The Rich Young Ruler

And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:16-26)

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A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall 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 commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:18-27)

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As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall 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, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:17-27)

Don: There is a sense of urgency in the RYR’s question. In Mark, he “ran” up to Jesus to ask it. Apart from that, there is no introductory scene setting to the story; just the blurting out of perhaps the most existential question we carry in our hearts: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In Mark and Luke, the RYR addresses Jesus as “Good Teacher” [emphasis added], though Jesus’ response in Matthew implies that “Good” was used also.

There seems no doubt about the sincerity of the RYR’s question. He comes in haste, he kneels in a show of respect and humility. Jesus was often asked questions intended to trick him into giving an incriminating answer, but this was a sincere and urgent question from a Jew (it hardly seems possible that a Roman would have addressed Jesus with such respect, and a member of the aristocratic Sadducee class would not have believed in an afterlife anyway.) We are not told why the young man was interested in life after death. Perhaps he was ill, and expected a shortened life. Perhaps he was of a family whose males tended to die young. Perhaps he was just a serious and responsible young man who, because he was rich, was thinking about his legacy.

At any rate, Jesus (as usual) answered the question with a question of his own: “Why do you call me ‘Good’?” Jesus was questioning the young man’s (and Everyman’s) ability to judge between good and evil (which reminds us of the reason for the Fall from the Garden of Eden); and was reminding him (and us) that no-one is good except God; that all of us are sinners in need of God’s grace. The response was important but unexpected.

In the Matthew version of the story Jesus added to the five commandments given in all three versions the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself. This is not one of the Ten Commandments but stems from this passage in scripture:

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)

Jesus issued no “Believe in me” or “Have faith in God” type of exhortation to the RYR. He said simply: “Keep the commandments.” The man’s response was even more startling: “Since my youth, I always have,” which seems unlikely to have been true and which begs the question: “What’s the difference between a youth and young ruler?” Jesus allowed the response to pass without comment.

At this point, the young man could have quit while he was ahead. All he had to do was say “OK, I’ll go on keeping the commandments” and he could have gone away satisfied. But he didn’t. In the Matthew version, he asked: “What am I still lacking?” Jesus’s response has been controversial ever since: “If you want to be perfect (“complete”), sell everything and give the money to the poor, then lay up treasure in heaven and come follow me.” Jesus said much the same thing elsewhere:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:19-24)

The injunction to renounce earthly possessions and amass heavenly treasures has caused untold numbers to renounce the economy of everyday life and embrace instead the ascetic, monastic life. But not the young ruler. He left in sorrow, unwilling to part with his wealth.

Significantly, the story is sandwiched between the story of the Publican and the Pharisee and the story of Zaccheus. Even more significant is the parallel story of the Good Samaritan, of which the preamble reads:

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” [Note that Jesus again answered a question with a question.] And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29)

The lawyer asked exactly the same question as the RYR.

Some questions that arise from the story of the RYR are:

o What does it tell us about the criteria for salvation?

o Why didn’t Jesus challenge the RYR’s assertion of having kept the commandments since his youth?

o If we are saved by grace and not by works, what is the role of obedience in salvation? (Some say we cannot be saved by obedience but we can be lost by disobedience.)

o Is it a call to all of us to live an ascetic way of life, or was it a requirement placed only on this particular RYR in terms of his particular relationship with the kingdom of heaven?

Charles: There is more to this story in what is not said than in what is said. I think it applies to everyone, not just to the RYR, and is one of the more powerful passages in scripture in terms of its implications for salvation. The choice of a “Rich Young Ruler” is interesting: “Rich” points to material wealth, “Young” to physical “wealth”, and “Ruler” to status—a form of “social wealth”. What he lacks, however, is spiritual wealth, which I think is why Jesus was saddened by his response. Fallen man, just like the RYR, is unwilling to put God first.

Jesus listed the commandments that have to do with one’s relationship with one’s fellow man: Murder, adultery, stealing, lying, parents. I doubt the RYR was lying when he asserted he had kept these commandments. But what did he not talk about? He did not talk about God. He did not talk about the other five commandments that have to do with God. That’s why I think that it was what is not in the story that is more important. The first thing in the RYR’s life was not his relationship with God.

Keeping the commandments not to murder or commit adultery and so on are easy compared to keeping those pertaining to God. Jesus was telling the RYR, and all of us, that was was standing in the way was material wealth, which must be gotten rid of. and then to follow Jesus. And like all of us, he just could not bring himself to do it. We all have our reasons: For me, maybe it’s my career; for others, it’s their wealth, or their physical pleasures, or their pride, and so on. There’s always an excuse, always something that gets in the way and which we cannot remove without God’s help. Hence the “eye of the needle”: Pushing a camel through the eye of a needle is impossible for us, but not for God. That is why we need to put God first, why we need to have faith and trust in God.

David: We all have some material wealth—even the bag lady has what is “wealth” to her in her bags. I agree with Chuck that Jesus knows only too well that we are incapable of relinquishing it entirely: He said so specifically in Matthew—“With people this is impossible.” So the “wealth” of which Jesus speaks is not just the wealth of the rich—it is all material wealth, and one iota of wealth is enough to prevent your passage through the eye of the needle—the door to heaven. You have to leave it at the door and have faith that when you go through the door, minus your material wealth, that everything you need will be provided for you by God.

