Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
What if the rich, young ruler had been Chinese…?

What if the rich, young ruler had been Chinese…?

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 7:49 am by Brad Vaughn

What if the rich, young ruler had been Chinese…? 2015-08-14T07:49:24-07:00 Brad Vaughn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Western Christians make a big deal of the rich young ruler story (Matt. 19:16–29; Mark 10:17-30; Luke 18:18–30). The account has become the quintessential expression of a legalist trying to earn his salvation. Is this interpretation correct or is it just a caricature of the rich man?

Our understanding of the story matters significantly because it shapes the way many people perceive a sinner’s problem and thus do evangelism. To explore this question further, let us consider what we would see if we read the text with a Chinese lens.

This post simply makes a few observations that prepare us for the upcoming post, in which I will show in what sense Jesus preached a “Chinese” gospel.

Are We Asking the Wrong Questions?

If we ask the wrong question, we’ll often get the wrong answer. Notice how Jesus reframes the entire conversation.

First, Jesus changes the question from “what is good?” to “who is good?”

The rich ruler asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replies to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone….” (Mark 10:18).

Significantly, Jesus changes the ruler’s question from a “what?” to a “who?” Rather than “what is good”, we need to consider “who is good.” So often, we misdiagnose our problem and therefore the solution. The man’s problem is that he hadn’t established the right relationship—with Jesus. In Chinese terms, he didn’t have the right guanxi.

Second, Jesus explains salvation in terms of “who?” (guanxi) not simply “what?”

Whereas the rich ruler (and we?) emphasizes “eternal life,” notice that Jesus again speaks about guanxi, a “who” question. In Mark 10:26-31, we read,

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus does not allow us to think merely in terms of time or personal security. Salvation has a distinctly communal aspect. We gain a big family (i.e. rather than simply losing our birth family). Conversion is a changing of group identity. In this way, Jesus expands our typical ways of thinking about salvation.

One thing we lack––relationship (guanxi)

Jesus shows us our real desire and true need. This should cause us to rethink the way we talk. People have a good but misplaced desire for relationship (guanxi). We need to reframe our gospel presentations to reflect this point.

“Who we are” to a great extent is decided by “whom we know.” We always make decisions in the context of our relationships; yet, we too often preach an individualistic message––only stressing what an individual personally must do and can get. We frequently do not talk about identity, belonging, gaining a family, and the implications for our present relationships.

Chinese are especially mindful of the importance of relationship in life. Instead of talking about works-righteousness and even bad mouthing the cultural emphasis on guanxi (as I’ve heard some westerners do), let’s take advantage of it. After all, this is a very redeemable aspect of the culture. Doesn’t the Bible make at least as much of relationship as the Chinese?

If the rich young ruler were Chinese, perhaps he might have asked, “Whom must I know to be saved?” Or, “What kind of guanxi do I need?”

If we confuse “who” and “what”…

We need to be careful not to fall into the same trap as the rich ruler.

We will never see the significance of Jesus’ message if we confuse the questions “what?” and “who?” Accordingly, we will be ill-equipped to preach the gospel as Jesus did.

As sinners, our tendency is to focus on what we get. We can easily start seeing relationships as “connections” or means to gain personal advantage. Jesus challenges this way of viewing relationships.

If we focus too much on “what” questions (what one must do, what one gets), we can wind up neglecting even more fundamental concerns like identity, relationships, and belonging.

In upcoming posts, I will highlight a few more implications for evangelism and theology.

Chinese Culture

Evangelism

Theological Contextualization

rich young ruler

Previous Post

November 4, 2013

Benny Hinn is Coming to China

Next Post

November 12, 2013 Talking about “Face” in Chinese

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Biblical Theology Book Reviews China Chinese Church Chinese Culture Chinese Language Collectivism Contextualization Culture (General) Ecclesiology Evangelism Gospel Honor & Shame (Face) Interpretation/Exegesis Justification/Righteousness Missiology Mission Methods One Gospel for All Nations Other Practical Contextualization Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes Resources Romans Salvation (General) Saving God's Face Seeking God's Face The Cross in Context Theological Contextualization Theological Education Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What mountain was the prophet Elijah hiding on when an earthquake, wind, fire, and then a whisper came?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mount Gerizim Mount Horeb Mount Carmel Mount Moriah

Books by This Author Books by Brad Vaughn

See All Titles »