The Rich Young Ruler
The story of the rich young ruler is found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew 19:16-23, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-23. The man is described as a “ruler,” and we can infer he was a Jewish official of some sort since no Roman ruler would address Jesus as “teacher” or “master” (Matthew 19:16). Therefore, this man would have known the Law of God well. And this is displayed in his question when he asks Jesus what commandments he should keep. Jesus recites six commandments, including “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19). The man replies, “All these I have kept…What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19:20). This question points to a heart problem within this young ruler. More than likely, this man did not keep the law of God perfectly from youth, and yet while he was obviously religious and seemingly genuine in his desire for salvation, he measured himself against the Law, and he considered himself faultless.
Leave it to Jesus to expose this man’s oversight: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21-22). Jesus uncovers one area where the man did not measure up to God’s Law. It’s interesting to note in Mark 10:21, we see Jesus’ compassion for this young man: “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus puts the man’s faith to the ultimate test, and sadly, his faith fails him. He treasured his worldly wealth over eternal riches. Jesus exposed the man’s heart and what ruled it: “When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22). The man’s choice undoubtedly saddened Jesus as well because Jesus loved him.
Does this stir up any emotions in you? Have you ever felt better about your salvation on the days when you’re serving, attending worship, or carving out time to be in scripture? We live in a world where productivity and accomplishments are praised. I’m going to categorize us women for a moment and go out on a limb and assume we enjoy the feeling of checking “to-dos” off our list. With innate multi-tasking abilities, we thrive on how much output we can deliver in a day, and if we’re not careful, we allow ourselves to feel good about it. While productivity is nothing to frown upon, we must not let our minds deceive us into believing our actions and service warrant us salvation and God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift from God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” No matter how productive we are, we cannot earn God’s grace, and we should never allow our productivity to cause us to feel so content in our walk with the Lord that we overlook the daily posture of our hearts. Yes, Jesus expects obedience and service, but more than that, He wants our hearts.
In telling the young man to sell all his possessions, Jesus was not condemning affluence or wealth. Sometimes this story can be interpreted as vilifying wealth, but upon closer examination, it is a warning that anything we put before the Lord can cause us to lose sight of heaven. Jesus emphasized the Law as God’s perfect standard, so if one can keep the Law perfectly, then one can escape sin’s penalty. But no one can achieve this, of course, except Jesus. When the man responded that he met the Law’s standard, Jesus revealed one issue that proved the man did not measure up to God’s righteousness. The man was not willing to follow the Lord if it meant he must forsake his wealth. The man breaks the two greatest commandments; he did not love the Lord with all his heart, and he did not love his neighbor as himself. Several things in this world hinder people from fully committing to God; riches are just one of them.
How often are we guilty of the same thing? We put careers, relationships, talents, and so on before our love for Christ at times, and yet we commend ourselves for our loyal devotion to God. Greed ruled the young ruler’s heart though he may not have realized it. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” It takes intentional remembrance that God has given us every good thing in our lives – our families, our children, our careers, our financial status, our health – and if we’re not careful, we can value the gift above the Giver. Let us not be like this young man who allowed God’s gift of temporal wealth to keep him from being a faithful disciple of Christ, therefore forfeiting his eternal home with our Savior.
Are there areas of our lives that we discreetly put before our Lord if we are being honest? I resign to being guilty of this at times. Rather than feeling discouraged, let’s remember Mark’s account - Jesus loved the young ruler, despite his denial to follow Him, and He loves us, too, as we work out our salvation and work to cleanse and purify our hearts day by day.
