Featured The "Rich Young Ruler"

Some history:

So... It is better to start a new thread....

Blessings,

The Archangel

 

The Passages

MATTHEW
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[16] And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” [17] 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.” [18] 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, [19] Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [20] The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” [21] 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.” [22] When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

[23] And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. [24] Again I tell you, 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.” [25] When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” [26] But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [27] Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” [28] Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. [30] But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Matthew 19:16-30 ESV)
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MARK
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[17] And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. [19] You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” [20] And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” [21] And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [22] Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

[23] And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” [24] And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! [25] 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] And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” [27] Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” [28] Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” [29] Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. [31] But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:17-31 ESV)
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LUKE
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[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.” (Luke 18:18-30 ESV) ​

 

This is an important discussion to have in dealing with election. Why? Because, ultimately, how one finishes his or her race is much more important than how one starts the race.

Here are the facts:

1. The Rich Young Ruler comes to Christ, knowing he is lacking something which disqualifies him from eternal life. He's seeking eternal life, but something within him tells him he doesn't have it.

2. He keeps some of the law. I say "some" here because there are select Commandments Jesus questions him on, he affirms his fidelity to them, and Jesus doesn't dispute the so-called man-ward Commandments.

3. Jesus commands him to 1.) sell all he has and give to the poor and 2.) follow Him.

4. The Rich Young Ruler departs from the company of Christ. The text says he does so sorrowfully, disheartened, and sad.

5. The reason the Rich Young Ruler departs the company of Christ is because, the text says, he was very wealthy and, obviously, not willing to give up his "great possessions" to give to the poor or follow Christ.

6. The commentary by Christ to His disciples after the encounter tells of the difficulty of the rich entering the Kingdom.

7. Included in the commentary by Christ is the idea that one must leave everything--including wealth and possessions--to follow Him, expecting to have subsequent treasure in heaven.

The above facts are referenced in all of the accounts...

Several things become clear:

1. Keeping the commandments the man had affirmed was not enough. Jesus says, "One thing you still lack." So, at this point, the man does not have eternal life.

2. The Rich Young Ruler's issue is his wealth. The text is quite plain on this. He was unwilling to divest himself of everything in order to follow Christ.

Quite simply, the man treasured his possessions more than he treasured Christ. Today, as in Jesus' day, there were many things that were stumbling blocks to people following Christ. Today, perhaps, it's one's sexuality that he or she is unwilling to "sacrifice." Nevertheless, regardless of the issue, anything that comes between us treasuring Christ above all is an object of our idolatry.

3. Riches often prove to be a stumbling block to entering the Kingdom. Jesus' own commentary references this.

But, we must be cautious here because we know from other passages of Scripture that wealth, in and of itself, does not automatically disqualify someone from salvation. We are told, after all, that it is the LOVE of money, not money itself, that is the problem.

4. Jesus tests the man on the "one thing he's still lacking." The test is related to that man on a personal level--his great wealth. And, the man fails the test. He cannot part with his possessions to have Christ. So, while the man does, apparently, keep some of the Commandments, he does not keep them all. He may get the man-ward Commandments right, but he's failing on the God-ward ones, most notably the one stating "You shall have no other gods before me."

In the words of the parable, he has found the treasure in the field, but he treasures his own wealth more than the treasure in the field and, therefore, does not sell everything he has to possess it.

5. In the subsequent commentary, Jesus' and his disciples discuss the disciples having left everything for Christ. While leaving everything doesn't guarantee salvation (becuase Judas was likely in this group), not being willing to sacrifice all to follow Christ guarantees that you won't be saved. He is either Lord of all or not lord at all.

Blessings,

The Archangel

 

He does come to Christ, yes. But, as Jesus Himself says, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." So, coming and kneeling are simply outside actions that do not speak to his heart condition. His rejection of Christ speaks exponentially louder than his coming and kneeling.

Based on context alone, Edersheim, as you've referenced him, gets this dead wrong.

It is true that we do not know this man's ultimate destiny. Did he repent later? We don't know. However, with Nicodemus, we do know. He was changed. There is NO evidence in the text to support the notion that the Rich Young Man was a believer at the encounter with Christ or any time after.

Unfortunately, you're assuming election on the man's simply appearing before Christ. Again, some of those who call Jesus "Lord" will not enter the Kingdom. So, simply coming is not proof of either belief or election.

Pink is making an assumption based on something that is not textual. We are not told of this man's destiny. But, the facts at hand do demonstrate his rejection of Christ at this instant (in sharp contrast to Nicodemus, I might add). Pink is simply wrong to make an assumption here as the text makes no more mention of this person.

When we consider--especially--the discussion between Jesus and his disciples that follows this encounter, it is quite easy to see that this man is not a believer and that he would rather have his possessions than Christ.

Blessings,

The Archangel