Luke 18:15–30
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Jesus is not Impressed
Beginning from 17:20, Luke’s narrative focuses on the coming of the Kingdom, who would be qualified, and how to get in. Right before this passage, Jesus illustrates that the people that are to enter it will not be like the self-righteous Pharisee but like the humble and penitent tax-collector in the parable (18:9-14). He also compares those who enter the Kingdom to a simple and humble little child (18:15-17).
In the present passage, we see an almost ideal seeker who has a good background and all the privileges and religious standings that others might envy. Despite all these he came running and kneeling before Jesus (which is rare for esteemed leaders in that society), and earnestly inquired about how to inherit eternal life. This leader would probably be the hottest, most welcomed person in any gospel rally held by an evangelical church. However, to everyone’s surprise, he is let down by our Lord, only to go away sadly and empty-handed. What happened?
On the surface Jesus’ response to the young man may seem cold. Wouldn’t the Lord treasure such a passionate prospect? Was Jesus initiating the exchange just to deter or discourage him? I don’t think so. Mark says Jesus looked at the young man and loved him (10:21). But God is not impressed by human achievements.
Moving on in the dialogue, we find a hint that this young man’s quest of eternal life may not be genuine. First, he calls Jesus “Good Teacher” (18:18). It seems Jesus immediately corners and interrogates him. “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (18:19). Every Jewish person at that time would understand this to be true. Perhaps Jesus is saying, “Are you trying to flatter or manipulate me?”
Jesus doesn’t dwell on this, but moves forward to ask about his keeping of the commandments. Here we need to stop and ask: Isn't it faith in Christ that leads to eternal life? Why doesn’t Jesus mention faith and ask the young man to believe? Is focusing on keeping the commandments salvation by works?
We need to understand the man's Jewish background. He has believed in God his whole life. His practice of religious devotion was not centred on belief, but shown by continuing to keep the law with a godly fear, and by keeping himself in his covenantal relationship with God.
In my early days as a Christian, I attended the Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church. We had a counsellor who was a dedicated follower of Christ and a good role model for us. He trained us for gospel work and took us on home visits to non-believers. One day when we were leaving after a visit, I asked him on a whim, “James, when did you decide to believe?” He answered, “I never made a decision.” I was shocked! How could that be?! He taught us how to talk about faith and often took us to evangelize people, explaining to them that we must repent and believe in Jesus, but he himself had never made a decision?
Later I realized that his case was very similar to that of this young man. He had always believed in God; he never had to make a decision to believe. His faith was shown in how he continued to faithfully and sincerely follow the Lord Jesus, obey his commandments, and maintain a good relationship with God.
Those of us who were not raised as Christians had to come to faith in a way that involved making a decision.
Notice that Jesus does not argue with the young man (even though no human could keep all the commandments since birth). Obviously, his assertion that he has kept them all is not true, and therefore he cannot gain favour before God simply by the keeping the law. However, Jesus chooses not to challenge him for the moment. He says, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (18:22).
Is Jesus being too harsh? Does he deliberately intend to frustrate the young man? He rarely asks people to sell all they have. When you came to Christ, did he ask you to sell everything? Why does he ask such a thing from this young man?
I think Jesus was testing the young man’s sincerity. When he heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich (18:23). On the surface, he was sincere and earnest in his quest, but when the Lord asked for more, he broke down completely. He did not ask to go back for an hour or to think about it, or even ask Jesus why this is required, and if there can be any steps to make the transition. It seems it only took him a moment to realize he couldn't pay the cost. The most important thing in his life was not God or eternal life, but his great wealth. Perhaps eternal life and devotion to God were just the icing on the cake to him.
The test revealed that the man was not sincere, and Jesus lets him go. Our Lord is not impressed by human achievements, and he is not impressed by superficial and half-hearted attempts. People easily won will be easily lost.
Jesus probably didn’t ask you to sell all your possessions when you chose to follow him, but we need to ask ourselves if we are really all in. He is not impressed by the things we have amassed, or what we have achieved. He isn’t looking for half-hearted followers. He is looking for true devotion.
Author Bio
Rev Kin-wai Yiu graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Ottawa in 1981. He then studied theology and entered ministry in Hong Kong. Following a 36-year tenure in one church (25 years as the Senior Pastor), he became the Chinese Pastor in
Hamilton Chinese Alliance Church on Jan 1, 2024.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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