How literally do you take and universally apply what Jesus said?

score:2

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I do not see many people giving their life away for Jesus...

That's not true. Many martyrs gave their life for Christ.

Jesus said if you want to be perfect you must give away all your money...how come nobody does these things?

In the Roman Catholic Church, members of religious orders take vows of poverty.

Also, while many may not take fulfill the words of these passages literally, many fulfill them in a figurative sense. That is, many forgo worldly pleasures, worldy experiences, and worldly fortunes while either serving others or spreading God's Word to others.

Upvote:4

Jesus was trying to push the rich young ruler to the breaking point. The point at which he knew his sin had a firm grasp on him that wouldn't let go. He wanted to drive the ruler to despair, so, like the leper, he would cry out, Kyrie Elieson, have mercy on me, Lord!

I don't believe Jesus was making a blanket statement about riches, as so many people have taken this verse to mean.

This post clarifies my thoughts, and is easily the best interpretation I've ever seen on the topic.

Upvote:10

First off, Jesus was speaking to a single archon - the "rich young ruler." Jesus told Peter to come out and walk on the water, but that doesn't mean I need to do the same :) There is nothing in the text to indicate that this is a generalized principle.

Jesus was speaking to one person, and it is interesting how the exchange goes:

If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Notice that Jesus seems to know what is going on with this guy. Of the last six commandments (typically called the "Second Table" because they talk about how man is to relate to man instead of how man is to relate to God in the "First Table"), Jesus only mentions 5. The missing commandment is significant -

Thou shalt not covet

It is not unreasonable to assume that Jesus knew this was the archon's problem - he was obsessed with wealth. Knowing this young man's problem, he can focus on that.

Also, positionally, this pericope occurs as Jesus is going to Jerusalem to give everything up. Taken from this point of view, it also be taken to show that Jesus himself is totally Good, because Jesus alone is going to be the only one who can truly fulfill this.

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