The Eyes Can Say So Much

He was so eager. So appropriate. So respectful. Theologically correct. He dropped to his knees, called the teacher “good”. Then as all movers and shakers do, got right to the point.

“What do I do to inherit eternal life?”

Top me off, put a cherry on top, another coat of wax, the year-end bonus. All is good. You’re good. I’ve been good. I just need to know how to keep all this goodness coming.

Jesus parroted the man’s religion back to him. Don’t murder, steal, run-around with women, lie, slander, cheat, dishonor your parents.

“I’ve been good all my life,” he said as he straightened up tall, situated his robe, brushed off the dust from his former kneeling. His heart pumped with satisfaction and his face relaxed, returning to the assured and confident look of the well-heeled, the well-fed, the well-respected.

Mark was watching. What would Jesus say to this man in fancy clothes, a man who no doubt lived like royalty, asked for and got anything he wanted? The friends of Jesus had given up trying to guess how he’d respond to people. He’d commend swindlers and worthless beggars and call respectable leaders snakes. He’d tell some people to follow him, others to go home and not say a word. So, they just waited and watched. Closely.

That’s why Mark was able to say this: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Camp here. Let this sink in, however it will. This is Mark’s account - Mark who narrates Jesus’ days in Palestine like an action-packed novel. Immediately. Straight away. This miracle. That one. Up the mountain. In a boat. Across the sea. Another village.

Mark was accustomed to watching Jesus’ face, was familiar with his facial expressions, looked for signs. Knew when a rebuke was coming; perhaps anticipated one this time. Instead, something in Jesus’ countenance, his eyes, his forehead, caused Mark to say, “And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.”

Linger here. Picture the scene. Don’t rush to the conclusion, dive into the debate about God’s view of riches. Just imagine this person, this moment, and Jesus’ response. "He looked at him hard in the eye, and loved him."