to task for getting puffed up about following the ritual commandments but ignoring or creating loopholes to circumvent the ethical commandments.

When the young man replies humbly that he has kept all of these (rather than being offended by the question or rationalizing), Jesus loves him. And so Jesus THEN, very subtly, leads him back around to the first set of commandments – esp. You shall have no other gods before Me. The young man is wealthy and enjoys the prestige that comes of that esp. in an age wherewealth was considered a clear sign of God’s favor. Can he place God before Mammon? In fact, can he be so commited to God as to abandon Mammon entirely?

The answer is ‘no’, the young man is too chained to his wealth to choose real freedom. And this leads to Jesus’ meditation on the difficulty of a rich person entering the Kingdom. (A very apt one really since the needle’s eye He is referring to is a narrow gate in the wall of Jersalem – one which a trader’s camel laden with goods could not pass through without most it’s burden first being removed.)

]]> By: Henry Frueh http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/in-the-study-mark-1017-27/comment-page-1#comment-8441 Henry Frueh Sun, 19 Nov 2006 20:53:28 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/in-the-study-mark-1017-27#comment-8441 Does it not seem that Jesus was adept at applying pressure at the weakest parts of people's faith connection? If the weakest link is allowed to remain a person may think he is a follower of Jesus, but when the weight of truth in eternity is applied the chain may indeed break. As a matter of fact, if any of the links are anything but Him and His work, it is as flawed and useless as the rich young ruler's faith. Faith + Christ + Cross + Resurrection + (money, works, baptism, ten commandments, et. al.) = eternal death. Simple, like a child. Remember? Does it not seem that Jesus was adept at applying pressure at the weakest parts of people’s faith connection? If the weakest link is allowed to remain a person may think he is a follower of Jesus, but when the weight of truth in eternity is applied the chain may indeed break. As a matter of fact, if any of the links are anything but Him and His work, it is as flawed and useless as the rich young ruler’s faith.

Faith + Christ + Cross + Resurrection + (money, works, baptism, ten commandments, et. al.) = eternal death.

Simple, like a child. Remember?

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