Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler he could be saved by obeying the commandments?

The young man is a typical religious, moral and natural man. In the Gospel of Mark we read, that he came running and kneeled down and that the Lord loved him; and in Luke we find that he was a young ruler, holding an ecclesiastical position. The question is the all important one for the religious man, the question of how to obtain eternal life. He is in ignorance about eternal life. In spite of all his religious observations, his position, his good moral qualities, he had no certainty, no assurance of life eternal; though a member of the professing people of God, he gropes in the dark. And is this not the case of the so-called Christian masses of our day? He furthermore expects eternal life from God as the reward of having done some good thing. He wants to earn eternal life, "do and live," as the law demands. He is ignorant of the great fundamental fact, that he is with all his religiousness and good moral qualities a guilty and lost sinner. He does not know (the blindness of the natural man) that he never did a good thing, which pleased God and that he can never do any good thing from himself. And this is equally true of a large number of subjects in the kingdom of heaven, who are mere professors of Christianity and who are unsaved and strangers to the grace of God. And now the Lord's dealing with him. He gives him, first of all, to understand that only One is good and that One is, of course, God. "Good master," said he, according to the other record. He looked upon the Lord as a good man merely, and this He at once repudiates. God alone is good, and the One the young man addressed is "God manifested in the flesh." He was ignorant of His person. The Lord then meets him on his own ground. The ground upon which he stands is the law, and with the law the Lord answers his question. How else could He treat him? The first need for him was to know himself a lost and helpless sinner. If the Lord had spoken of His grace, of eternal life as a free gift, he would not have understood Him at all. The law was needed to make known to him his desperate condition and to lay bare his heart. And the Lord who searches the hearts does this for him. With a few sentences he uncovers the true state of the young man, who leaves Him grieved, full of sorrow; he had many possessions and he would not part with them. He had declared that he loved his neighbor as himself; had he done so he would have readily sold his possessions, given them to the poor and followed the Lord. As a natural man, he could not and would not do it.

The young man neither knew himself, nor the state in which man really was before God. He was under the law; and Jesus sets forth the law first as the rule of life, given by God as the measure of righteousness for the sons of Adam. The young man does not ask how he may be saved, but how he may inherit eternal life. The Lord does not speak of eternal life, but takes up the young man at the point where he places himself; the law said, "Do these things, and thou shalt live." The young man declares that he has kept all these things from his youth up: the Lord neither denies nor disputes it; and we read that He looked upon him, and loved him. We see here that which is amiable and loved of the Lord. But what is the true state of this young man? The Lord draws the veil, and man stands before God in his nakedness; and God stands before man in His holiness. Doing anything is out of the question: how to be saved is another thing.

It is evidently in the same connection that the Lord receives the little children as representing the spirit suited to the kingdom in the absence of thought of self, in such contrast to what obtains in the world, though grace alone can produce it in any of us. All that is fairest in nature is found to fail under the test of the cross, as illustrated in the next incident from verse 16: one comes whom, as Mark tells us, the Lord loved, discerning in him so many traces of God's work in creation as natural amiability, sincerity, and the like, amid the wreck of sin. The young ruler was satisfied with his position under the law; his conscience being deceived by the letter of it was unawakened as to sin. He desired to know by what additional good-doing he might have eternal life. By a change of reading the answer of the Lord here is, "Why askest thou me concerning goodness? One there is who is good." There was no use in speaking of God's goodness till the idea of his own was disposed of. Therefore the Lord is but taking him up on his own ground in referring him to the law as the revelation of what God required of one who would stand before Him on the principle of man's goodness. He quotes generally the second table, only reserving the last commandment, which forbids the desires of the flesh. For now He would apply this in principle: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Where was his heart now? Linked up with the earth by his possessions here. And he turned away sorrowful from heavenly treasure, and the cross that answers to it upon earth. Nature at its best breaks down before such a test.

