21 June 2010
Psalm 89:1-18; Num. 16:1-19; Rom. 3:21-31; Matt. 19:13-22

The rebellion of Korah and his retinue is a sad moment in the history of the people. Leading men of the congregation, frustrated by the failure to enter the land, now oppose the leadership of Moses and Aaron and question whether they are the ones to continue to lead the people. We see Moses’ anger in his response to this challenge in a way that is somewhat uncharacteristic of his responses to previous challenges. The blame for the failure to get to the land is laid at the feet of Moses and Aaron and it is not difficult to imagine why this would arouse his anger. How weary he must have been at this point to have to defend his leadership yet again. It is almost startling that this confrontation comes to its conclusion in the one place that should make clear that Moses is the leader, the tent of meeting, the very place that only Moses can enter to meet with the Lord.

The rich young man asks what does he have to do to enter the kingdom and receives an answer he is unwilling to accept. Jesus’ response points the question to the only one who truly knows what “good” means, the one who is Himself good. Asking humans what good is has its own problems. We have always wanted to know the difference between good and evil but we sought it in the wrong place in the beginning when that knowledge is found only in the good Himself. The answer of selling everything and giving it to the poor and following Jesus is the same as the kingdom parables Jesus tells of the pearl of great price, the treasure in the field and the woman searching for the lost coin. Acknowledging the value of Jesus and following Him shows we recognize good and understand its value. Jesus is calling on the man to recognize that even the law isn’t good in itself, that Jesus is better than the law and the righteousness the man believes himself to have under the law. He knows in his heart that something is missing but he can’t do the one thing needful.

The righteousness of God, the true good, is disclosed in Jesus and all other righteousness is seen for what it truly is, shallow pretense. The reality is so much greater than the shadow to use Platonic terms. Paul has seen true righteousness after a lifetime of pursuing what he thought was righteousness under the law and when he has seen it, he has done what the rich young man could not, leave his own attempts behind to follow Jesus. All his past deeds were as nothing in light of Jesus. When he saw this true righteousness he realized that his righteousness was nothing and that it was not this by which he could be justified, but only through faith in Jesus. We must not be presumptuous like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and we must not be like the rich young man, seeking to earn the kingdom through what we believe to be good deeds, we must indeed come as Paul and as the little children, in recognition of Jesus’ righteousness and goodness.

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome above all that are around him?
O Lord God of hosts,