Reconsidering the Rich Young Ruler
July 12, 2006
Dear Friends
When you discuss the account of the person known as the Rich Young Ruler, you hear a lot of negative comments like “he loved money more than Christ†or “he chose the world over the Kingdom of God.†I am sure I have made my share of comments along these lines. It was only recently that it dawned on me that this young man was a fairly strong disciple. In fact, when I compared his discipleship against my own, I was shamed.
We all know the story. The rich young ruler approaches Jesus, kneels before him and asks what seems to be a very good question—“what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?†The first thing we notice is that he kneels before Jesus. How many people were doing this so early in ministry of Jesus? Probably not too many. So immediately we are struck with the humility and insightfulness of this man. Second, he asks a question which hopefully everyone has been compelled to ask. He didn’t assume he knew the answer. He didn’t think as many of the Jews did that simply being a son of Abraham was good enough. He wanted Jesus to tell him.
Jesus’ answer is a bit shocking to us but probably not the least bit shocking to his listeners. Rather than giving them a dissertation on believing in him (which we would expect), Jesus defers to the Law. “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.†This is worthy of comment, but for the moment, just look closely at this list and listen to what the man says next. “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.†On reflection, this is an amazing comment. He never stole. He never defrauded anyone (in other words, his wealth was inherited or gained entirely honestly). He always honored his parents. He can honestly look Jesus in the eye and say he did all of these things even as a child. I couldn’t say that. Can you? In fact, very few people can say this with a straight face. Surely this says something about his discipleship.
The next comment of Jesus is even more astounding. “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.†The Rich Young Ruler lacked ONE THING. Frankly, if Jesus said that I was only faulty in one area of my life, I would be surprised to know that only one area of my personal discipleship to the Lord was deficient. In another account of the same incident, Jesus prefaces his comments with “If thou wilt be perfect.†This seems consistent with what Jesus says to the man. Sell EVERYTHING and give it to the poor. This was not a request of a lukewarm disciple along the lines of “stop getting drunk†or “stop beating your wife†or even “stop hating people.†This request is for absolute and complete commitment. Do not hold one thing in any way, shape or form back from me if you want to be perfect. This is a level of discipleship that few attain.
Again, who among us can claim to be a better disciple of Christ than the man we call the Rich Young Ruler? If we kneel before Jesus AND have sold all of our possessions and given them to the poor AND kept all of those commandments that Jesus mentioned from our childhood up AND have only one area in which we need improvement, THEN we can comment on the Rich Young Ruler’s poor discipleship. However, if you are like me, you can marvel at this man’s discipleship and even more so at the many disciples who did sell everything and give it to the Apostles (Acts 4:32–27).
It is very humbling to contemplate what a high and holy calling we have before us. We can appreciate the disciple’s impressions after the Rich Young Ruler walked away. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, who then can be saved?†(Matt. 19:23–25)
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.†(Luke 14:33)
Have a great week,
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