And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
The verse tells of a young ruler of great possessions who ran to Jesus, kneeled before Him, and asked with sincere earnestness what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus loved him, seeing abilities that under His guidance could have become a powerful force for good in reflecting God's character and serving others. He understood Christ's requirement to sell what he owned, give to the poor, and follow Him to have treasure in heaven, but he became very sorrowful because he was very rich and loved his wealth more than the Lord. His sorrow exposed his riches as an idol that stood between him and eternal life, for he valued earthly treasure and standing above fellowship with Christ and proved his claim to have kept the law false for lack of supreme love to God and self-sacrificing love to others. His property was entrusted to him by God to relieve human need, and all who would enter the kingdom must be willing to surrender to Christ all they are and have, for keeping back anything makes worldly things all-absorbing and forfeits the heavenly treasure.
Ruler's Encounter with Jesus
Luke 18:23 concerns a young ruler of great possessions and responsible position whose heart was kindled with love for Christ and desire to be His disciple by seeing the tender love with which He received little children brought to Him and took them up in His arms. So deeply moved, he ran after Christ as He went on His way and kneeled at His feet to ask with sincerity and earnestness what he should do to inherit eternal life. That question was important to his own soul and to the soul of every human being.
He held a high opinion of his own righteousness and had sincerely kept the commandments from his youth, yet he was not fully satisfied and felt he lacked something for his soul that Jesus might supply. What he lacked was humble and contrite devotion of heart and supreme love for God, and he needed to recognize that lack and find in Christ the perfection he did not possess.
He came seeking eternal life and addressed Jesus as an honored rabbi without recognizing Him as the Son of God. Jesus tested his sincerity and drew out how he regarded Jesus as good, including whether he understood Him as the Son of God.
The encounter took place just before the parable of the laborers and provided the opportunity to teach right principles about God's free grace and the reward of the righteous. The rich ruler who heard the one thing he lacked and became very sorrowful because he was very rich stands in contrast to the little children of whom it is true that of such is the kingdom of God.
He possessed abilities that could have become a powerful force for good if he had placed himself under Christ's guidance. Christ loved him and longed for him to become a co-worker with Him, to reflect God's character, and to use his gifts in God's service. Choosing Christ would have changed his future.
Wealth Chosen Over Christ
He understood the requirement laid upon him — to sell what he owned, give to the poor, and follow Christ in order to have treasure in heaven and eternal life — yet when he heard it he became very sorrowful because he was very rich and deeply attached to his wealth. His sorrow revealed that he loved his wealth more than the Lord and his fellow human beings, and he refused the cost of self-denial and would not entrust his possessions to God's service to relieve human need. He wanted eternal life and the heavenly inheritance but would not give up his earthly treasure and the advantages his great wealth brought him, so he chose earthly goods and forfeited the eternal reward. Like him, many weigh Christ against the world and choose the world.
His grief exposed his wealth as an idol that took God's place in his affections and stood between him and eternal life. He valued worldly gain, possessions, and standing among people above fellowship with Christ, cherished visible earthly treasure above unseen heavenly treasure, and made the world the object of his worship. This revealed lack of true love for God and others, of the spirit of the commandments, and of the self-sacrificing love needed for the kingdom, and it proved his claim to have kept the law false, because he loved God's gifts more than God and put the world first.
He wanted both heavenly treasure and his temporal riches and advantages, yet when the cost seemed too great he was unwilling to give them up. He chose to keep his riches rather than accept the condition for following Christ, renouncing immortal life for the love of money and power in a miserable exchange for the promised heavenly treasure. Many who profess to keep all of God's commandments still repeat that exchange, showing how attachment to earthly riches can keep a person from following truth and receiving eternal life when unwillingness to give up what stands between them and the heavenly inheritance remains.
