THE RICH YOUNG RULER - A STUDY IN HUMILITY.

If you have been in Christian circles for a while, you have probably heard this episode in the life of Jesus as an example of someone who didn't make it to heaven.  I've had a problem with that interpretation, and, after considering factors that no one else presents, I now have a different view.

Luke 18:18 - 30 Legacy Standard Bible

And a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good?  No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,  Do not murder, Do not steal,  Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ "

And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack: sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.  And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

And Peter said, “Behold, we have left all that is our own and followed You.”

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, who will not receive many times more at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

I recommend you also read the other accounts in Matt. 19: 16 - 30 and Mark 10:13 -16.  They contain valuable information that I will mention in this article.

Mark's record said the young ruler knelt before Jesus.  That is an act of submission and humility.  How many of us started our relationship with Jesus that way?  (Those crickets are getting loud, aren't they?)

The deeper meaning of the initial exchange between Jesus and the young man is something we often miss, because we don't consider the cultural context.  Jesus and the man were Jews.  They thought, talked, and acted like Jews.

The young man called Jesus good.  Jesus replied that only God was good.  Was Jesus correcting him, or was He implying something?

Deuteronomy 6:4 - 5 LSB

“Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!  You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

These two verses are central to the Jewish faith.  They are to the Jews what John 3:16 is to Christians.  The Jews call them the Shema, from the Hebrew word for "hear."

That statement that "Yahweh is one," not only means not only one being, but the only One Being!  Jesus was asking the rich young ruler, "By calling Me good, are you calling me God?  Are you recognizing my divinity?"

Well, did he?  Did he recognize Jesus as God?  Did he really humble himself?

I believe he did.

Why do I think he did?  Geography, and chronology.  In other words, where and when this took place says a lot about this event.

 Map of Judea Province

I confess,  I like to look at maps, even Bible maps.  Not too often do preachers or teachers refer to maps or terrain or locations but some do like to organize, promote, and conduct tours of the Holy Land.  I wish more people paid attention to the the layout of the area.  They don't have be as nerdy about maps as I am.  I just want people to know and understand truth.

In the map I linked above, locate the region of Galilee towards the top.  Now picture a line starting on the east (right) side of the Sea of Galilee going south (down) to just above the north end of the Dead Sea.  Now imagine the line going west (left) across the Jordan River to to Jericho.  Continue the line to Jerusalem.

That is the route that Galilean Jews would take to Jerusalem.  They went that way to avoid passing through Samaria.

This matters because Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem...for the very last time!  He met the young ruler before He crossed the Jordan.  We know this because in the next two events we see Jesus at Jericho, then He enters Jerusalem.

Back to the story.  We know Jesus tells the young man to keep the commandments.  He says BTDT, however they said that in first century Aramaic, but still no tee-shirt.  Jesus says more and the man leaves.

This is where the typical assumption is made, that the guy failed to make heaven because he LEFT.

But, what was the first thing Jesus said?  In the other accounts, the very first thing Jesus said was "go."  So, when he left, was he intending to do what Jesus said?

I believe he was.  Why do I think that?  Because of HOW he left.

Again, Matthew and Mark add information.  M&M (now I got you thinking about candy, don't I) say the man went away grieving.  Why does that matter?

Grief isn't just sorrow, it is sorrow felt at a loss.  Let me illustrate...

Let's say you are driving down a busy street or highway, and you approach a traffic accident.  You pass by, and you can see signs that someone has been injured.  You feel sorry for them.

Now imagine that you recognize a car that was in that accident.  Close to that car is a coroner's vehicle, and responders are loading a body into it.  You realize you know the deceased, and you start to grieve.

Back to the story again.  Why would someone grieve over property he intended to keep?

Another argument made for the traditional interpretation is that the rich young ruler is not mentioned again in the New Testament.  Well, we need to consider the time factor again, along with some cultural background.

The man had a lot to sell, and that included land.  He most likely held an appointed position in the government.  They usually gave official posts only to landowners.  That was a common custom throughout history until the last couple of centuries.  We have no idea how much time he would need to sell everything, then give the money to the poor, then come back to follow Jesus.

This encounter probably happened 2 or 3 days before the Triumphant Entry.

As the man left, Jesus compares the entry of the rich into the Kingdom of God to the passing of a camel through a needle's eye.  I'm not going to rehash that statement.  All it means is that getting the rich to have a relationship with God will be very difficult.  The major moral problem for rich people is not greed, but pride.  Pride in what they own, what they have accomplished, what they can do with their wealth.

Jesus didn't say it was impossible, just extremely difficult.  Difficult enough to require God's grace.  Another way to say it is, true repentance requires humbling yourself as you recognize not only God's immense power, but His vast love and grace.