If you take what he says seriously—and Jesus apparently does—this is a pretty remarkable young man, especially when you take into consideration Jesus’ teaching about keeping the Commandments in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus complicates things by making it a matter of the mind and heart, not simply a matter of “acting out.”
This young man claims to have kept those Commandments Jesus specifically names, and Jesus doesn’t rebuke him or call him on it. Now that’s discipline! Unfortunately, discipline, as badly as it was needed among Jesus’s followers, wasn’t the primary principle He was seeking. Jesus was seeking, and still is, quite frankly, those who put Him first.
You see, this lesson isn’t about money and possessions, in spite of appearances. It’s about you and Him, and who gets to be Lord. This young man was given the opportunity to serve as one of the intimate disciples of Jesus. Had he heeded to call, there would have been thirteen disciples, not twelve; but instead he went away sad because he was rich.
I guess it was all about him. How odd . . . and how common.
There’s only so much we can do, but often our very best can still fall short. Things like buying a car, financing a home, and answering the questions like “How much insurance is enough?” or “How might a long term illness or accident affect our family financially?” plague us all. Well, all of us except perhaps people like the Rich Young Ruler; however, the underlying issues remain the same.
Am I going to trust Jesus, or am I going to trust me?
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