It is not enough to follow the commands.
It is not enough to be a religious person.
That is what the rich, young ruler found out. He had been trying to be a good person. He had tried to do what he had been taught as a young Jew, following Judaism and that which he had been led to understand.
But following his religion wasn’t enough.
Even following the commands of God wasn’t enough.
No, only following Jesus would be enough. And even in that, he must follow Jesus is the way that Jesus said, not in the way that the man thought that he should.
This man had come to Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to obtain eternal life. He had mastered and obtained what he needed in this life, but now he wanted that life to continue…eternally.
What else is left? What else must I do?
Jesus actually tells him: Keep the commandments.
But that wasn’t enough for the man. In another telling of this story outside of Matthew, it says that the man wanted to justify himself. The man wanted to lift himself up. He wanted to glorify himself. He was proud because of his riches.
The man might have gotten away with that with another teacher. It is possible that another teacher would have responded:
Ah, you have kept all of the commandments? Great! Keep doing that and you will be fine.
Oh, and I see you are a rich man! Wonderful! You are obviously blessed by God. Keep doing all of this as well, living in the blessing of God.
But not Jesus. No, being rich will not give you any standing or any position before him. Even keeping the commandments won’t make you perfect before God. No, only one thing will do that:
Go sell everything you have and follow me.
Everything that you have worked for. Everything that you thought was what you should do. Everything that you have understood as your life, get rid of all of that and follow me.
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Matthew 19:21
The man couldn’t do it. He couldn’t – no, instead, he wouldn’t – do it. He liked the riches that he had, but Jesus wouldn’t let him keep any of it. He couldn’t even sell his possessions and put the money in the bank or in some investments to save for later. He had to lose it all. He had to give it away. This, and only this, was the price to come and follow Jesus.
Think about it. He could have been the 13th disciple. It could have changed the story that we tell today. He could have been the last one that we talk about even today who decided to give up everything and come to follow Jesus.
But he wouldn’t do it. He preferred his riches. He preferred his life exactly the way it was. He preferred what he would have for a few years now instead of what he would have with Jesus into eternity. He was trying to understand how to have eternal life, but he wanted to bring his current life along with him as well.
That’s not enough, Jesus explained.
If you want eternal life, leave it behind and follow me.
Wow, what a message that is, not only for this man, but also for us today. How many of us cling to our lives. How many of us think that we are living in the way that God has called us to live, when in fact we are hanging on to our old way of life, when in fact we haven’t left the old life behind so that we can have a new life truly following Jesus.
Could we find ourselves one day before Jesus and him saying: “Sorry, it wasn’t enough.”? Could we end up finding out that Jesus intended for us to follow him and instead we preferred to place value on the things that we wanted?
Is Jesus calling you to leave behind something in your life and follow him?
This is a question that each of us should be asking ourselves. Not just once, but each day. And in repentance, we must leave that old life and follow him. If it is sin, leave it behind. If it is something that you value higher than Christ, leave it behind and follow him. Only in this way will we, unlike the rich, young ruler, find eternal life.