S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

To understand Jesus' response to the rich young ruler's question-"What must I do to be saved?"-we must consider three things: the background of the rich young ruler, the purpose of his question, an...

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July 01 2013 • 7 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Johnny Cook Supporter

What are the 10 commandments of God? # 1 - I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me. 

The rich young ruler made his riches his God. 

We must obey the 10 commandments in order to put Christianity first in our lives. 
We are saved through grace because we failed in our walk to obey the number one commandment. God knows the heart of everyone. The heart is wicked. That is why Jesus taught us to renew our minds and to believe in our hearts that He is the only way to Salvation... Amen

December 12 2015 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Meluleki Maphosa Supporter Amateur Bible Student

Jesus started from level of the young ruler’s understanding of religion – that keeping the law equated to righteousness and therefore qualified one for entry into heaven. Jesus being the Master that He was led the young ruler through levels of knowledge until a point where he understood that the formalities of keeping the law couldn’t guarantee him eternal life or lead to a fulfilling relationship with God. In all his life the young man had a remote and dim view of God – a God who only wanted to be appeased through our “good” acts as prescribed in the books of Moses and the prophets. From the tone of the discussion it would appear that the young man genuinely sought to resolve turmoil within himself that had been raging for a while. He just had no idea what it would take to resolve. He also likely had consulted several scholars in his local synagogue, but had never received a satisfactory answer. Jesus was in a sense his last resort having probably been drawn by the many good stories he had heard about the wisdom of Jesus the Rabbi. That is why he addresses Jesus as “good Teacher”. 


Jesus sought to redirect the attention of the young man away from the mistaken idea that God’s must be appeased through our efforts at keeping the law. He instead inculcated in the young man that God wants a sacrificial relationship with us. He wants us to sacrifice and remove anything that stands between us and Him. Only we can do that for ourselves, it cannot be done on our behalf. To the young man that thing was his cherished wealth. He had turned his wealth into a “major” god while demoting God to the background but still hoping to reach heaven and be with God eternally. Jesus had to shock the young man into realizing his situation and that nothing could be more important than God. He had to choose between God and his possessions. All of us come to that point in our lives where we have to make a choice between God and some other thing that we hold dear. In fact this may happen several times in our lives as the Holy Spirit peels off years of misconception one by one. It is up to us to accept what has been revealed of us and change or cling to what we hold dear and walk away from God. To the young man it was his wealth, to some it is probably food, clothing, people, tradition, entertainment etc. We must be prepared to die to these things. Luke 14:26 and Mathew 10:37.


The rich young ruler was most probably very faithful in tithes, offerings and many other requirements of the law. He told Jesus in his defence that he had done all these things all his life. He was impeccable in that regard. But yet a still small voice deep in his heart kept telling him, it was not enough. If only he had read he verse that said “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” Hosea 6:6. Mercy demands of the heart, whereas offerings and sacrifices could come from our abundance as a formality and to show off. Jesus chose to draw the attention of the young man to that which was a barrier from a fulfilling and loving relationship with God. Removal of that barrier was his duty and it was within his power to do. No one, not even God could do that for him because that would have violated the young man’s right to choose. The choice was tragic in the end but it is a lesson to us, that faith is a personal relationship with God. There is no other way for us to live.

March 13 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt Supporter

The record needs to be set straight that Jesus did not tell the man he could be saved this way. Something else was going on in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30. 

The context is receiving eternal life in the future, “in the age to come,” Mark 10:30, Luke 18:30. There are two aspects to eternal life, a present experience and a future expectation. Jesus made it clear that having eternal life now was by believing in Him, John 3:16, 6:47. Keeping commandments never saves anyone. It contradicts the requirement of faith. 

The other sense, the future position of privilege is what is meant here. The rich young ruler was correct in thinking that those who are faithful obtain a rewarding life in the future. In the first three gospels, only this rich young ruler and a lawyer, Luke 10:25-37, ask about what to do to inherit this eternal life. Keeping the commandments will make one complete or perfect before God. The young man was concerned that he had missed something. 

His running and kneeling before Jesus, Mark 10:17, shows his willing heart, ready to learn from the Good Teacher. To have been made a ruler when so young, must mean he had an unblemished record. Christ would certainly have pointed out any flaw if he had one. 

After Jesus impressed upon him that calling Him good meant he must see He is God, the Lord brings up the commandments.

Jesus does not mention the first commandments, Exodus 20:4-8, because the man likely faithfully observed them. However, the commandments the Lord mentioned, Exodus 20:12-17, deal with the correct relationship with people, and he admitted to keeping them even from his youth. 

By bringing up the matter of selling all and giving to the poor, the Lord was not accusing him of greed or that he fell short of God’s holy standard. Instead, He was telling him what he needed to do to be completely right and to “have treasure in heaven,” Matthew 19:21, just as he had asked. The words hit him hard, and he, conscience stricken, went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

When Jesus indicated the extreme difficulty of the rich entering the kingdom, He was making a general statement to which everyone incredulously asked who can possibly be saved? Then, Peter returned to the subject of future rewards and the Lord reassured the disciples of multiplied blessings.

Jesus never invited a person to take up the cross and follow Him unless his heart was right, which the young man’s was, shown by the Lord’s love, Mark 10:21. Selling possessions and giving to the poor before coming and following Him is not the way salvation works, but it is the way discipleship works. One must remove the hindrances in order to devote one’s life fully to the Lord. 

Jesus did not tell the ruler how to be saved, but he did encourage him to do the right things to inherit the future aspect of eternal life.

January 29 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report