Rich Young Ruler Series

Perea

Rich Young Ruler

(Exodus 20:1-17) Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Notice how this young man approaches the Lord Jesus. He addresses Him as Good Master in an attempt to flatter Him. Luke identifies him as a ruler, so he was no doubt wealthy and well educated, a member of the Sanhedrin or a synagogue ruler. He is willing to admit that Jesus is good, and probably the enemies of Jesus would not have gone that far.

He wanted to know what to do to earn eternal life and that is the question he asked our Lord. His question implies that he wanted to perform some work that might gain him eternal life (salvation through works). Jesus replied to the young mans’ question by asking a question: “Why callest thou me good?” When He said, “there is none good but one, that is, God,” He is saying in effect, “If you see that I am good, it is because I am God.” He is directing his thinking so that he might accept Him as the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus added, “if thou wilt enter into life,” and that implies that the young man was still on the outside of such a life; he was lost. The idea is this, if you want to gain eternal life, you must first of all enter it! And how do you do that; it’s very simple, by receiving Jesus as your Savior. But it is interesting to note that Jesus said, “Keep the commandments,” instead of “believe in Me.” He was making a point about pride and self-righteousness. Jesus did not believe that the mere outward act of keeping the commandments brought anyone salvation. He had already told Nicodemus earlier that he must be born again. Why, then, did He tell this young man to keep the commandments? The rest of the story reveals the answer. Jesus will go to great lengths now to show him that he has not kept the commandments and, therefore, is in need of God’s grace.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

The young man asked Jesus to tell him which commandments he must keep, and He listed only those commandments that dealt with one’s relationship with a neighbor or parents (see Deut. 5:16–20). The young man could say that he had kept these commandments, and yet he recognized there was something missing his life. Our Lord did not give him the first five commandments which deal with a man’s relationship with God, because He was leading this young man along in his thinking. But, now He does direct his thinking to his relationship with God.

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

When Jesus said, “If thou wilt be perfect,” He meant “If you want to be complete.” Following Jesus would have led him to see that he was not keeping the commandments dealing with man’s relationship with God. The Lord Jesus was on His way to the Cross. If this man followed Jesus, it would lead him to the foot of the cross. Something, however was keeping him from going after the Lord. His riches were his stumbling block. For you and me it might be something entirely different. The vital message Jesus gave the man was not “Go, sell what you have,” but “Come, follow Me”

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

It was his money that was keeping him from coming to The Lord Jesus Christ. In our day there are many things keeping folks away from the Lord Jesus. Riches are only one thing: there are multitudes of other things. Actually, church membership is keeping many people from Christ because it puts them into a little cellophane bag that prevents them from facing their sins. They feel secure because they have been through the ceremonies or have made their confession, and yet they may be as unconverted as any pagan in the darkest spot on the topside of the earth.