Rich Young Ruler: Part 2

Rich Young Ruler 

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 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.”

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

3rd February 2025: Horsham
Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about the interaction between Jesus and the young man who we know as the rich young ruler. Today we’re looking at the conversation between Jesus and his disciples which followed.

Context: Jesus and his disciples are on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus has told them that when he reaches there, he will be put to death. The disciples have not grasped the reality and certainty of his coming death.

Along the way, a young man has thrown himself at Christ’s feet and declared that he wants to be a follower of Jesus. He is a good Jew, who has done all he can to live in keeping with the Law. Yet he senses that there is something missing. ‘What must I do,’ he says, ‘to inherit eternal life.’ The lesson is that the young man must sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. ‘Then come,’ says Jesus, ‘follow me.’

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

 I’ve written about his encounter with Jesus here.

Nothing is impossible with God: The disciples are Jews. They have grown up and been formed by Jewish culture. To them, financial wealth is a sign of God’s blessing. Therefore, in their eyes, here is a young man who has been blessed with his wealth by God.

The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
without painful toil for it. (Proverbs 10:22)

Camels and Needles: It matters not whether he has ‘earned’ everything he owns. His wealth is a sign of God’s favour. Twice Jesus comments ‘how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’ In the face of the disciples astonishment, Christ continues, 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,” 

Much has been written about the ‘eye of the needle.’ My Arabic friends laugh at this image – for them, anything to do with a camel makes them laugh. We should just accept the self evident impossibility of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. It’s an absurd concept. These young Jewish followers of Jesus are utterly astonished. You can follow the mind of the disciples.  They have been brought up to understand that wealth is a sign of blessing. ‘If those who are blessed with wealth cannot enter the kingdom, what hope is there for the rest of us?’  “With man this is impossible,’ says Jesus, ‘but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Did you get the point? None of us deserves access to God’s kingdom. 

What about us? Not for the first time, Peter didn’t get the point. ‘What about us?’ says Peter. We’ve given up everything to follow you. It is nearly three years since Peter and the other disciples took a huge risk, abandoning their assorted workplaces, moved out of their homes and away from their families to follow Jesus. ‘If the rich,’ says Peter, ‘blessed as they are by God with their wealth, can’t get in, what help is there for the rest of us?’

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

Thankfully, he doesn’t look at us the way we look at each other. ‘Men look at the outside, God looks at the heart!’ (1 Samuel 16:7) People may look rich – they might look poor. That isn’t the issue. God looked into this young man’s heart(v21), and in the same way he looks into yours and mine. In spite of who you are, if your heart is to follow him, He invites you in. The rich young ruler wasn’t perfect, and neither are you. That’s grace. All things are possible with God.

The End Piece: If you’re following Jesus and you are finding the path difficult, this is a passage which should encourage you.

Some years ago, I woke up one morning and felt that God was saying something pretty big to me. ‘This is the day when,’ he said, ‘if you had not followed me, you would have become a millionaire.’ There had been a point some years earlier where my wife and I had changed jobs to move into a mission role. The move involved a massive change of lifestyle and huge drop in salary. I did the maths, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if we hadn’t made that change, we would have become millionaires around that time. We are not millionaires, and I don’t anticipate that I ever will be! The message which pointed that out wasn’t given to taunt me, but to encourage me. It affirmed the decisions we had made several years earlier.

Following Jesus is different for all of us, but my experience, like that of the rich young ruler, is that we have to give something up. Sometimes, our human nature makes us look back and think how different life would be if we had decided not to follow Jesus.

No-one who gives stuff up for Jesus, he says, will fail to get a hundred times more back in this life and the next. There will be attacks along the way, he says, but be in no doubt, your sacrifice has been noticed. It is seen by your heavenly father, and truly translates into treasure in heaven.

When God spoke to me, He did follow that message up with another without which this piece of testimony would be incomplete.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’

Hebrews 13:5

Be blessed and encouraged as you follow Jesus.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

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