As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
“You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
This interaction is a really incredible insight into the heart of man, and God’s love for us. It begins with the young man calling Jesus “good teacher.” It is important to make note here that this was a very odd thing for the young man to have said. It was not customary to add the epithet “good” to the title of a Rabbi or Master in that time. They reserved that word “good” for God alone. So by using this word, the young man is actually disclosing an understanding that Jesus is at least a prophet of God, maybe the messiah, if not something more, but it is clear that he does not recognize Jesus as God Himself.
As such Jesus responds with the question “why do you call me good? no one is good but God alone.” We might be tempted to think that this is Jesus denying his own divinity, but it is not, it is a test of the young man, and of whether or not the young man actually believes in the things that he has been told about Jesus. But even more it is a test of his relationship with God. Jesus establishes this point by quoting the second tablet of the law. The ten commandments consisted of two tablets. The first table dealt with man’s relationship with God, and the second tablet was man’s relationship with his family and fellow man.
Jesus starts His inquiry by asking how this young man treats his family fellow man. The young man responds that he has done all of these things for all of his life, and I think it is fair to say that we can believe that he had indeed held all of these commandments, because Jesus does not challenge him on it. But then Jesus pivots and asks him about the first tablet, the first 3 commandments (1. hold no idols above God, 2. do not carry His name in vain, and 3. rest on the sabbath). I think it is clear that Jesus wants the young man to focus on the first commandment, by suggesting that he give up his wealth so that he can enter fully into communion with God, because it is his wealth that is preventing him from this connection.
That brings to us to how we today read this message, and how Jesus’ suggestion really cuts to the heart of the matter. If anything in this world is more important to you than the teachings of Jesus and the love of God, you must cast off those things, and follow Him. For the rich young man, his heart was open, he was planted in rich soil, he wanted to bear the fruit of a life well lived, but he was planted among the thorns of wealth and these thorns were choking off his faith, preventing him from achieving completely what God willed for his life.
This is true for all of us, but it is not necessarily always wealth that is the obstacle, yet possessions are a big one for many of us. But poor people can also have their faith choked by other thorns like pride, envy, lust etc. The point of this passage is not that we all have to forgo our wealth, But that we all consider for ourselves what obstacle Jesus would tell us to give up if we asked Him the same question. What is it that Jesus would ask you to give up, to follow him. Life is full of things that can lead you away from Him, and choke out your faith. We all have these things in our lives, what is yours? Today is your chance to ponder this question, and decide if it is more important to you than God?
The irony of what Jesus said to this rich young man, was that Jesus was offering him more treasure than he could possibly imagine. If this young man had done what Jesus suggested, he would have stored up much more treasure in heaven, than he could ever possibly acquire here on earth. The treasures of this world, stay here, after you die, it is only by doing good, speaking truth, and pursuing the beautiful that you attain real treasure in heaven, and that treasure will be waiting for you for all eternity. If this young man had really loved treasure, then Jesus was actually offering him the recipe to be richer in heaven than he could ever imagine he could be here on earth. What is it that Jesus is offering you today, and what do you have to let go of to achieve it?