His property was entrusted to him by God to be used in service to others and to relieve human need, and his response tests whether people can be trusted as stewards of what God has lent them. He could choose whether to use it in service to others and receive heavenly treasure or keep earthly riches and refuse the way of self-denial, but by refusing to entrust his abundance to God's service and to become rich in good works and care for others, he proved an unfaithful steward and forfeited the treasure in heaven promised to those who follow Jesus. His choice shows how wealth can make it difficult to recognize that possessions are entrusted for use in God's service, so that a person may give up the heavenly inheritance rather than care for others.
Keeping back from God anything, whether much or little, weakens moral strength and usefulness because worldly things become all-absorbing, and his riches and exalted position stood in the way of following Christ because if he cherished them they would take God's place in his affections. Obeying Christ's terms was his only hope of salvation and of becoming a complete Christian, for obedience to God's law must shape the life and character. All who would enter God's kingdom and be disciples must be willing to give Christ all they are and have, surrendering possessions and even family ties and life itself and counting life as nothing beside faithfulness to Christ, cutting away harmful attachments that would damage the whole person and obstruct salvation. Christ offers to use them and their entrusted means in His work, and this willing service is part of how He saves them.
To him riches meant honor and power, and their great amount made giving them up seem impossible. This shows the danger of riches to the avaricious: the more he gains the harder generosity becomes, to diminish wealth feels like parting with life, and he turns from the immortal reward to retain and increase earthly possessions with affections fixed on worldly treasure and withdrawn from God. Had he truly kept the commandments with love to God with all heart, mind, and strength and love to neighbor as self, his possessions would not have been so great, for plotting and striving for self cannot stand with that love, and distributing to the poor would have made him happier with greater heavenly treasure and less earth on which to set affection. A right estimate of the soul and power to turn from the world comes only by studying the plan of redemption and Christ's sacrifice to uplift humanity, leading a person to lay all at Christ's feet, count no sacrifice too great, and aim to be a doer of His Word. Strict attention to small matters cannot replace weightier duties of sacrifice and faithful life, for economy that has become meanness and lacks the spirit of sacrifice still fails the requirement Jesus laid down.
The verse tells of a young ruler of great possessions who ran to Jesus, kneeled before Him, and asked with sincere earnestness what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus loved him, seeing abilities that under His guidance could have become a powerful force for good in reflecting God's character and serving others. He understood Christ's requirement to sell what he owned, give to the poor, and follow Him to have treasure in heaven, but he became very sorrowful because he was very rich and loved his wealth more than the Lord. His sorrow exposed his riches as an idol that stood between him and eternal life, for he valued earthly treasure and standing above fellowship with Christ and proved his claim to have kept the law false for lack of supreme love to God and self-sacrificing love to others. His property was entrusted to him by God to relieve human need, and all who would enter the kingdom must be willing to surrender to Christ all they are and have, for keeping back anything makes worldly things all-absorbing and forfeits the heavenly treasure.
Ruler's Encounter with Jesus
Luke 18:23 concerns a young ruler of great possessions and responsible position whose heart was kindled with love for Christ and desire to be His disciple by seeing the tender love with which He received little children brought to Him and took them up in His arms. So deeply moved, he ran after Christ as He went on His way and kneeled at His feet to ask with sincerity and earnestness what he should do to inherit eternal life. That question was important to his own soul and to the soul of every human being.
He held a high opinion of his own righteousness and had sincerely kept the commandments from his youth, yet he was not fully satisfied and felt he lacked something for his soul that Jesus might supply. What he lacked was humble and contrite devotion of heart and supreme love for God, and he needed to recognize that lack and find in Christ the perfection he did not possess.
He came seeking eternal life and addressed Jesus as an honored rabbi without recognizing Him as the Son of God. Jesus tested his sincerity and drew out how he regarded Jesus as good, including whether he understood Him as the Son of God.
The encounter took place just before the parable of the laborers and provided the opportunity to teach right principles about God's free grace and the reward of the righteous. The rich ruler who heard the one thing he lacked and became very sorrowful because he was very rich stands in contrast to the little children of whom it is true that of such is the kingdom of God.
