Section 38Give up everything for Jesus?

The following slices of the life of Jesus occurred somewhere in Jewish Palestine or nearby regions. The gospels appear to indicate that Jesus had been staying in Peraea on the east side of the Jordan but had left for parts unknown when warned that Herod planned to have him arrested. Toward the end of his earthly ministry – and after the disciples had brought his message to the towns and villages of Judaea – he became active in Judaea.

A great many people trailed along after Jesus, but he turned and severely warned them: "Anyone who comes to me but heeds his parents instead of me is wasting time. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me is wasting time. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me, is not really my disciple."

Jesus gave them this to chew over:

Would any one of you decide to build a tower without first sitting down and reckoning the cost and seeing whether you have the means to accomplish it? Suppose you lay the foundation and then run out of money.

Everyone would laugh at you. "This man could not finish the project he started."

Or, take another example: What king decides to face another king in war without first speaking with his advisers on whether he should field 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers or whether he should sue for peace before closing with the other king?

"In other words," Jesus added, "whoever does not renounce EVERYTHING he has cannot be my disciple."

Speaking of property,  Jesus told the following story:

There was a rich man with a top manager who was accused of squandering the wealth entrusted to him.

The wealthy man summoned the manager and said, "What is this I hear? Settle your finances with me. You are finished as my manager!"

The manager said to himself, "What am I going to do? I am too weak to be a laborer and begging is too embarrassing."

Then he hit on a plan. "I know what I will do! I will make sure that the debtors welcome me after I am fired."

The manager then called on one debtor, asking, "How much do you owe?"

"A hundred measures of oil" was the answer.

"I'll tell you what," said the manager. "Pay half and I'll clear your debt."

To another debtor, the manager said, "What do you owe?"

"A hundred measures of wheat" came the reply.

"I'll give you a 20 percent break if you pay up now," the manager said.

The wealthy man commended the crooked manager on his shrewdness.

"Here's my point: You'd better use crooked Mammon to make friends so that when that whole system collapses, they may accept you in their eternal shelters.

"Think about this: he who is faithful in little is faithful in much.  He who is faithless in little is faithless in much. So if you haven't even been trustworthy in worldly affairs, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you can't be trusted with someone else's property, who will give you what belongs to you?"

In this respect, said Jesus, "No one can serve two masters. He inevitably hates one of them and loves the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon."

Mammon is a name used for material wealth, a name which connoted the idea of a false god. A modern way to put this saying is, "You cannot serve both God and the Almighty Dollar."

We see that Jesus was using homely examples of the way people behave in this fallen world in order to put across concepts that apply to people in need of divine grace – just as he did previously with the story of the prodigal son.

Another point of interest: Judah of Kerioth (Judas Iscariot) used to steal from the Jesus group's communal purse; he was not to be entrusted with the riches of God's kingdom and in fact perished for his treason against God.

Even so, Jesus does not mean that thieves cannot be saved. He is saying that repentance – turning away from worldly sin/wisdom – is necessary if one is to come to God. In fact, I wonder whether there was an earlier version of this story in which the dishonest manager renounces the — probably inflated — commission that he would receive as a middleman. By flinging aside personal gain, he is able to escape the wrath to come. Similarly, a "wrong way Corrigan" who hits bottom and surrenders all his purported privileges is now ready to receive the mercy of Jesus.

Finally, we note that an editor of Luke explained the manager's commendation with the remark that "the sons of this world are in their sphere sharper than the sons of light." As this comment breaks up the flow of the story, it probably was not part of the original saying.

What the world has to offer isn't worth much, said Jesus. You need not worry about material things.

Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
Instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through and steal.
For where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be.
The lamp of the body is the eye. So if your eye is in good order, then your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, then your whole body will be full of darkness. So then, if the light within you is darkness, how dark it is!
No one can serve two masters. He will hate one and love the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.
Therefore I say to you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat and drink, nor for your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds. They neither sow nor reap, nor gather crops into barns. Yet your  Father feeds them. Are you not much more than they?
Which of you, by thinking about it, can add one inch to his height?
And why worry about clothing? Consider how the wildflowers grow; they neither labor nor spin.
But, I am telling you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of them.
So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and burned up tomorrow, won't he clothe you all the more, oh you of little faith?
So don't worry yourselves by thinking, What will we eat and drink? or, How will we be clothed?
The Gentiles chase after those things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But first seek God's kingdom — and his righteousness — and all those things will be added to you.
That is, don't fret about tomorrow. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Today's troubles are enough for one day.

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For discussion of Jesus' words on where your priorities should be, please go here.

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