The Rich Young Ruler
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Mark 10:17-31
In the story of the “Rich Young Ruler” it is easy to miss the main point, I did for years. The young man asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus tells him to sell everything, give to the poor, and follow him. He did not do this, and we can draw the false conclusion that, because he wouldn’t sell his stuff he couldn’t go to heaven, but if he could have done this he would have been able to get in.
This conclusion is wrong. Jesus never told him that selling his stuff would reserve a spot in heaven, he told him to sell his stuff and follow. Jesus did not give a direct answer to his question because there is no good deed one can do to earn a place in heaven. His issue was not materialism, the issue is unbelief. He was told to leave behind his stuff, and believe that God had rewards for him which far exceeded what he was called to leave behind. The young ruler wanted to add one more good work to his life, and Jesus told him to loose his life. He wanted spirituality not suffering, position not persecution, honor not humility.
We mistakenly focus on his sin of materialism but this is peripheral, the core sin for him was unbelief.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
I have to admit, I told Austin when he was thinking about posting this that I had a degree of skepticism about his reasoning on this passage. However, I have contemplated and prayed and meditated about it since he posted it and I am finding that I agree with this assertion more and more every day. “Now these three things remain…Faith, Hope, Love.” Find those puzzle pieces all over scripture and I do not think you could go wrong.