“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.”
Matthew 19:21

What Must I Do
To Inherit Eternal Life?

A Higher Standard of Righteousness

To most people, there is no question of more concern than, “what happens after death?” Is there really eternal life? If so, how do we attain it?

The Master addresses this issue and these questions in the tenth chapter of the book of Mark:

“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?'"    Mark 10:17

As Yeshua was passing through town, a rich young man approached Him and asked this troubling question. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The young man was quite sincere in asking. Unlike some of the Pharisees, he was not trying to trap Yeshua – he was honestly seeking an answer to the mystery of eternal life.

The reason that the young man asks such a question is that eternal life is not a topic clearly addressed in the Scriptures. An afterlife is rarely mentioned, and when it is, it is cloaked in the vagueness of prophecy. The fact is, that after reading Scripture, the Sadducees concluded that there was no afterlife. The Torah and the Prophets are all but mute on the subject of life after death. Topics, such as, the resurrection of the dead and the world to come are only alluded to in the Tanakh. Indeed, even Messiah’s coming is unclear.

So, we can assume that the rich young man was one who had thoroughly searched the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
That, he had listened to the teachings of the Pharisees and was still wondering about the after life.

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”   Mark 10:18-19

Yeshua responds to the young man’s question by challenging him, “Why do you call me Good? No one is Good—except God.” What did He mean?

Yeshua’s answer, “Why do you call me Good? No one is Good—except God” can only be understood in light of the daily prayer called the Amidah. In this prayer, God is called “The Good One.” It is not used as an adjective. It is a title. He is “The Good” and His Name is “The Good.”

While this blessing of the Amidah does not date back to
Yeshua’s day, but 50 or so years after His death, it clearly shows Rabbinic thought of the day. The seventeenth benediction of the
Amidah reads:

“the Good One, for Your compassions were never exhausted, the compassionate One for your kindnesses never ended… Everything alive will gratefully acknowledge You, And praise and bless Your great Name sincerely, forever, for your Name is The Good.”

We can also find this thought in the Talmud, Menachot 53a:

Let the good come and receive the good from the Good for the good…“And receive the good” — this refers to the Torah, as it is written, “For I have given you a good teaching.” ‘From the Good’ — this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “The LORD is good to all…”

So we learn that in Rabbinic thought “The Good” is a title ascribed to God, and goodness is something derived solely from God. We also learn that the revelation of that “goodness” is found in the commands of the Torah.

Yeshua is telling the young man that there are no secrets to inheriting eternal life, but that it is a matter of doing what is right and good as outlined in the commands of the Torah. He then goes on with a list of those commandments. We must note that He neither lists all of the commandments nor does He imply that one is more important than another, but He uses a few to represent the whole of the Torah concerning the treatment of his fellow man.

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was
a boy.”   Mark 10:20

Even though his answer would seem self-righteous, it also implies “what else must I do?” Yeshua sees that the young man has a genuine sincerity and, in Mark 10:21, we are told that He “loved him.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

In Matthew’s version of this encounter, the young man further asks, “What do I still lack?” Surely there must be something hidden, some more difficult thing that I must do to receive eternal life. There must be something more than just Torah!

If we look again to Matthew’s account, Yeshua replies:

“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.”   Matthew 19:21

The key word here is perfect.  Now, He is not saying that the way to eternal life is to sell everything and give it to the poor. Eternal life, Yeshua has already stated, was partly making and partly keeping covenant. In addressing the young man’s question, “What must I do?” Yeshua adds “to be perfect” to it.

Yeshua tells the rich young man that, “if you want to be perfect” or, we could say, “if you are serious and want to live your life to the highest standard,” then “go, sell all your possessions and give them to the poor.”

The Sages considered ‘giving charity’ one of the highest acts of righteousness. The word for righteousness in Hebrew is tzedakah. Thus, the term tzedakah became equated with giving to the needy.  In Rabbinic usage, the word tzedakah is generally understood as charity given to those in need. Every synagogue has a tzedakah box where one may give to the poor.

Yet, while selling all you have and giving it to the poor would be extremely righteous – it went against the Rabbinic teaching of that day. Even though the Rabbis always encouraged charity and generosity, they also warned against excessive charity, saying that one giving charity should be cautious that he should not become impoverished and in need of charity himself. We find this in the Talmud Kethuboth 50a:

"Rabbi Elai said, 'It was decreed that if a man wants (to give charity) he should not give more than a fifth of what he has.' Likewise it was also taught, 'If a man wants (to give charity), he should not give more than a fifth of what he has, otherwise he himself might come to be in need (of the help) of people.'"

So, if this is the advice of His fellow Rabbis, why would Yeshua ask the young man to risk poverty?  What we are seeing is Yeshua calling His disciples to a higher standard of righteousness and trust in God.  A calling that says they should not concern themselves with the wealth of this world, but should exchange it for the wealth of the coming age.

A calling we find alluded to in the Talmud Baba Bathra 10a:

"R. Yosef b. R. Yehoshua said. He was sick and had an
out-of-body experience [where the soul briefly leaves the body and then returns]. His father asked him, 'What did
you see in your out-of-body state?' He replied, 'I saw a
topsy-turvy world; those that are on top in this world [respected for their wealth and power] are at the bottom in the World to Come; and those that are on the bottom in this world [the poor and downtrodden], are on top.' His father told him, 'You did not see an upside-down world but an unconfused, sensible world.'"

The Kingdom of Heaven is topsy-turvy. If you want riches in the world to come, then give your wealth to the poor in this life. The young man was standing before the Perfect One. The One who exchanged all that He had, and could have, in this age to secure His reward -- to be King -- in the age to come.

Yeshua ends the discussion by inviting the rich young man to discipleship.

“Come, follow me,” is the invitation to become a disciple. But, the cost of discipleship, for the young man, was too high…and, “he went away sad.”  It is no less high for us. Yeshua is still asking us to follow Him.  He is still calling us to a higher standard of righteousness.

Will we answer His call? Or, will we go away sad?

Kehilat Sar Shalom