Losing is the One Thing You Need

Matthew 19:20-22 (cf. 16-22)

The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect [‘If you want to complete the set’], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Vol. 2)

There is something ironic about the way [Jesus] says it here: “If you want to complete the set . . . .” It’s a way of saying, “God wants his people to be complete, totally dedicated to his service, not half-and-half people, with one foot in the kingdom and the other in the world.” . . . All right, says Jesus, this is the one that will complete your collection: give everything away! In order to be complete, you must be empty. In order to have everything, you must have nothing. In order to be fully signed up to God’s service, you must be signed off from everything else (50).

A. Orendorff

Jesus goes right for the heart, right for the idol this rich, young ruler has allowed himself to become captivated by. In answer to his questions, Jesus responds: “Despite your scrupulous obedience, there is one thing you lack, one thing that is keeping you from being complete, from being perfect, from being fit for the kingdom. And that one thing is what you love the most: your wealth. What you need isn’t addition; it’s subtraction. You don’t need to add one more work, one more ‘good deed,’ to ‘inherit eternal life’ (v. 16). What you need, quite simply, is to lose.”