Jesus and the rich young ruler
The rich young man
How to receive eternal life
Now a very impressive man came to Jesus. This man was young and rich. And he was a ruler. He also wanted to know more about God. He knew something about ’ eternal life‘ and he wanted it. People might have thought that he would be a very good disciple. He came to Jesus in public with his question.
Jesus meets a rich man
17 While Jesus was starting on his journey, a man ran to him. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said to Jesus, ‘Good teacher, what must I do so that I can live with God for ever?’
Mark 10:17 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
Jesus first wanted to be sure that the man understood his own question. The man said that Jesus was 'good'. But only God himself is 'good'. Only God himself can give anyone eternal life. Jesus made the young man think about who Jesus really is.
A common error
But what the man believed is a common error. He believed that he could get this eternal life by his behaviour. He thought that he would be able to get it by himself. Many people today make the same mistake.
The commandments
The usual Jewish answer to the man‘s question would have been 'You must obey the commandments.' [The commandments were the rules that God gave to Moses.] Jesus reminded the man about the commandments. Then the man made another mistake. He said that he had always obeyed the commandments. He thought that the commandments were only about his actions. But the commandments are also about our thoughts.
In Romans 7:8, the apostle Paul described how he made the same mistake. Then he realised that his evil desires were also sin. This showed him that the commandments were about thoughts as well as actions.
When Jesus spoke to the young man, Jesus did not list all the commandments. Jesus only mentioned the second part of the commandments. He had not mentioned the duty to love God. Elsewhere, Jesus mentioned all the commandments together like this:
37 Jesus replied to him, ‘You should love the Lord your God completely: Love him with all your mind. Love him with all that you are. Love him in all that you think. 38 This is the greatest rule and the most important of all God's Laws. 39 The second rule is also important, like the first one. You should love other people as much as you love yourself. 40 All God's Laws that Moses gave us come from these two rules. All the things that the prophets wrote also come from them.’
Matthew 22:37-40 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
The young man had obeyed the commandments by his behaviour. But his questions showed his mistake. He was a wealthy man. He did not steal anything. He did not kill anybody. But he was very selfish. His liked to please himself. Thousands of Jews were very poor, and this man had great wealth. He loved his great possessions very much, and he was not going to give them up. He would not even give them up for Jesus. He would not even give them up for eternal life.
Jesus tested the man's true character
Jesus‘ last words to this man tested the man's true character.
21 Jesus looked at the man and Jesus loved him. Jesus said to him, ‘There is still just one thing that you must do. Go now. Sell everything that you have. Then give the money to poor people. If you do that, you will have many valuable things in heaven. Then come back and be my disciple.’
Mark 10:21 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
If the young man did this, he would show his love for God. It would be greater than his love for his possessions. This would please God.
But this man loved his wealth. And he loved the way that he lived. He was not going to give it up and follow a poor teacher. So, the young man sadly walked away.
Jesus' words about the camel, the needle, and rich people
Jesus then said something else which surprised the disciples.
23 Jesus looked round and he said to his disciples, ‘It is very difficult for rich people to let God rule in their lives.’
24 They were very surprised about Jesus' words. Jesus spoke again to them: ‘My friends, it is very difficult for anyone to let God rule in their life. 25 The hole in a needle is very small. A camel cannot go through it! But it is even more difficult than that for a rich person to let God rule in their life.’
Mark 10:23-25 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
The disciples thought that rich people had everything in this world. They thought that it would be the same in the kingdom of God. But this is not so. All those who obey Jesus are equal. Nobody is better than someone else because he is richer or clever. By themselves, nobody can achieve what Jesus wants. We can only achieve this by the help of the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to give us a new way to live. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us God‘s ways. We need the Holy Spirit to give us new desires and hopes. He will help us to be free from the love of money and possessions.
