Luke 18:20, commentary and pictures

Jesus gave these words to a sincere young ruler who knelt before Him asking how to gain eternal life, naming the duties toward other people against adultery, killing, stealing, and false witness, and to honor father and mother. Keeping God's commandments is the condition and standard for entering into life, because God's character is expressed in His law and harmony with Him makes its principles the guide of every action. Outward keeping is not enough, for without supreme love to God and love to others, which is the life and principle of the commandments, a person remains a transgressor at heart and unfit for heaven. The ruler's love of wealth exposed that failure, since he would not share with the poor or turn his affections from earthly treasure to God and neighbor as himself. Jesus, loving him and hoping to make him a co-worker, required him to sell, give to the poor, and follow Him for treasure in heaven, but he turned away sorrowful, choosing his idol of possessions over eternal life.

Ruler and Commandments Given

The words belong to the meeting with a sincere ruler who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and who had been moved by Jesus' tenderness toward the children, so that he ran after Him, knelt before Him, and desired to become His disciple. When he addressed Him as Good Master, Christ's answer that none is good but God tested the ruler's sincerity and drew out how he regarded Jesus as good, whether he realized He was the Son of God, and what was the true sentiment of his heart. Although he thought highly of his own righteousness, he still felt that he lacked something and wanted Jesus to satisfy his longing.

In reply Jesus directed him to the commandments against adultery, murder, theft, and false witness, and to the command to honor father and mother. These are the commandments that define a person's duty to other people. The ruler's claim to have kept them from his youth did not settle the question of eternal life, for Jesus then exposed his attachment to wealth by requiring him to give to the poor and follow Him, so that keeping them is tested by whether obedience includes using entrusted possessions to serve others and choosing Christ above wealth and status.

Keeping God's commandments is set forth as the standard for entering into life, the condition Christ names for entering life, and the positive answer to what one must do to inherit eternal life. This is because God's character is expressed in His law, and living in harmony with God means its principles are the source of every action and must guide every action. To point to doing the commandments for eternal life is to rightly estimate the value of the soul, turning away from the attractions of the world and fixing the eyes upon heaven. That estimate comes only by studying and striving to understand the great plan of redemption, and realizing something of the cost of Christ's sacrifice to uplift and ennoble the human race leads to counting no sacrifice too great to fulfill His purpose of love to save from perishing unto eternal life, laying at Christ's feet all that one is and all that one possesses, with the highest aim of being a doer of His Word.

Outward Keeping Versus Heart

The young ruler sincerely claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth, yet outward obedience did not give him discernment of his need for heart devotion and Christian goodness. That goodness requires a humble, contrite heart that gives supreme love to God, recognizes its own lack, and finds perfection in Christ. Outward obedience did not mean he had the true spirit of the commandments, for love of self and worldly gain made him a transgressor of the law. He lacked genuine love for God and for other people, and since love is the principle and life of the commandments, without it he was out of harmony with heaven and unfit for its kingdom. Obedience to God's law is not merely outward rule-keeping but obedience that enters the life and appears in the character. This is God's standard for all who would belong to His kingdom.

His attachment to wealth revealed that he failed to keep the commandments in his heart, for he would not give to the poor or turn his affections from earthly treasure toward God and his neighbor. His selfish attachment to riches showed that he did not love his neighbor as himself. True commandment keeping includes sharing with the poor and using one's means to help others. Love of wealth can turn the heart from God and keep a person from following Christ and receiving heavenly treasure. When told to sell his possessions and give to the poor, his sorrow at the demand exposed that attachment. Keeping the commandments does not excuse covetousness or replace the spirit of willing sacrifice, and economy becomes meanness when it lacks that spirit.

Surrender Wealth to Follow

The ruler's claim to have kept the commandments from his youth did not settle the question of eternal life, for the naming of adultery, murder, theft, false witness, and honoring father and mother stood as the standard of obedience within a further test of whether he would use entrusted possessions to serve others and choose Christ above wealth and status. That test came when he was required to give to the poor and follow Christ, exposing his attachment to wealth. The instruction led to the requirement to sell possessions, give to the poor, and follow in order to have eternal life and treasure in heaven, yet knowing the commandments did not keep him from turning away sorrowful. His possessions were his idol, and he chose earthly wealth over eternal treasure rather than surrender them to follow.

Obeying Christ's words was his only hope of salvation and of forming a Christian character. His riches and high position threatened to take God's place in his affections, and holding back anything from God weakened moral strength and devotion. Christ's commandments are requirements to be obeyed with the promise of treasure in heaven, and professing to keep them all while loving wealth fails that requirement. The young man wanted heaven but desired to retain his wealth, and his sorrowful turning away renounced immortal life for the love of money and power, a miserable exchange. Many who profess to keep all the commandments do the same, and loving the world while professing obedience puts a person in danger of losing heaven.

He was willing to keep the commandments, but his desire for eternal life was outweighed by his love of possessions and revealed that he still lacked what was needed. Earnest desire for eternal life is not enough when a person is unwilling to surrender earthly treasures and interests to obtain it, as shown when he went away sorrowful at the cost of following. Following Christ requires surrendering all that one is and has to Him and joining in His work, for obedience and self-surrender are required of His disciples. Anything cherished that would corrupt the whole person must be given up, because nothing less can save. Making that sacrifice of selling possessions and giving to the suffering poor was part of following Christ and gaining treasure in heaven, and this giving is connected with receiving the bread of life and having Christ as the life-giving current in the soul.

He was loved and was hoped to be made a co-worker in the work of salvation, for he had qualities that under guidance could have made him a power for good. If he had given himself to Christ, his character could have been developed and sanctified for service. His choice to turn away shows that a person can refuse Christ as leader when choosing the world instead. It warns that people may profess to follow Christ while loving riches more than God or their neighbors, whereas wealth is lent to them to use for God's glory.