One would have thought that every person who ever read the word of God must know that faith is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8.) The Fathers however treat this as a mistake. The anxious soul or catechumen begs this faith of the church. “Whence also do they straightway hear that word of Christ: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Page 34.) This is surely one of two things, using the word of God either ignorantly or craftily. Little children had been brought to Christ, and He had announced that new and startling fact, that “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” A little child receives a gift and does nothing for it. This was the very opposite of the ministry of the law, yet most true, as explained by the Holy Ghost after redemption was accomplished, and Christ was risen from the dead. Eternal life is now the gift of God to those who, like a little child, do nothing for it: otherwise it would not be a gift. After the announcement of this new fact, a certain ruler puts a question, which lies at the root of this announcement. He asks, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” And the Lord at once tests him on his own ground, as under law. And mark He does not apply the law as to his duty to God, but the lowest test-duty to his neighbour. He says, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Which?” says the ruler. “Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; honour thy father and mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Well, the young man declares he has kept all these; and evidently he thinks so. But if so, where is grace? Where the Christ-announced doctrine of the little child? Oh, mark the divine wisdom of Christ! He takes the very last — “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” and only applies this to the heart of a sincere Jew, under the administration of the law. Just, and holy, and good in itself, but the ministration of it to this young man is found to be death. He says, as it were “You have property; the poor, whom you say you love as yourself, need that property; sell it and give to the poor.” Ah, he failed at once, not only to his neighbour, but in departing from God speaking to him in love. And thus was the truth not overthrown, but established; that the kingdom of God must be received as by a little child and not a commandment-doing man. Was it not very crafty of the Fathers to misapply such a text as this? Surely they ought to have known that “if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal. 2:21.) And “if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” (Gal. 3:21.)

The young man in Matthew 19:16 did not say, "What shall I do to be saved?" but "that I may have eternal life." The Lord's answer is, not if you want to be saved, but if you want to live, "This do and live." The young man said, "This I have done, and what lack I yet?" "Sell all, and come follow me." This tested him, for his heart was set on his possessions; he went away from grace. So, in John 8:9, one by one they went away from grace, because they dreaded the eye that could detect them. That is what people do still — they cannot bear conviction. It is getting away from God, because the heart and conscience cannot bear that which comes out in the presence of God. What a terrible thing that is, if your only hope of comfort is to keep away from God — to keep out of His sight!

The young man was a ruler, and he was rich; but, ruler though he were, and rich also, the question of the possession of eternal life had not been settled satisfactorily in the history of his soul. Clearly, he was an earnest young man. It is a nice thing to see an earnest young man, and this one was distinctly so. He was running: "There came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (ver. 17.) Clearly, he thought of eternal things. Evidently the question crossed his mind as to how eternal life was to be obtained. He had it not; he wished it. He wanted it, and desired, seriously, and earnestly, to know how he was to get eternal life.

Now, I trust there is a young man here — perhaps more than one — who really desires to know how to get eternal life; but, I do not doubt, that, till our eyes are thoroughly opened to see where we are, the same kind of question as this rich young man put to the Lord, would be put by us. He says, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Do you suppose that eternal life is to be inherited by doing? We have all thought so, at some time. But, some one says, does not the Lord answer him, and bid him do certain things? No doubt He does; but, it is just like this, the Lord, when this young man comes to Him, says, as it were, I will find out what you are prepared to do. And what comes out is this — he was not prepared to do that which would have given him eternal life, had it been obtained by doing. That is clear. In reality, he was tested; the Lord took him on the ground upon which he came to Him. And so will the Lord do now. I believe He takes us all at first upon the ground upon which we have accosted Him.

The Lord meets him, therefore, where he is: not as we might have expected, perhaps, with the gospel and the declaration of His grace, for he has as yet no need of grace. Law must do its work with him, for "by the law is the knowledge of sin." Yet He does, at the same time, intimate the result, and so had the law itself done with its unrent veil, Cod in the darkness, ― whether men realized it or not: witness and warning on God's part can never be wanting, and so here: "Why askest thou Me about that which is good? there is One good," and only One.

Verse 16 speaks of one who comes to the Lord, but not as a little child. He is in earnest, no doubt, but his words show confidence in his own ability to do something to earn eternal life. In this case the translation should read, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" This is not the simplicity of a little child, and the Lord asks why the man inquires concerning good, for only one is good, that is, God. Since the man is not good in himself , how can he expect to do a good thing ?

