chapter five
and “Kyrios” like Matthew, they have the same challenge embedded in
the structure of the story. Their lesson to the man is that, although it is
a good thing to obey the commandments, what one really should do is
to sell everything and follow Jesus. Selling and following are required
in addition to traditional Jewish piety (Matthew makes this very clear
by referring to perfectness). Jesus’ exhortation is the thing that gives
the story its Christian edge and lends it something of the character of
a conflict story that points out where the border between Jesus’ followers
and traditional Judaism lies. But in Origen’s passage—although Jesus first
advisesthemantoselleverythingjustasthesynopticsdo—thelatterpart
of the story is more concerned with the question of showing mercy. The
man is not really criticized for not selling everything he has but for not
giving something to his ailing brothers. In the synoptic versions of the
story, poverty is an ideal but in Origen’s version it is a plague that the
people with means should try to alleviate.
The Genealogy of the Group
It has often been noted that Jesus’ words to the rich man imply a particu-
laristic understanding of brotherhood: The rich man should show mercy
tohisfellowJews,“sonsofAbraham.”Overall,ifcomparedwiththesyn-
optic parallel stories, Origen’s passage does not make any effort to use
thestoryfortheeducationofpossiblepaganmembersofthecommunity
nor does it appear to legitimate its teaching against hostile Jews. It seems
to focus only on the parenesis within a Jewish community. Although
an exhortation to obey the love commandment would also be possible
within a Christian community, other features in the text suggest a Jewish
context. One indication of this is that Peter is addressed only as Simon,
which suggests a Semitic background.
Summary: The Jewish-Christian Profile of the Community
In terms of the indicators of Jewish-Christian profiles, the passage does
not touch any of the questions that would clearly mark the borderline
between Judaism and Christianity. It focuses on the commandment of
love which has a role in Jewish as well as in Christian interpretation of
the law. Synoptic versions of the story deal with the commandments and
the question of monotheism in order to show that Jesus agrees with these
partsofJewishtraditionbutrepresentfollowingJesusassomethingthat
surpasses the traditional modes of Jewish piety. Origen’s version of the
story seems to presuppose that the readers/hearers of the story know
the contents of Jewish law and the love commandment as a part of it. It