Spiritual Goals and Values: Following Jesus in His Upside-Down KingdomSýnishorn

The Rich Young Ruler (Part 2)

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’s interaction with the rich young ruler. He came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Along with other commandments, Jesus asked him to give up the most important thing within his life - his wealth, and with it - his power, and thus he left with great sadness.

Once he leaves, Jesus uses this as a teaching moment for His disciples .”How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” He says (verse 23). In fact, (verse 25) “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Now, I don’t know if you have ever successfully squeezed a 500-kilogram animal through a hole that’s barely visible, but… through this imagery, Jesus makes His point super, super clear. He says it plain and outright (verse 27) that with “man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

What exactly is going on here? Was Jesus angry that the young ruler was wealthy? Does Jesus hate rich people? Is it truly impossible for rich people to get into heaven? Are we supposed to sell everything we have and give it to the poor?

Twice within this story (verses 24 and 26), we are told that the disciples were amazed, and for good reason! They probably had many of the same questions as above.

To understand this, we need to understand that back in those days (and often in our day, too), it was understood that money was a blessing from God. Therefore, if somebody was righteous, God would bless them with money and possessions. Basically, more money = more proof that they were right with God. And yet here is Jesus saying that even these people (the super, super “blessed” ones!) could not be saved by their efforts. They can’t buy themselves into eternal life or earn their way into heaven. In fact, Jesus says, “with man this is impossible!” The disciples were amazed because if even the rich young ruler could not save himself… how, then, could they? Simple fisherman? Farmers? The working class? The poor? Anybody?

What Jesus is truly getting at is this: merely obeying the law (or doing what is “right”, having good behaviour) is not enough. Nothing we do will earn us an eternal life inheritance. But that also doesn’t mean that it’s free.

The call to follow Jesus has never been an easy one, and being a Christian has always come at a great and total cost.

Stop for a moment and pause on the sentence above. What do you think? How does this make you think and feel? Has this been your experience?

What Jesus is asking of the rich young ruler is the same thing that He asks from each and every one of us: whole-hearted-devotion. We need to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). This is a love and a life that requires tremendous personal sacrifice from us. For some, they need to surrender dreams, for some family, and for others (including the rich young ruler), this sacrifice was wealth and status.

We read something remarkable in verse 21. It says “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” This comes right before His ask to “sell everything you have and give to the poor.” This is so important, because no matter the sacrifice that we make for God, the love of Jesus comes before the command. That last sentence should be bolded, underlined, and tattooed on our faces because it’s so important. His love comes first.

This entire passage of Scripture comes at a time when Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world. Therefore, this message falls right in line with the call of every disciple in Matthew 16:24-26:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

Once the rich young ruler walks away from Jesus, He goes on to say that anything people give up for Him and the Gospel in this life will be returned and rewarded a hundred times over in the age to come. Talk about the upside-down Kingdom! A Kingdom in which (verse 31) “many who are first will be last, and the last first.” This is what it means to live with an eternal perspective today. This life is short. Eternity is forever. The rich young ruler could not grasp this perspective. Can we?

To finish up today, think about or journal the answer to the following questions:

What is the most important thing in the world to you? What do you value most in the world?

What if Jesus asked you to give that up to follow Him? What would your response be? Why?

What is Jesus asking you to give up in order to follow Him wholeheartedly? What values or goals do you need to take up as an alternative?

What life goals are in line with a life devoted to following Jesus?