The Lord does not give him the Gospel , for he is not ready for it, but rather refers him to the standard God had given by Moses as regards doing good. To enter into life (life on earth, not eternal life) let him keep the commandments. The man asks, "Which?" Did he think any of them could be ignored? But the Lord lists only those that have to do with men's responsibility toward others, not including those God ward. Why? Because the men was not thinking of God, but of goodness in himself. Was he really satisfied with his measure of keeping these commandments ? He said he had observed all these things from his youth but he was not satisfied. How could he be? For he had actually ignored the vital question of his relationship toward God. He knew he lacked something, and it was a matter far more serious than he realized: he lacked the knowledge of God. What a shock must have been the Lord's answer to him! If he desires perfection, let him sell what he has, give to the poor, exchanging his riches for treasure in heaven, and follow the Lord. If he had by faith only known the Lord, and really loved his neighbor as himself, should this have been so unthinkable? He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Again the next incident, concerning the rich young ruler, lays its emphasis on the same point. The Lord had just spoken of receiving the kingdom as a little child, when the ruler asks, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" His mind swung back to the works of the law, not knowing what Paul tells us in Romans 4:4, "To him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." Approaching on this basis, the Lord referred him to the Law, as regards his duty to his neighbour, and on his claiming to have complied from his youth up, He tested him further as to his relation to Himself. "Come, follow Me." Who is this Me? That was the supreme question, on which everything hinged, whether for the ruler or for ourselves.

The ruler had addressed Him as "Good Master," and this complimentary epithet the Lord had refused apart from the acknowledgment that He was God. In truth He was God, and He was good, and He presented Himself to the young man, bidding him relinquish what he possessed and follow Him — just as Levi had done some time before. Even the law demanded that God should be loved with all the heart. Did the ruler love God thus? Did he recognize God in the lowly Jesus? Alas, he did not. He might claim to have kept commandments relating to his neighbour; he utterly broke down when the first of all the commandments was in question. In his eyes his riches had in them greater value than Jesus.

Next comes the young and rich ruler, who went away sorrowfully from Christ rather than give up the self-importance attached to his manifold possessions. "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, having done what shall I inherit life eternal? 457a And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, God.458 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother.458a And he said, All these things have I kept from my† youth. And Jesus on hearing [this]‡ said to him, One thing is lacking to thee yet: sell all that thou hast and distribute to poor [men], and thou shalt have treasure in the heavens§; and come, follow me. But he on hearing these things became very sorrowful, for he was exceedingly rich. And Jesus having seen him [become very sorrowful]|| said, How difficult shall those who have riches enter¶ into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to enter through a needle's eye than for a rich [man] to enter into the kingdom of God." "One, God": so most authorities (versions and MSS.), as AD, etc., Syrr., etc., followed by Edd. in text. ℵ and Bpm omit "΄ο" and thus read "one God." †"My": so ℵA, etc., Syrsin Latt., etc. Recent Edd. omit, as BD Syrcu. ‡["This"]: so A, etc.; but Edd. omit, following ℵBDL, 1, 33, 69, Syrrcu sin pesch Memph. §"The heavens": so Edd. after BD, Memph. (ℵALR having "heavens" without the article: so Tisch.). "Heaven" is the reading of PX, etc., Old Lat. Amiat. ||"Having seen him [become very sorrowful]": so ADΓΔ, etc., most cursives, Syrr. Old Lat. Edd. adopt "Seeing him, said," following ℵBL, 1, Memph. ¶"Shall . . . enter": so ℵADR, and later uncials in general, most cursives, Syrr. Old Lat. Edd. "do . . . enter," after BL.

The case is plain. The young ruler had no sense of sin, no faith in Christ as a Saviour, still less did he believe that a Divine person was there, which indeed He must be to save sinners. He appealed to Jesus as the best expression of goodness in man, the highest in the class in which he counted himself no mean scholar. The Lord answers him on the ground of his question. Did he ask the Lord as the good master or teacher, what thing doing he should inherit eternal life? He took his stand on his own doing; he saw not that he was lost and needed salvation. It had never occurred to him that man as such was out of the way, none good, no, not one. That Jesus was the Son of God and Son of man sent to save was a truth to him unknown. The Lord brings in the commandments of the second table: but his conscience was untouched: "All these things have I kept from my youth."458b "One thing is lacking to thee yet," said Jesus to the self-satisfied yet dissatisfied ruler, conscious that he had not eternal life and that he had no solid security for the future — "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me." The conscience which had resisted the test of law fell at the first touch of Jesus. "And hearing this he became very sorrowful, for he was exceedingly rich."459