His story leaves us with a difficult question: Would we make that sacrifice?
Below is the passage, what Matthew and Luke add about who this man was, and how Bible commentators from three traditions have read the conversation.
Mark 10:17–22
What did the man ask Jesus?
And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Mark 10:17–18, KJV
Albert Barnes takes his running as a sign of “the intensity with which he desired to know the way of life.” Jesus listed commandments, and the man said he had kept them all from his youth (verses 19–20).
What did Jesus tell him to do?
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mark 10:21–22, KJV
Only Mark records that Jesus, “beholding him loved him”. Adam Clarke reads it as love “because of his youth, his earnestness, and his sincerity.”
Who was he?
Mark calls him simply “one”. Matthew calls him a young man, and Luke a ruler:
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Matthew 19:20, KJV
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luke 18:18, KJV
That is why the story is often told as the rich young ruler.
Mark 10:23–27
What did Jesus say after he left?
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:25, KJV
The disciples were astonished and asked who then could be saved (verse 26). Jesus answered:
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Mark 10:27, KJV
How others have read it
Matthew Henry (1662–1714), a Presbyterian minister, notes that the man asked about good to be done, not good to be had: “Most ask for good to be had in this world”, while he asks “for good to be done in this world, in order to enjoy the greatest good in the other world.”
Adam Clarke (1762–1832), a Methodist scholar, explains the “one thing” as “A heart disengaged from the world, and a complete renunciation of it and its concerns”, and adds a sober note: “it is oftentimes a misfortune to be rich”.
John Gill (1697–1771), a Baptist theologian, reads verse 27 as a promise that God can “work upon a rich man’s heart, so as to take him off of his trust and confidence in his worldly riches”.
The passage does not say what became of the man afterwards.
The channel’s reading
His story leaves us with a difficult question: Would we make that sacrifice?
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Sources
- Scripture quotations: King James Version (public domain), checked against the Project Gutenberg KJV.
- Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible on Mark 10 (public domain), via Bible Hub.
- John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible on Mark 10 (public domain), via Bible Hub.
- Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible on Mark 10 (public domain), via Bible Hub.
- Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible on Mark 10 (public domain), via Bible Hub.
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