And someone came to Him and said,
"(Good)Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal
life?" And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good?
There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the
commandments." Then he said
to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT
MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR
FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
AS YOURSELF." The young man said to Him, "All these things I have
kept; what am I still lacking?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be
complete, go and sell your
possessions and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when
the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who
owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you,
it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (NASB)
Did this man
recognize that Jesus is God?
Keep the commandments.
Here Jesus lists the commandments that deal with people relationships: murder, adultery, theft, false witness,
honor, (Exodus 20:12-17) and loving neighbors. He didn’t mention the first four
commandments that deal with God (Exodus 20:3-8). The young man claimed to have
kept all those. Can anyone really do that? Jesus has already taught that to
think evil is to do it---and who hasn’t told a little white lie? That is false witness. This young man was
only fooling himself. Jesus knew that and gave him a task that would be
impossible for him. “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor. And you will
have treasure in heaven.” So the “rich”
young man sadly left and apparently never came back and “followed” Jesus. It is
hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Treasures on earth are not
treasures in heaven. Those treasures will certainly be spiritual food.
Dear Jesus— Show me
the treasures I need to store in Heaven. I want to keep your commandments and I
look forward to seeing you in Heaven.
© 2012
by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
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