28. The Rich Young Ruler

What the Story Says

1. What did the rich young ruler want Jesus to tell him?

   The rich young ruler wanted Jesus to tell him how he could have eternal life. He wanted to live forever with God (#28-01).

2. How did Jesus respond when the man called him ‘good’?

   Jesus asked the young man what he meant to say when he called Jesus ‘good’. Jesus did not wait for the man to answer. He reminded the man that only God is truly good. Perhaps Jesus was asking the man if he believed that Jesus was God (#28-01).

3. What did Jesus tell the young man he should do in order to have eternal life?

   Jesus told him to obey God’s laws in order to have eternal life (#28-01).

4. How well did the young man think he had obeyed the law?

   The young man thought he had always fully obeyed God’s law. Of course, no one can do that. But he honestly believed that he had done everything that God asked him to do (#28-03).

5. What did Jesus tell the young man to give up?

   Jesus told the young man to give up all of his possessions (#28-04).

6. What did Jesus tell the young man to do after he gave up his possessions?

   Jesus told the young man to follow him as his disciple (#28-04).

7. Why did the young man go away sad?

   The young man went away sad because he had many possessions, and he did not want to give them up (#28-05).

8. According to Jesus, how do riches affect whether a person enters heaven?

   Jesus said that it was almost impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven (#28-06).

9. If disciples give up things for Jesus’ sake, how much more will they receive from him?

   Disciples who give up things for Jesus will receive 100 times as much from him as a reward (#28-10).

What the Story Means to Us

1. Why did the young man ask which laws he must obey?

   The young man did not understand that people must obey all of God’s laws. God considers that we sin if we fail to obey even one of his laws. The young man wrongly thought that God would accept him if he faithfully obeyed some of God’s most important laws.

2. Why did Jesus talk to the young man about being perfect?

   The young man wrongly thought he could be ‘good enough’ to have eternal life. Jesus wanted him to know that he had to be perfect—that is, without any sin—in order to have eternal life. He could not keep God’s law perfectly. The only way for him to be perfect was to follow Jesus and trust that Jesus would save him from his sin.

3. If the young man wanted to have eternal life, why was he not willing to give up his possessions?

   Jesus promised that the young man would have treasure in heaven if he followed Jesus. However, the young man could not yet see and touch that treasure. He had to believe that Jesus would reward him. However, he could easily see and touch the possessions that he already had in this world. Therefore, it was hard for him to give up his current treasure to gain something that he could not yet see.

4. Why were the disciples so shocked to hear that it was almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?

   The people of that day believed that if God loved someone, he made them wealthy. The more possessions a person had, the more people thought God loved them. The disciples were shocked to hear that God does not necessarily accept a person who is rich.

5. When will Jesus reward his disciples for giving up things for his sake?

   Jesus does not say when he will reward his disciples. He may give them some things in this life, but most of their reward will be in heaven. Jesus clearly told his disciples that he would give them 100 times as much as they give up for him in this life. Other people may think they are poor in this life, but Jesus will richly reward them in his kingdom.

Summary

The rich young ruler who came to Jesus genuinely wanted to receive eternal life. He thought that he had obeyed God enough to be worthy of eternal life. Jesus loved him, but also knew that the young man loved his possessions. Therefore, Jesus tested him by telling him to give up his possessions and to follow Jesus in order to have eternal life. However, this made the young man very sad. The disciples were surprised that Jesus did not receive the rich young man. But Jesus explained that he would reward the disciples who gave up their wealth for his sake.