The Rich Young Man
Read: Matthew 19:13-22
In a culture where wealth was regarded as a sign of God’s blessing and where a religious teacher
was expected to be moderately wealthy, the lifestyle of Jesus and His disciples was quite different.
The relationship between wealth and discipleship was a therefore an important issue. The question
that the rich young man asked Jesus in verse 16 reflects a common assumption that eternal life is
to be found by what I must “do” rather than by what I “am”. Is there a specific act that can earn the
favour of God instead of a life of consistent obedience? Jesus reply picks up on this and explores its
implications. In verse 17 we see that there is only One who is good – only in understanding God as
infinitely good can the young man discover that human good deeds cannot earn eternal life. Jesus
encourages the man to obey the commandments and He lists the commandments that are primarily
concerned with the way that we treat other people, in verse 18-19. These commandments are
primarily concerned with observable actions and are relatively easy to check off a list. It is on this
basis that the rich young man claims that he has observed them all (verse 20). This claim betrays a
superficial understanding of the commandments. Jesus knows that the man’s wealth has become
his means to his personal identity, power and a sense of meaning in life and that it has become
idolatrous in his life. Jesus strategy is to turn this man from focusing on external conformity to the law
to examining his heart, revealing his ruling god. Verse 21 does not teach a legalistic self-sacrifice in
earning one’s salvation by selling everything or that poverty is an essential condition of discipleship
but rather it teaches us to give up the gods in our lives. Idolatry is sinful and we must constantly
examine our hearts to see which things have priority over God since He demands first place in our
lives. The demands of discipleship will vary for different individuals and situations. Jesus did not
command all his followers to sell all their possessions but He did require all of his followers to give up
their idols.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Have you sometimes been caught thinking that what you “do” for God is better than the person
whom you are becoming? Ask the Lord to show you what this looks like in your life and how to
break free of this thinking.
2. Ask the Lord to show what things are idols in your life, or what things are in danger of becoming
idols in your life. Spend some time in prayer confessing any idols that He shows you. Then pray
that you would grow in putting God first, as top priority in your life.
