The Rich Young Ruler

A ruler with a question (18:18). A ruler came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” A ruler was an important leader of the Jewish people. Matthew's Gospel says he was a young man (Matthew 19:20), so we call him the rich young ruler. Eternal life. Eternal life is life with God that never ends. It begins when we come to know God, and it lasts forever. The ruler wanted it, and that was a good thing to want. What shall I do? His question shows what he probably believed: that eternal life was something he could earn if he did enough good things. It is easy for us to think that way too. Why do you call Me good? (18:19). Jesus answered, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” Jesus wanted the ruler to stop and think about what good really means. Only God is good. To be good in God's way means being right all the way through, with no sin at all. Only God is good like that. Jesus was helping the ruler see that no person can stand before God on his own goodness. What we learn. Eternal life is not a prize for being good enough. The Bible says, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). You cannot earn a gift. You receive it with thanks.

A certain ruler (18:18). “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The word for ruler is archon (say: AR-kohn), a leader or official with authority. Luke calls him a ruler, Matthew says he was a young man (Matthew 19:20), and all three Gospels say he was rich. Mark adds that he “came running, knelt before Him” (Mark 10:17). He was eager and serious. The question behind the question. He asked what he should do. He probably assumed eternal life was earned by some deed, perhaps one more good work he had not yet found. Good Teacher. Jesus answered, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (18:19). Jesus pressed him to think about the word he had used. If only God is good, then the standard for eternal life is God's own goodness, and no one reaches it by trying harder. A higher measure. Paul wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The ruler measured himself by what he had done. Jesus measured him by who God is. Not a denial. Jesus did not say He was not good. He turned the ruler's eyes to God's goodness, the only measure that counts. For you. When you wonder what you must do for God to accept you, start where Jesus started. Look first at who God is, and you will see how much you need His gift. Then receive it from the only One who can give it.

The ruler asked Jesus a very important question. He wanted to know how to live with God forever. The Bible calls this eternal life. Another Gospel book tells us he was a young man. He asked Jesus, “What must I do?” He probably thought he could do something to earn it. Jesus answered, “Only God is good.” Good means always right and never wrong. People do good things sometimes. But all of us do wrong things too. So nobody can earn life with God. It is a gift that God gives through Jesus.

A leader asked Jesus how to live with God forever. Jesus said only God is good. We need God's help.

You know the commandments (18:20). Jesus named five of the Ten Commandments. They say to be faithful in marriage, not to murder, not to steal, not to lie about others, and to honor your father and your mother. About people. Every command Jesus named is about how we treat other people. He did not name the first one, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). That command is about loving God first. Kept from my youth (18:21). The ruler said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” From my youth means since he was a boy. He was probably an honest man who tried to do right. Jesus loved him. Mark tells us, “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him” (Mark 10:21). Jesus did not laugh at him or argue with him. He cared about him. The heart. Keeping rules on the outside is not the same as loving God with your whole heart. The ruler had not stolen anything, but something else had taken first place in his heart. Jesus was about to show him what it was. What we learn. Obeying God is good, and we should do it. But obeying cannot make us right with God, because no one obeys perfectly. The Bible says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). We need a Savior.

The commandments (18:20). Jesus quoted five commands from the second half of the Ten Commandments: faithfulness in marriage, life, property, truth and honoring parents. He began with commands the ruler was most likely to feel sure about. From my youth (18:21). “All these things I have kept from my youth.” He was probably sincere. By the measure most people use, he was a good man, and he had worked at it for years. The command Jesus did not quote. Jesus left out “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), the command about loving God first. In 18:22 He would put His finger on exactly that place. Looking at him, loved him. Mark records, “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him” (Mark 10:21). Jesus' next words came from love, not from a wish to shame him. One point. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). The law is one whole, like a chain. Break one link, and the chain is broken. What the law does. God's commands show us what is right, and they also show us where we fall short. The law cannot carry us to God. It points us to the One who kept it perfectly in our place. For you. If you grew up knowing God's rules, you are a lot like this ruler. Thank God for that, but do not trust it. Ask Him to show you anything that has taken first place in your heart.

Jesus reminded the man of God's commands. Each command He named was about treating people right. They said not to hurt people or take their things. They said to tell the truth and honor your parents. The man said he had kept them since he was a boy. He really tried to live a good life. That was a good thing. But God's law asks for more than good actions. God wants us to love Him most of all. God also sees what is inside our hearts. Nobody keeps every command all the time. Only Jesus obeyed God perfectly, every single day.

Jesus talked about God's good rules. The man said he obeyed them all. But only Jesus obeyed God perfectly.

