Reading the Word

Luke 18:18–30 (ESV)

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Understanding and Applying the Word

Once again, we read Jesus’ teaching on money and possessions. This time, a ruler (i.e. a wealthy person with power) went to Jesus to ask what he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus told him that he needed to keep the commandments as recorded in the Old Testament law. Jesus specifically mentioned the commandments not to murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness, as well as the command to honor father and mother. The young ruler replied that he had done all of those things.

After the rich ruler’s response, Jesus told him there was one thing that he lacked. He needed to sell all of his things and distribute his wealth to the poor. This last statement touched on the last of the commandments traditionally found in the Ten Commandments. It is the commandment concerning coveting. This ruler obviously had a problem with coveting material wealth as he was unable to part with his things. In exposing this sinful problem, it also exposed a problem with the ruler’s relationship with God. Money, wealth, and possessions were far too important to this man. They had taken a place in his life and passions that should be reserved for God alone. Wealth had become an idol. The rich ruler was guilty not only of the last commandment, but also the first four that deal with a proper relationship with God.

Wealth and possessions can easily entangle us. We must be careful not to allow them to become our focus or source of security and happiness. The Lord must be all of those things. He is far better than anything we could ever possess and there is nothing that we could ever give up that will compare to knowing and belonging to the One who gave his life that we might be his.

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