“Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young
man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions.”
(Matthew 19:21-22)
Thoughts… The rich young ruler had a real problem: His whole belief system was fundamentally flawed. He had three very common, but deadly serious misconceptions as it related to money, wealth and happiness. On this particular day, he got into a dangerous conversation with Jesus, and like a skilled surgeon, the Lord cut into these misguided beliefs and laid bare the young man’s flawed thinking.
The first flaw was a misguided belief about security. The young man misunderstood what it would take to give him that basic sense of wellbeing that every human being desires. He believed that his good works would earn him favor with God, which he hoped Jesus would affirm when he asked the question in verse 17: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus rattles off five of the Ten Commandments and says, “here’s a starting point.” Why only five; why these five? These five rules were very measurable, and Jesus knew this young man would equate them with the good works needed to feel secure.
Notice in verse 20 the guy’s starting to feel proud and justified: “All these I have kept since I was a boy.” But here’s the thing about good works: You can never do enough. You always feel you need to do more.
Notice the irony. This rich young ruler is feeling good about himself and wants Jesus to justify his lifestyle, but he forgets the reason that drew him to Jesus in the first place: He’s empty inside, and doing these good things still isn’t enough.
Jesus is trying to help this young man to see that the very law that he was so proud of keeping was in reality meant to show that no matter how hard you tried to keep it, you could never measure up, and that was the reason for his insecurity.
You have probably noticed by now that Jesus didn’t list out the first 4 Commandments — the one’s that have to do with loving God? That’s the real issue here. If you do really well in these measurable areas of the law, and yet fall short in this not so measurable area of wholeheartedly loving God, then you have truly failed and will feel far more miserable. Why? Because if you fail at this one, you’ve failed in keeping the whole Law.
That’s why we are told in verse 22 that this young man went away sad. Not just because he’s rich and doesn’t want to part with his possessions, but mainly because he’s failed at the very thing he thought he so good at: Keeping the law, and in doing so, having a life that is pleasing to God.
Jesus has pulled back the curtain on this guy’s life, revealing that in reality, he’s a law-breaker. He’s stumbled at the most basic law—the very first one: Loving God perfectly.
Did you also notice that Jesus left off the Tenth Commandment, “You shall not covet”? Again, what Jesus didn’t say would have been deafening to this young man. What he had earned—the wealth he had gained, the stuff he had accumulated—had become his god. And when Jesus challenged him to give it up, an arrow went right to the heart of the issue of coveting.
The second flaw was a misguided belief about salvation. It was the classic mistake of thinking that what I do will save me: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Notice the emphasis is on I: What must I do. So many people stumble at this point of salvation by grace through faith, not works.
When you ask churchgoers about eternal life, what a high percentage of them will say will be no different than the rich young ruler: They believe being good and doing good will earn them salvation. But salvation by grace through faith is not about anything you can do—you cannot do enough! Never! It’s all about what Jesus has done! That’s grace: He did for you what you can never do in a million years for yourself! The only thing you can do is humbly accept this gift!
The third misguided belief is about satisfaction. The flaw was his thinking that what he had would satisfy him. It’s another irony in this story: The things he depended on for happiness are the very things that have left him so empty, yet he’s still addicted to them.
Did you see what Jesus’ antidote for his emptiness was? “Give to the poor, come follow me.” (verse 21) Jesus is challenging him to re-prioritize his life if he wants to be happy. Priority #1 must be to love God first—“follow me.” And priority #2 is a close second: love people before loving his possessions—“give to the poor.”
Jesus challenges him to totally surrender his priorities. And that’s really what this conversation is all about—a call for the total surrender of our priorities to God. If you hang around with Jesus long enough, he’ll challenge you in the same way. He’ll call you to…
Surrender your financial security…in exchange for eternal security.
Surrender your need for the approval of people…in exchange for God’s favor.
Surrender your relationships…in exchange for intimacy with the God of the universe.
Surrender all your priorities…in exchange for peace that passes all understanding.
Surrender your life—your comfort, your lifestyle, your things, your goals…in exchange for the unimaginable, incomparable blessings of God.
The rich young ruler was looking for satisfaction—Jesus showed him that it only comes through surrender.
Jesus invites you to do the same: Surrender everything to him, and by so doing, find everything your heart desires in him.
Prayer… Lord, in all likelihood, I am more like this rich young ruler than I realize. Money and material possessions are more important to me than I care to admit. I, too, have been sucked into the deception that stuff will make be happy. Deliver me, I pray. Help me to truly and fully love you and use my stuff to honor you.
One More Thing… “Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.” —Saint Thomas Aquinas
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