Good morning. In Luke 18:18 we are told of an odd question that was asked of Jesus. First of all, some context: The person who was asking was young, he was a “ruler”, and he was wealthy. We get that information by reading all of the gospel accounts of this incident. Those descriptions would indicate someone who is used to getting their way and would have been treated with special consideration and respect.
The question in its context and the Lord’s answer: A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:18-25
Jesus takes exception with the way He was addressed. “Good” was not allowed to be used to describe teachers. “Good Rabbi” never appears in any Jewish writing or history. Jesus cuts through the nonsense and gets right to the heart of the matter. The young man knew the law and considered himself as righteous in his keeping of the law in terms of ceremonial (religious) obedience. But Jesus challenges him with the condition of his heart. The young man’s wealth was keeping him from a righteous relationship with God, and that was not going to bring him to the right place in eternity. The question was asked, and it was answered, but it was not the answer he wanted to hear, and this made the young man “very sad”.
The question is interesting, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What do any of us have to do to inherit something? Nothing. We either have an inheritance or we do not. We are either in the will or we are not. There isn’t much we can “do” about it.
I think that this young man had been listening to Jesus and had arrived at a place that was close to the truth. He had come to recognize from Jesus that “doing” something was never going to be enough. He needed to have that “great and required something” to be done for him. All that stood in his way was the condition of his heart. Was he ready to give himself fully to the Lord, or was he only willing to give those aspects of himself that were not too dear? Jesus makes it clear, in matters of our eternity it is all or nothing.
Give the Lord your whole heart today. If there is a barrier, remove it. If there is a hindrance, let it go. Be His altogether and be His forever.
Vern