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And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19:16-22 (ESV)
There was a young man who was influential and wealthy. He had everything which the world considers as the indicators of "success". As great and successful as he was, and as much as he accomplished, this 'rich young man was still empty inside and had no peace within himself. One day he decided to approach Jesus and ask him: "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" (v. 16).
This was a great question and it is still great question in our time. Today we have many people in that category of life who are young, powerful, wealthy, successful but never even consider eternal life. They continue to live and struggle with a vacuum in their lives that cannot be filled by worldly pleasures.
This young and wealthy man thought that salvation before God was “earned” in just the way that everything else he had accomplished was earned. But Jesus helped him gradually to come to his senses. At first, Jesus told him; "But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (v. 17b). The young man thought keeping the commandments was only to do good things to others which he claimed he has done them all (v20), but still realizes there is something missing.
Jesus then gave him the real remedy to life situation by saying to him: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (vv. 21). In saying this, Jesus was putting his finger on that which the young man loved more than God. He loved his success and wealth so much that he was breaking the first commandment in which God says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). He stood guilty before God as a sinner. The young rich man had worked all his life to keep the law; and to his horror, he discovered that he had been breaking it all along by only doing good, but not living according to God’s standards. Today in our generation, we always repeat this same mistake by clinging to what we think is our own right or life style. We prefer doing what we think is best for our selfish human desires, instead of obeying and following the authentic biblical truth to guide our lives.
When the rich young man heard what Jesus said, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (vv.22). For this young wealthy man, it was his love for his wealth that was more than the loved he had for God. What would it be for you? What is the “god” you place in your life before the one true God? Know that success without God, you will always leave a hole in your life that you can’t fill by yourself, except God. ‘’As the scripture says, ‘’Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’’ (Romans 10:11)
The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama
Archbishop and Primate of the
Episcopal Church of South Sudan and
The Metropolitan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Juba
