18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
Verses 18-30 present a contrast between one who is confident in his personal achievements versus those who exercise simple trust. The rich young ruler had material security, but he was uncertain about what makes a person acceptable to God.
The story of the ruler appears in all three Synoptic gospels (Mt 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31). All three describe him as rich.
18:18
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
The ruler wanted to know what actions were necessary to obtain eternal life or the kingdom. The “ruler” may indicate that he was a leader, likely a civil magistrate. Although this man was a righteous person, he wanted assurance of his salvation.
The ruler assumed that he must “do” something to gain eternal life. He did not deem himself assured of his salvation. On the other hand, he may have thought of himself as good enough to earn salvation, but he sensed something missing in his life.
18:19
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
Jesus’ response to the ruler was that God alone is truly righteous. The Lord implied that He Himself is God, a claim to deity. The ruler was to think deeply about Jesus’ challenge of who He was.
18:20
You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
Jesus asked the ruler whether he kept the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments (Ex 20:12-16). All five commands come from the second table of the law, dealing with how we treat others.
18:21
And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
The ruler thought he kept all the commands Jesus listed in the previous verse. In his mind, he came to Jesus with impeccable credentials. If this man kept the commandments from his youth, why did he still seek eternal life? He viewed himself as keeping the law in relation to men, not God. It is God’s righteousness that the Lord requires for righteousness (Ro 3:21f).
18:22
So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Jesus put the young man to the test. Did he truly yield himself to the standard Scriptures set forth, or was it a standard he established for himself?
Jesus’ response, since the ruler thought he had to do something to earn eternal life, was to ask him how he measured up to the law. “How do you measure up to the law?” The law shows the standards for receiving eternal life (Ga 3:24).
Jesus told the ruler that he lacked one thing to follow Him. To do that, he had to sell all he had and give the money to the poor. A person must keep the law perfectly to inherit eternal life (Jas 2:10). Nobody can obtain eternal life by following the law; it is an impossibility (Ro 3:20; Ga 2:21; 3:21). Jesus showed this man that he did not love God with all his heart, or the neighbor as himself. He did not have an adequate view of the law, because God was not in first place in his life.
Do the words “follow me” refer to an invitation to discipleship (Lu 9:24)? The command in this verse was not universal; Jesus did not extend it to everyone. Jesus’ invitation to follow Him was for the ruler to enter discipleship with Him. The idea is to come under His teaching and follow His way of life. The idea of “sell all” addressed the ruler’s making money his idol (Lu 18:25). Selling all forced the ruler to trust God rather than money. It was a call to allegiance to God.
Jesus found the man’s core problem—his worship was material covetousness. He loved his possessions more than God.
People seeking eternal life do not focus on their righteousness but on the nature of God’s absolute righteousness. Jesus showed this man that he did not measure up to God’s righteousness.
18:23
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
The ruler was not willing to take the next step by following Jesus. He cared more for his wealth than for Jesus. Riches became a hurdle to following Jesus. His money was his idol.
Jesus did not apply the same standard He set for the ruler to every rich person in the Bible. That kind of test was not necessary for Abraham (Ge 13:2), Joseph of Arimathea (Mt 27:57), or others in Scripture. Jesus designed this test for this particular person. His riches possessed him, not God.
Wealth in Jewish culture was an indication of God’s favor. Jews did not view it as a barrier to know God but as an indication of His blessing on them. However, the ruler’s wealth was his idol. That was his barrier to eternal life. There was something between him and his Savior.
PRINCIPLE:
God’s righteousness is the standard for acceptance with God.
APPLICATION:
The ruler chose to reject becoming a disciple of Jesus because he loved his money more than God. The standard for acceptance with God for eternity is God’s very own righteousness. The ruler did not qualify for that issue. The first issue in salvation is recognizing how far one falls short of God’s standard of righteousness (Ro 3:23). This standard is the primary hurdle for those who reject Christ. Their need is to accept by faith that God offers His righteousness to them freely (Ro 3:20-24).
