"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, He said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me." [Lk 18:20-22]

It came to pass on a certain day in Jesus’ ministry upon earth that “a certain ruler,” a “young man” who was “very rich” and “had great possessions,” came to Jesus. [Lk 18:18, 23, Mt 19:20, Mk 10:22] The young man asked The Lord, “good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” [Lk 18:18] And Jesus, knowing the man’s heart, knowing that he loved his money and was not at this moment willing to forsake all; Jesus, thus willing to show the man His condition, says, “Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother.” [Lk 18:20] To which the man says, “all these have I kept from my youth up,” [Lk 18:21] and then added, surely knowing that even though he could with a good conscience answer Jesus’ question he was yet lost, “what lack I yet?” [Mt 19:20] Jesus, then, “beholding him loved him, and said unto him,”

“Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” [Lk 18:22]

At this, the young man “went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” [Mk 10:22] Jesus shows us the heart of the matter later, when He says to His disciples, “children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” [Mk 10:24] Those who have riches are not prevented from entering heaven; rather, it is those who trust in them who are withheld. For no man might trust and look to anything other than Christ, whether it be money or something else, and think that they shall enter into the kingdom. It is those who as the disciples, forsook all and followed Him, who shall enter in and partake of the blessedness of salvation’s fruits. Though not recorded in Luke’s gospel, Mark records Jesus as adding to His last instruction, “and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” [Mk 10:21] The rich, young ruler, as he is called, was unwilling to take up his cross. For him, the cross was money: Christ would have him to forsake all his riches and follow Himself. For you, dear reader, it may be riches, or perhaps it is a substance, a person, an activity. Whatever the case, we cannot expect to love our lives on this earth and seek to please ourselves – we cannot seek to both lay hold of this world and of Christ: we must let go of this world and die to ourselves, as Jesus said,

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” [Lk 9:23-24]

In this story we do find great admonition and warning: “for what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose [his own soul], or be cast away?” [Lk 9:25, Mk 8:36] However, it is not to this that we shall look today. Rather, let us find our encouragement in Jesus’ instruction to the young man.

First, remember what the man was and what he had. He was a rich, young ruler. He had money, he had influence, and he had the energy and passion of youth. And let us think upon Christ and His ministry. What did Jesus have? Jesus was poor, having practically nothing. Though a king indeed, yet Jesus came to the earth humble, meek, and lowly, not garnering much influence at all, especially as it related to the political and religious sectors of society. And finally, Jesus, I am sure, lacked energy – for is it not written of Christ’s body, “He hath no beautiful form nor decoration; and when we shall see Him, there is no appearance that we should delight in Him[?]” [Isa 53:2] The scriptures boldly proclaim, and rightfully so, “[Jesus, our High Priest], was in all points tempted/tested like as we are, yet without sin.” [Heb 4:15] If there is a weakness of the body, if there be any temptation and trial relating to fatigue, weariness, and weakness: ought not Christ to have suffered it? If The Lord had the body of a Greek god, as it were, an athletic machine, capable of great feats of energy, do you not think that He then would hardly be able to relate to the common man, who often suffers from fatigue and weakness. Of this there is no doubt: for when Jesus walked this earth and lived the life we must live, He did not do it with advantage, but was our forerunner: living as we must and suffering as we do, and yet without sin.

See then a great and glorious thing of Christ, when he says to the young man, “sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor.” [Lk 18:22] Why, I think there is hardly a minister upon earth, who would not look at the presence of this man as answered prayer. After all, the young man seemed to fill all the needs at hand; he would appear to be a great addition to the ministry. Who would not heartily and readily and speedily take in this young man, eager for either himself or the ministry to be advantaged by his youth, influence, and money? From the flesh’s eyes, it would appear that the rich, young ruler had all that Christ needed. But it was not so. It was as if Jesus said, “I need none of your money, nor the power and influence it produces for you: sell it all, give it to someone else, and then come follow me.” What a tremendous word from Christ, our Lord, who was utterly unmotivated by money, but was only driven by His Father in heaven. May we look upon Jesus with awe. A man who was not led of self, nor of desire; a man who was not led by money, or people, or any other thing: but who was only led of The Spirit and of God His Father. And may you, dear reader, compare yourself to Christ. How do you fare to His disposition? If a man came to you, such as the rich, young ruler, how would you take it? Would it be to you an answer for your prayers? Or would you, as Christ, challenge and admonish the young man, even at the cost of all his useful money and influence? Our Lord sought to save souls. He was concerned with the man’s soul, not with what He could get from Him. Jesus was even as Paul, (though much greater), when he said, “I seek not yours, but you.” [2 Cor 12:14]

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