He possessed abilities that could have become a powerful force for good if he had placed himself under Christ's guidance. Christ loved him and longed for him to become a co-worker with Him, to reflect God's character, and to use his gifts in God's service. Choosing Christ would have changed his future.
Wealth Chosen Over Christ
He understood the requirement laid upon him — to sell what he owned, give to the poor, and follow Christ in order to have treasure in heaven and eternal life — yet when he heard it he became very sorrowful because he was very rich and deeply attached to his wealth. His sorrow revealed that he loved his wealth more than the Lord and his fellow human beings, and he refused the cost of self-denial and would not entrust his possessions to God's service to relieve human need. He wanted eternal life and the heavenly inheritance but would not give up his earthly treasure and the advantages his great wealth brought him, so he chose earthly goods and forfeited the eternal reward. Like him, many weigh Christ against the world and choose the world.
His grief exposed his wealth as an idol that took God's place in his affections and stood between him and eternal life. He valued worldly gain, possessions, and standing among people above fellowship with Christ, cherished visible earthly treasure above unseen heavenly treasure, and made the world the object of his worship. This revealed lack of true love for God and others, of the spirit of the commandments, and of the self-sacrificing love needed for the kingdom, and it proved his claim to have kept the law false, because he loved God's gifts more than God and put the world first.
He wanted both heavenly treasure and his temporal riches and advantages, yet when the cost seemed too great he was unwilling to give them up. He chose to keep his riches rather than accept the condition for following Christ, renouncing immortal life for the love of money and power in a miserable exchange for the promised heavenly treasure. Many who profess to keep all of God's commandments still repeat that exchange, showing how attachment to earthly riches can keep a person from following truth and receiving eternal life when unwillingness to give up what stands between them and the heavenly inheritance remains.
His property was entrusted to him by God to be used in service to others and to relieve human need, and his response tests whether people can be trusted as stewards of what God has lent them. He could choose whether to use it in service to others and receive heavenly treasure or keep earthly riches and refuse the way of self-denial, but by refusing to entrust his abundance to God's service and to become rich in good works and care for others, he proved an unfaithful steward and forfeited the treasure in heaven promised to those who follow Jesus. His choice shows how wealth can make it difficult to recognize that possessions are entrusted for use in God's service, so that a person may give up the heavenly inheritance rather than care for others.
Keeping back from God anything, whether much or little, weakens moral strength and usefulness because worldly things become all-absorbing, and his riches and exalted position stood in the way of following Christ because if he cherished them they would take God's place in his affections. Obeying Christ's terms was his only hope of salvation and of becoming a complete Christian, for obedience to God's law must shape the life and character. All who would enter God's kingdom and be disciples must be willing to give Christ all they are and have, surrendering possessions and even family ties and life itself and counting life as nothing beside faithfulness to Christ, cutting away harmful attachments that would damage the whole person and obstruct salvation. Christ offers to use them and their entrusted means in His work, and this willing service is part of how He saves them.
To him riches meant honor and power, and their great amount made giving them up seem impossible. This shows the danger of riches to the avaricious: the more he gains the harder generosity becomes, to diminish wealth feels like parting with life, and he turns from the immortal reward to retain and increase earthly possessions with affections fixed on worldly treasure and withdrawn from God. Had he truly kept the commandments with love to God with all heart, mind, and strength and love to neighbor as self, his possessions would not have been so great, for plotting and striving for self cannot stand with that love, and distributing to the poor would have made him happier with greater heavenly treasure and less earth on which to set affection. A right estimate of the soul and power to turn from the world comes only by studying the plan of redemption and Christ's sacrifice to uplift humanity, leading a person to lay all at Christ's feet, count no sacrifice too great, and aim to be a doer of His Word. Strict attention to small matters cannot replace weightier duties of sacrifice and faithful life, for economy that has become meanness and lacks the spirit of sacrifice still fails the requirement Jesus laid down.