Precepts of the New Law: Detachment and Discipleship

 

In the Gospel story of the rich young man, it is interesting to note the commandments that the Lord enumerates to answer the young man's question. We should notice that these commandments, although all but one from the list of the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are all from what we sometimes refer to as "the second tablet." According to this image, the Decalogue is divided into two groups: one, the first tablet, comprising commandments 1-3, is concerned with our duties directly to God, while the second group, the second tablet, comprising commandments 4-10 is concerned with our duties to God IN OUR NEIGHBOR.

So, why does the Lord Jesus only cite the commandments of the second tablet when He enumerates those that the young man must fulfill in order to have everlasting life? It is possible for us to see in this detail the portion of the moral law that remains unaltered by the appearance among us of the Messiah. Yet, the Lord Jesus adds, "If you want to be perfect, go sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then, you will have treasure in Heaven. Then, come and follow Me." These words signal that the requirements of the "first tablet" are somewhat changed. We would be wrong to surmise that "being perfect" is optional for the young man or for us. After all, the Lord Jesus binds us by positive commandment to seek the perfection of the Heavenly Father when He says, "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." We are positively commanded to seek perfection and, in terms of the New Law this means two things: to become detached from created things and to become a disciple of the Messiah.

We should not miss the implications of what the Lord is saying here to the rich young man. The Lord Jesus is very clearly saying, "I am God." How can we know this with certainty? By observing that He has replaced the commandments of the "first tablet" of the Decalogue, the commandments to worship only the One God, to revere the Name of God and to observe the Sabbath rest, with the precepts He gives to the rich young man, amounting to: "detach yourself from the love of created things and become My disciple."

The gospel reading tells us that the rich young man went away sad, because, even though he had kept the commandments of the "second tablet" of the Decalogue since he was a child, he could not detach himself from the love of created things. The Lord's subsequent pronouncement makes it clear that no amount of human effort could accomplish that detachment, but God's grace can do it easily.

This gospel reading is applicable to us because we have the same two precepts of Christ: to detach ourselves from the love of created things and to become His disciples. Detaching ourselves from the love of created things, destroying the passions within us is an aspect of our faith to which we pay frequent attention. But what, on the other hand, does it mean for us to become disciples of God's Messiah? It means the same thing for us that it did for Peter, James and John or any of the other early disciples of the Word made flesh. We have to learn His life and conform our lives to it.