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Rich Young Ruler - Matthew 19
Rich Young Ruler - Matthew 19
How did he get to be rich? How did he get to be rich while young? How did he get to be rich and religious? So many questions that we can’t answer. We do know that he was religious, young, and rich.
Jesus challenged him to ‘keep the commandments’ and then enumerated some of the Ten Commandments. Interestingly, Jesus did NOT mention covetousness! As far as we can tell, this young man’s problem was not coveting OTHER people’s things, but a desire to KEEP his own for himself.
Despite all of his other religious practice and character, he loved his material possessions more than he loved God. When challenged, he went away sorrowing.
Doing nine out of ten does NOT make up for violating number 10. In fact, this one showed his heart’s attitude toward God. He agreed with God concerning the other nine commandments so he ‘obeyed’. He disagreed concerning one and showed that he was serving SELF and not God.
Jesus’ command to this young man is not a universal command to all who would follow Jesus. There were rich disciples (1Tim. 6:17f). Ananias had a right to control his own possessions and give only a part but was NOT right lying about the amount (Acts 5). Yet, the principle upon which this demand IS based is universal.
At the heart of this is a principle that should concern each of us. We are to love God with all the heart, soul, and mind. We can NOT love God AND worldly possessions (Matt. 6:24). This requires a transparent and honest examination of our own heart and lives. Because we are religious (like the rich young ruler – 9 out of 10?), we can easily deceive ourselves about our heart’s attitude toward worldly goods.
If Jesus DID ask you to give everything away and follow Him, how would you respond? Hugh DeLong
