THE RICH YOUNG MAN
Introduction
This is possibly one of the most misunderstood parables of Jesus’ teaching ministry. Many, many people believe that this parable teaches that it is a “bad” thing to have wealth and that we all should give away everything we own and live lives of poverty. Let’s see if that is in fact what Jesus meant to teach us.
Verse 17. Notice the man starts off by asking the WRONG question. He was obviously brought up in an environment that taught him that there was something HE could do to WORK his way into eternal life. The question should have been something like, “How can I be assured of eternal life?”
Verse 18-19. At first Jesus rebukes him a little, reminding him that no one is good except God. Then, Jesus who knew the man’s heart and what point of view the man was coming from, tells him that he knows the commandments and goes on to list some. It is interesting that Jesus lists those that have to do with works and NOT those that have to do with God and the heart of men. Why do you think that is? We see the answer soon.
Verse 20. The man tells Jesus that he has kept those commandments since he was a boy. So, we see that Jesus knows that the man was raised in a religious family that focused on the Law. Jesus also knows where the man’s weakness lies.
Verse 21. Says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Jesus could have come down hard on the man and rebuked him harshly, but no. It says He loved him. Jesus tells the man, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come, follow me.”
Why did Jesus say this? Is He telling us to sell all that we possess, give the money away and live on the streets or in convents and monasteries? NO. Jesus treats individuals as such and in the case of the man in the story, Jesus looked into his heart and discovered THE ONE THING that was keeping this man from eternal life with God. It was NOT that the man was rich. It was that the man’s riches had become a god unto themselves that the man placed BEFORE the One True God.
We see this in…
Verse 22. “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth.” The man would rather spend eternity without God than give up his earthly riches that are here for a short time. We see this over and over again. Jesus does not want us to live in poverty. He does, however, expect to be Number One in our lives and if there is something we have placed BEFORE Him in our lives, something we have therefore made a god out of, then HE demands that we walk away from it and follow Him. That is why He says…
Verse 23-25. “…that it is easier for a camel (original text, ‘rope’) to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” Why is this so? NOT because a man is rich, but because the richer a man or a country is, the more likely God will be pushed aside or forgotten altogether.
Verse 26. The disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?”
Verse 27. Jesus replies that if man relies on himself, NO ONE can be saved. It is impossible. But only with and through God is man’s salvation possible.
Verse 28. Peter then says that they had given up all to follow Jesus. The implied question is, "What about us?"
Verse 29-30. Jesus replies that whatever they or we have given up or “lost,” we will be given a hundred fold back in the next age along with eternal life.
CONCLUSION
We see from this teaching that it is not having wealth that is necessarily “bad.” It is only when we allow that wealth to become our “god” that it becomes a source for evil. This does not only apply to monetary wealth either. In our society today, we can make a “god” out of just about anything. Our cars become “god” as do our sports, our movie stars, our recreation, our plants and animals, our environment and even our bodies. Anything that takes our focus away from the One True God then becomes a “god” in His place. The rich Young Ruler chose his wealth over Jesus. He chose to make his riches his “god” instead of choosing God-The-Son. That is the lesson of this parable.
ASSIGNMENT
Re-read this passage and meditate on whatever gods you have made to stand before the True God (money, possessions, friends, family, habits, whatever). “Sell” them or give them away and as Jesus says, “Come, follow me.” Other suggested Scriptures: I John 2:15-16, Colossians 3:5, 8, 9; Galatians 5:24 and Philippians 4:4.