“[Jesus said] ‘If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments….’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these I have kept from my youth….’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have….’ But when the young man heard that he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions” (Matthew 19:17, 20-22)
The rejection of the rich young man is to me as mysterious as the election of Judas Iscariot to the twelve apostles. Why not recruit him, take him along, start where he was spiritually and intellectually, and then progressively lead him towards “perfection”? He was willing, he had much to offer, and one would think that he had a much higher education than the fishermen and publican. I don’t think most pastors would challenge a newcomer that severely.
Then again, he had the same mindset as the Pharisees and scribes who our Lord Jesus struggled against throughout His ministry. What was it about them that turned Him off? The answer is that they were not teachable. The young man said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” He elected himself to perfection.
For the Pharisees and scribes, all the problems of life were answered in the Bible. And they elected themselves interpreters of Moses’ instructions. And watching the televangelists or preachers of the gospel, how are they really different? They know it all. They welcome you to become their disciples. Leave all doubts behind, they have your needs all figured out for you.
The apostles such as St. John and St. Andrew were seekers from the first time we meet them in the gospels. They had been students of St. John the Baptist. When that glorious saint pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the two paid attention and followed Jesus [Matthew 1:35]. They called Jesus “Rabbi” and wanted to follow Him home. Where was that? Jesus said, “Come and see.” So they went, and they continued following. The farther they followed, the more they saw. They became His disciples before He anointed them apostles. That openness is the necessary attribute of a true disciple. And the word “disciple” tells us that one must discipline himself so that he is not questioning or opposing what the Master is revealing about the Kingdom of God. John the Baptist, the last of the great prophets, himself continued learning until his beheading [John 3:22ff].
Even the professional teachers are able to turn into learners, as we discover with Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee, one of the select Sanhedrin members; yet he came to Jesus at night to learn from Him if there was something he could do to grow in knowledge [John 3]. He was not put off by the incredible statement that if he were serious about comprehending the miracles Jesus performed, he would have to be born again. Reading the chapter we find that Nicodemus is full of questions, and that’s the difference between the learned ones and the learners. As Christ continues with His responses, all of which defy commonplace logic, this Pharisee doesn’t walk away. We find him there with Joseph of Arimathea, burying the sacred body of our Lord.
Comparing this with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer seemed to be struggling with the problem of the Messiah even into the last week of Christ’s life on earth. What was he thinking as he followed the entourage from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday? How long did he wrestle with the identity of the Master? At what point did it come to him that Jesus was not going to be the leader of a rebellion against Roman occupation, if indeed that was on Judas’ mind. In other terms, when did he turn from a learner to a learned person, fixed in his mind with something other than the mystery of Christ’s plan for him, for others, and for all posterity?