One thing (18:22). Jesus said, “You still lack one thing.” The ruler had kept many rules, yet he was still missing something. It was not one more good deed. Sell all. “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Jesus knew this man's heart. His riches held first place in his life, the place that belongs to God. Not a way to earn. Selling everything does not buy eternal life. Jesus did not give these exact words to everyone He met. He said them to this man, because they showed what he loved most. Treasure in heaven. Treasure in heaven is the reward God keeps for those who belong to Him. It lasts forever. Jesus taught, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Come, follow Me. The verse ends with an invitation: “and come, follow Me.” Jesus did not only ask the ruler to give something up. He invited him to come along with Him. Mark says Jesus also told him, “take up the cross” (Mark 10:21). What we learn. Anything can take God's place in a heart: money, games, friends or wanting to be liked. Jesus asks for first place because He is better than all of it. Following Him means trusting Him and going where He leads.

You still lack one thing (18:22). The ruler had a long list of things he had done. Jesus named the one thing missing, and it was not on any list. It was his heart. A command for this man. “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor.” Jesus did not make this a rule for every believer. He spoke to this man, whose wealth had become the thing he trusted. His riches had become the thing he leaned on instead of God. Not a payment. Selling his goods would not have paid for eternal life. Jesus' command brought out into the open what he loved more than God. The first commandment was the one he had not kept. Treasure in heaven. Jesus promised a better treasure, one that cannot be lost. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). What we treasure shows where our heart is. Akoloutheo. The heart of the call is “come, follow Me.” To follow is akoloutheo (say: ah-koh-loo-THEH-oh), to go along behind someone as a disciple. Jesus was not offering a trade. He was offering Himself. The cross. Mark adds that Jesus said, “take up the cross, and follow Me” (Mark 10:21). Following Jesus costs something, but He is better than anything we leave behind. For you. Ask honestly: is there anything I would not give up for Jesus? Whatever it is, bring it to Him. He asks for first place because He loves you.

Jesus said there was one more thing to do. He told the man to sell everything he had. Then he should give the money to the poor. Can selling things make someone right with God? No, it cannot. Jesus knew what this man loved most. His riches had become more important to him than God. Jesus wanted to set him free from that. Then Jesus said, “Come and follow me!” Following Jesus means trusting Him and staying close to Him. Jesus is better than anything we could ever own. What do you love the most?

Jesus asked the man to give his riches away. Jesus said, “Come and follow me!” Jesus wants to be first in our hearts.

Very sorrowful (18:23). “But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.” He wanted eternal life, but he was not willing to let go of his riches. Mark says he “went away sorrowful” (Mark 10:22). How hard (18:24). Jesus saw how sad he was and said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Riches are not evil. But it is easy to trust them instead of God. A camel and a needle (18:25). “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The camel was one of the biggest animals people knew. The eye of a needle is the tiny hole for thread. Jesus was describing something impossible. Who then can be saved? (18:26). The people who heard it asked, “Who then can be saved?” They probably thought that if a rich, careful man like this could not get in, nobody could. Possible with God (18:27). Jesus answered, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” No person can save himself, rich or poor. But God can change a heart, forgive sin and give eternal life. What we learn. If you feel too far from God, or too good to need Him, remember this verse. Salvation is God's work. Trust Jesus, and let Him do what you cannot.

Very sorrowful (18:23). “He became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.” He did not mock Jesus or argue. He was truly sad, because he wanted eternal life and he also wanted his wealth. A sad choice. Mark says he “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). He came running to Jesus and left in sorrow. The thing he would not give up was the thing that held him. How hard (18:24-25). “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus gave a picture: a camel, one of the biggest animals people knew, going through the eye of a needle. The picture is not of something difficult. It is of something impossible. Who then? (18:26). If a rich, law-keeping ruler could not enter, who could? Their question was exactly the right one. Adynatos (18:27). “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Impossible is adynatos (say: ah-DOO-nah-tos), without power. The word for possible comes from the same root, able, having power. People have no power to save themselves. God has all the power it takes. Salvation is God's work. Being rich cannot open the door, and neither can being good. Only God can give a new heart and eternal life, and He does it through Jesus. For you. No heart is too hard for God to change, and no one is too good to need Him. Ask Him to do in you what you cannot do yourself.

The man became very sad when he heard Jesus. He wanted life with God. But he did not want to give up his riches. Jesus saw how sad he was. Then Jesus told about a camel and a needle. A camel cannot fit through a needle's tiny hole! Jesus meant that something is impossible for people. No one can save himself. Being rich cannot save us, and being good cannot either. The people asked, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said God can do what people cannot. God changes hearts and saves people who trust Jesus.

The man became very sad. No one can save himself. But God can do anything!