Jay: The RYR’s question was not “How can I be saved?” but “What can I do to be saved?” They are very different questions. We tend to focus on the exchange between Jesus and the RYR, and between Jesus and the lawyer, but not so much on that final pronouncement of Jesus that “With people this is impossible.” To me, what that means is “There is nothing you can do,” or “Whatever you do will have no bearing on your eternal salvation.” You can keep all the commandments, but that is not enough to inherit eternal life. Jesus often talked about the measure of sacrifice a human being would have to give in order to be saved, in such terms as to make clear that the requisite measure—plucking out one’s eye, cutting off one’s hand, hating one’s brother, despising one’s family, etc., are practically impossible for us to give. It seems that Jesus was saying that no action of yours—including presumably loving your neighbor and being a Good Samaritan—is enough to get you through the eye of the needle and into heaven. It can happen only—only—with God.

Robin: After Jesus made his “eye of the needle” statement, Peter said:

“Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” (Matthew 19:27-30)

So again Jesus turned things upside down. The people who think they have done everything right are going to be behind the sinners.

David: That’s also the message of the Beatitudes: Blessed are those in despair, etc. We feel pretty bad about being in desperate human straits, but Jesus seems happiest when we are! He seems unconcerned to the point of disdain at our material wellbeing but fanatical about our spiritual wellbeing.

Don: Was this a call by Jesus for everyone to forsake material wealth?

Charles: I don’t think so.

Don: I hope you are right. I would make a lousy monk!

Charles: To the extent that material wealth becomes an impediment to your relationship with God and to the extent that it becomes what you worship, what you believe will deliver what your heart desires, then yes, it is a call to forsake it. It’s so much easier if you don’t have it as a barrier between you and God. The pursuit and protection of wealth is a slippery slope and is extremely dangerous to one’s spirituality. It so easily becomes your focus and your goal. It’s not a matter of wealth singling you out for judgment; rather, wealth simply makes it harder for you to maintain your relationship with God.

Robin: The RYR evidently enjoyed his wealth. The scripture seems to imply that he was not using it to serve God—only himself. To be wealthy and do nothing for the needy you see around you is unacceptable to God—you cannot serve both God and Mammon.

Charles: It’s interesting that the RYR sought out a relationship with God. He must have had some conviction to begin with. He was sorrowful when he found out what it was going to take. He recognized God but in the end he still turned away from God. Faced with the choice of Gd or Mammon, he chose Mammon. He’s like all of us, when it comes to putting God first in every way. We may come close, we may not be bad people, but perhaps Jesus was sad that we are incapable of taking the final leap of commitment to the relationship with God.

Jay: It boils down to the question of whose will—God’s or our own—to follow. There is no action we can take, no work we can do; and that is because it is not about us! Instead of trying to figure it out and finding a way past the barriers to a relationship with God we should simply accept the gift of God’s grace. Salvation is God’s prerogative, not ours. Eternal life is not premised on anything we do here on earth but on what God does for us.

Charles: The story took place well within the period when the law was paramount. So the RYR had good reason to wonder what he was missing. But man cannot supply what’s missing: Only God’s grace can supply it, only God can bring about our reconciliation with him—and did so by laying down his life. But scripture has examples of people choosing not to accept salvation when offered it. Agrippa came close when he was trying Paul:

Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.” (Acts 26:28)

He was apparently not persuaded, though, and shipped Paul off to Rome. But who knows?—Perhaps Agrippa had a change of heart later, after he had thought about it some more.

Don: This story tells us that salvation is a work of God, of divinity. It’s a free gift of grace, accepted through faith. Yet over and over scripture and especially Revelation proclaims that salvation shall depend on our deeds, our “works”. So what is the role of obedience to the law, or trying to do the right thing, of being eager to serve God, if these things do not lead to eternal salvation? Is it the case that through we may not work our way to salvation we can work our way to perdition?

Chris: We think we can handle relationships—among ourselves and with God; that we are in control, that we are able to do the right thing. Jesus essentially told the RYR that he could not do that: “You control your wealth—all you have to do for a relationship with God is to give it up.” And he could not. Our relationship with one another is a product of our relationship with God. One is not possible without the other. We need to realize that in our present imperfect state a relationship with God is impossible without grace.

Charles: Man apart from God is incapable of keeping the Commandments, so it is not the path to salvation. As with Abraham, reconciliation can only occur when God steps in to create the path. Obedience is a natural consequence of the full recognition and acceptance of what God does for Man through Christ—the Christ who always was, is and will be God and who became flesh in order to die an atoning, substitutionary death. The magnitude of that sacrificial gift was such that the path to salvation became a matter of faith, trust, and so on which would naturally lead to a desire on the part of Man for the way of God rather than the way of Man, and obedience to the will of God would be the natural consequence of that. It would include such things as where God fits in one’s priorities and how one behaves with respect to Man. But in and of itself (a) we’re not able to do that without God, without accepting God, without accepting the manifestation of God’s love—which is Christ and which is why Jesus said to the RYR: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. So you are looking at God now. What are you going to do about it? What’s your natural response?” The passage is pointing out that Man is not capable of keeping the commandments or finding salvation through keeping them. Maybe the extent to which you take care of your neighbor brings some reward and maybe that’s where the “works” come in. Maybe we are saved through the gift of grace but there is additional reward depending on how you can account for your life on the day of judgment, on how you behave before God.

Jay: Are you suggesting that the better you are on earth, the bigger your mansion in heaven?

Don: We’ll pick this up next week when Jesus answers the same question (“What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” with the story of the Good Samaritan. We’ll see whether putting it together with the story of the RYR will lead to a greater understanding of what Jesus meant.

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