Matthew 19:16 – 22

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”

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 your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This man who came asking a question of Jesus was not one of the Pharisees, Sadducees, or scribes who were constantly harassing Jesus and trying to catch Him in an answer which would be contrary to the Law. He evidently was a Jew in good standing and he understood what the law required of its followers. He also knew something about Jesus and His teaching. And he expected to hear an answer which would be different than what was expected in the teaching of the law.

Jesus answered in a humble manner, He is part of the Godhead, but as a being on earth he points out the only good comes from God. By calling Him good it was equivalent to calling Him God.

He then gave him the answer which was proper as they were both living under the law of Moses. “Keep the commandments” It is what a Jew needed to do to have eternal life. He probably expected a different answer.

He asked Jesus to specify because by this time in history, many traditions were considered as binding as the commandments.

Jesus then specifies six of the “Ten Commandments” of which are the ones which deal with person to person interactions.

Jesus did not dispute whether the young man was honest in his statement of being faithful in keeping these commands. But the young man realized there was more to being spiritually successful than keeping the Law. Jesus was here to set up another kingdom, a spiritual kingdom.

Jesus knew this man was honest in his questioning Jesus to find the answer to obtaining eternal life.

In (Mark 10:21) it relates Jesus loved this man. Jesus knew the heart and mind of individuals and He knew this man placed great store upon his riches. It is not wrong to have wealth, but it is wrong to be so attached to it that it becomes an idol to you. It is wrong to rely on your wealth. (1 Timothy 6:17 [Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. ]) Jesus told him what he still needed in his life, he needed to be able to use his wealth to help the ones who lacked instead of placing so much personal value on it.

This last instruction by Jesus hit the nail on the head, this man's weakness was his wealth. He went his way sorrowful because he loved his riches so much. We do not know if he was able to come to the realization his wealth would keep him from enjoying eternal life or not. We are not told.

It does give us much to think about. We can be perfect when it comes to following all of the “Thou shalts” and the “Thou shalt nots” but if we do not use our resources for others as well as our selves then we are in the same condition as the young man who went away sorrowful. Jesus tells us just like He told him. “Lay up your treasures in heaven.”

Matthew 6:19 - 21[“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.]