by J. Janie Lipsmeyer

Created on: September 22, 2009   Last Updated: September 23, 2009

In these passages we find a rich young man sought Jesus for a guarantee that he had done everything required to enter the gates of heaven. In other words, he wanted to make sure he had crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's, leaving nothing undone. He wanted perfection.

The rich man, no doubt, knew of Jesus, and addressed Jesus as good teacher. Verse 17 states that the rich man fell to his knees when he encountered Jesus and called him Good Teacher. Jesus responded with a question:

Why do you call me good? Jesus answer. No one is Good except God alone.

This demonstrates that the young man does not really know who Jesus and God really are. By addressing Jesus as Good he was unknowingly saying Jesus was God.

Jesus, aware of the young man's burning desire, spoke of the commandments of God to Moses. Jesus told the rich man specifically six of the commandments: thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery, thou shall not murder, thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, and thou shall not covet thy neighbor's goods.

All these commandments were given to help man have a peaceful relationship with people, in particularly with his neighbors. The young man quickly replies that indeed he kept all of these commandments. Then Jesus, knowing that the young man valued wealth, told him to sell all his goods, give the money to the poor, and follow him. We are told in Verse 22 that the young man sadly went away.

The young man, no doubt, wanted to enter heaven but his actions proved otherwise. His money was much more important to him than walking with God. The young man neglected the most important commandments - the one relating to man's relationship with God.

The young man was probably surprised at his own reaction. He did not realize until that moment that wealth had a hold of him. Money had become his god since he did walk away from Jesus who is the truth, the light and the way for mankind.

We are told that Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! He repeats his saying and adds 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.

It is indeed hard for man to keep his relationship with God when he is able to meet his own needs and becomes self-sufficient. When the time comes that he feels unfulfilled or empty inside, he finds it easy to fill that void with more material things rather than with what he needs most in his life: Jesus.

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