The Bible is not telling us that money is bad, money is an inanimate object that can be used for good or evil. But what God’s Word does say is that it, or anything else, cannot become the focus, sole pursuit, or foundation, of our lives (check out the post “The Bible On Idolatry”). Jesus continues to instruct us regarding how we should view and handle money, always guarding our hearts against its enticing lure. Let’s look at, not a parable, but an actual encounter that Jesus has with a man who was asking all of the right questions.

A Real Life Situation

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.”                             Luke 18:18-21

Before we go any further, a word of caution. We should not interpret Jesus’ response as teaching that we gain eternal life through works or keeping the Law. Jesus is talking to this man prior to His accomplishing, on the cross, what was necessary for us to be saved. Notice that Jesus calls the man to “come and follow Him,” This is key! Authentic salvation is given to us as a gift of God’s grace when we repent and surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. No amount of keeping the Law, good works, or just being a “good person,” will save us (Romans 3:23, Romans 3:28, Romans 5:18, James 2:10).

First, we notice that this man was an individual in a position of power. He is identified, in scripture, as a “ruler.” Secondly, we will find out that he was quite wealthy. So along with his position of power, and probably prominence, is tremendous wealth that he has accumulated throughout his lifetime. But thirdly, notice that he is asking the right question and he has come to the right Person. The question: “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This man, probably without his even knowing it, was asking the God of the universe what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Excellent question, and of course, we aren’t going to get a more accurate, honest, or dependable answer that the one that he receives from Christ. 

Jesus, being God incarnate, ask the man why he is calling Him “good.” Jesus reminds the man that no one is good but God alone. But Jesus moves directly to answer the question that has been posed to Him. Jesus’ answer: “You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” Of course, this is not all of the commandments but what we see is a list of things commanded in the Law, all relating to how we handle other people. And when presented with this “list” of proper behaviors, the man responds, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” Now, here is where I will not challenge the man on his proclamation of keeping all of those things since he was young. We all know that no one has kept all of God’s Law perfectly or lived a perfect life and we also know that “all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, James 2:10). But, I won’t question the man’s response. Why? Answer: Because Jesus didn’t! Jesus didn’t attack the man’s statement rather He moved onto the rest of His answer, taking the man’s declaration at face value. But now we are getting to the heart of why we are examining this encounter between this rich young ruler and Jesus. Remember the man’s question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to gain eternal life?” Now consider Jesus’ answer: 

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.” 

      Luke 18:22

Is Jesus telling us that we have to sell everything that we have in order to follow Him? I don’t think so. What Jesus was doing was identifying the idol in this man’s life, namely his possessions, and Jesus was saying to him, sell it all and then come follow me. This is why we can never allow money to become our focus in this life nor the accumulation of it as the motivation that drives us each day. Following Jesus means putting all other people and pursuits below our relationship, devotion, and obedience to Him. The man came to the right Person and he asked an excellent question, one that all of us should be asking. Now consider this man’s response:

But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 

      Luke 18:23

The parallel passage in Matthew says it this way: but when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property (Matthew 19:22). He was sad because that was not what he wanted to hear. He came to the right Person, asked the best question anyone could ever ask, and, when faced with the answer, he went away grieving. He chose material wealth over that of following Christ. Did this man find saving faith in Jesus later in his life? We simply don’t know but this encounter demonstrates how material wealth and the desire for temporal things can keep us from receiving God’s best. Have you rejected the gospel because you felt that the cost was too high? I can assure you that whatever God asks you to give up to follow Him, what you will receive in return will be of immeasurably greater value, namely the salvation of your soul!

As the man goes away sad and grieving, Jesus uses this situation as another opportunity for a teachable moment with His disciples. Note: In this passage, it would appear that Jesus speaks the following words to the rich young ruler however the Matthew and Mark accounts indicate that Jesus spoke to His disciples). Consider the following:

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 18:24-27

How difficult it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! Jesus doesn’t say that it’s impossible but He does say that it is difficult. From everything that we have seen so far, it is not hard to understand why. Salvation require repentance, a surrendering of our lives to Christ, and a willingness to be obedient in following Him. When the allure of money takes over our lives, we can find ourselves rejecting the things of God, including the offer of salvation, and move away from the life-giving power of God to go and pursue that which we cannot keep. “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.” This was a statement demonstrating just how difficult it is for wealthy people to enter into God’s kingdom and, again, warns us against choosing temporal things over the things of God.

Finally, the questioned is then posed to Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus responds, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Jesus is demonstrating the power of God and the sufficiency of the cross to save anyone who is willing to repent and surrender their lives over to Christ…true for anyone including the wealthy.