Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, ” ‘Do not murder,’ ‘do not commit adultery,’ ‘do not steal,’ ‘do not give false testimony,’ ‘honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Can you imagine what must have been going through the young man’s mind just then? Be serious, Jesus. Isn’t that a tad extreme? I’ve worked pretty hard to get where I am, and I have obligations. Let’s not be too radical about all of this. Aren’t you taking this a little far?
But Jesus’ words hung in the air: “One thing you lack…Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…Then come, follow me.” Devastating. Jesus had looked into the man’s soul and diagnosed the condition of his heart. You see, on the outside he was doing all the right things, but on the inside his heart was divided. His possessions and lifestyle were competing with God for supremacy. He had surrendered his outward behavior to God, but his commitment to Him was not absolute. He had not made a total surrender of self; he had not “bet the farm” or gone “all in” for God.
I don’t believe Jesus was saying that all of us have to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. No, Jesus was looking into the heart of this particular young man, and He saw that he had not relinquished his life unconditionally. For him, his status and stuff had become idols. Most troubling of all was the very next line in Matthew’s account: “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” At the moment of decision, he simply could not bring himself to surrender. He turned his back on Jesus and walked away.
When we say that we want to be Jesus’ disciple, yet attach a list of conditions like, “I’ll only give this much time or money or effort,” Jesus refuses to accept our terms. We must come to Him on His terms, and His terms involve unconditional surrender and unashamed love!
Adapted from an excerpt of “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns.
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