The story of Jesus and the rich young ruler is found in Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-23. This encounter provides insight into Jesus’ view of salvation and how it relates to following God’s commandments.
The key aspects of the story are:
- A rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18).
- Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, and when asked which ones, Jesus lists some of the Ten Commandments related to loving your neighbor (Matthew 19:18-19, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20).
- The young man claims he has kept all these commandments, and asks what he still lacks (Matthew 19:20, Mark 10:20, Luke 18:21).
- Jesus tells him that if he wants to be perfect, he should sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Jesus (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22).
- The young man goes away sad, unwilling to give up his wealth (Matthew 19:22, Mark 10:22, Luke 18:23).
So why did Jesus initially tell the young man that following the commandments could lead to eternal life? There are a few potential reasons:
1. Jesus was leading the man to recognize his inability to fulfill the law
Jesus seems to list the commandments related to loving your neighbor (do not murder, steal, commit adultery, etc.) knowing that the young man would claim to have kept these. His goal may have been to then confront the young man about his wealth and love of money, to expose that he was not actually keeping the essence of the law by loving his neighbor as himself (Matthew 22:37-40).
Jesus exposed a gap between the young man’s actions and motivations, showing him that his outward law-keeping was insufficient for salvation. This leads into Jesus’ ultimate call to give up everything and follow him in true discipleship.
2. Jesus upheld the commandments as expressions of God’s righteousness
Though no one is justified by perfect law-keeping (Romans 3:20), Jesus did not come to abolish the moral commandments but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). Obeying the commandments does not provide justification, but it remains an expression of the righteousness that comes by faith (Matthew 5:20, Romans 3:31).
So Jesus may have pointed to commandment-keeping to emphasize their ongoing importance, even though salvation is by grace through faith.
3. Jesus met the man within his own religious assumptions
As an earnest Jew, the rich young man likely saw obedience to the law as the way to earn eternal life. Jesus’ initial answer met him within this assumption, before leading him to the truth that salvation requires relinquishing earthly treasures and following Christ alone.
Jesus providentially used the man’s incomplete understanding to reveal his need for salvation by faith in Christ rather than his own efforts. This encounter forced the man to confront his idolatry of wealth and called him to true discipleship.
4. Jesus emphasized spiritual rebirth over external law-keeping
When the man asked what he still lacked, Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Christ. Some see this as Jesus exposing the young man’s failure to keep the first commandment to have no other gods before God (Exodus 20:3).
His wealth had become an idol preventing him from properly loving and obeying God. Jesus’ call addressed motives and allegiance more than external actions. This aligns with Jesus’ emphasis on regeneration and heart transformation rather than surface-level obedience (John 3:5-8, Matthew 23:25-28).
5. Jesus was pointing forward to the cross
Since no one can earn salvation by imperfect law-keeping (Galatians 3:10-14, Romans 8:3-4), some see Jesus’ statements as designed to instill despair in one’s own efforts. This despair over self-righteousness prepared the young man to find hope in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.
By upholding God’s perfect standard, Jesus led the man to recognize his need for a Savior, even if the young ruler ultimately rejected this truth. The law acts as a tutor pointing to Christ (Galatians 3:24-26).
6. This was a period of transition in salvation history
Some note that Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man occurred during Jesus’ earthly ministry under the Old Covenant. God’s people were still under the Mosaic Law’s commandments prior to Jesus’ atoning death inaugurating the New Covenant.
So in this transitional period, Jesus’ statements accommodated the Old Testament assumptions still in place while hinting at the coming shift to salvation by grace through faith in Him (Galatians 3:23-25, Hebrews 7:11-19).
This unique moment in salvation history provides helpful background for properly understanding Jesus’ words.
7. Jesus offered the young man an invitation to join His coming Kingdom
Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler also relates to the coming of God’s Kingdom through Him. Jesus exposed the man’s idolatry and called Him to leave his present life behind to follow Christ.
In this sense, Jesus was inviting the man to become His disciple and join the Kingdom community He was inaugurating. However, the man rejected Christ’s lordship over his life.
Jesus used this conversation to distinguish discipleship in His Kingdom from the old ways under the law. Salvation now meant embracing Jesus’ rule through repentance and faith.
8. Jesus did not negate all importance of the moral law
While this passage highlights salvation by grace rather than law-keeping, Jesus still upheld the commandments as an expression of God’s moral will. His emphasis was on inner transformation over external legalism.
Jesus criticized the Pharisees not for valuing Scripture’s moral instruction but for neglecting its weightier matters like justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23-24). Likewise, He called the rich young man to surpass hollow rule-keeping by wholehearted devotion to Himself.
9. Jesus offered Him a chance to be His disciple
On one level, Jesus offered the rich young ruler an invitation to be His disciple and join Christ’s intimate band of followers. Letting go of his wealth and way of life to embrace poverty and persecution with Jesus was a prerequisite to becoming His true disciple (Luke 14:33).
The young man’s unwillingness to forsake his present life meant he rejected the opportunity to follow Jesus in discipleship. Jesus exposed conflicting loyalties and refused a halfway discipleship.
So while this encounter focused on salvation and eternal life, the demands Jesus made also applied to the cost of discipleship. The man was unwilling to pay the price.
10. Jesus focused on the underlying posture of faith and submission
When the rich young ruler insisted he had kept the commandments, Jesus exposed his law-keeping as incomplete. By calling him to sell his possessions, Jesus revealed that the man lacked a posture of faithful dependence and submission to God.
Despite his external obedience, the ruler’s heart was not fully God’s. Jesus’ demand addressed the inner reality, not just the outward actions. The law’s purpose is to lead us to Christ in repentant faith, which this man rejected.
So in summary, Jesus referred to keeping the commandments to expose the rich young ruler’s inadequacy, to uphold God’s righteousness, to meet the man on his own terms, to call for full allegiance to Christ alone, to point forward to the cross, and to invite him into God’s Kingdom. Though no one is saved by works, Jesus still upheld obedience as the fruit of salvation.
This famous encounter provides key insights into Jesus’ teachings on salvation, discipleship, and the connection between faith and obedience. At its heart, it reveals that we cannot earn salvation through moral striving. Our only hope is found in Christ’s atoning work on the cross received by faith.