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18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Luke 18:18-22
A young man who was moral, religious and devout asked of the Lord Jesus a question. In addition, this young man was a leader, he was prosperous, he was respected and he was influential. He was also the ruler of a synagogue. But one thing he lacked: he had never come to the end of himself and trusted in the God of the Bible for his salvation.
In v.18 we read, "A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" This ruler of a synagogue came to the Lord Jesus with this question. Even though it was good that he came to the Lord Jesus with this question, the premise of the question is wrong because no human can be or do enough good to inherit eternal life.
This man had everything one could want, but he was not at peace. He had money, power, status, morality, and leadership. Yet, he was not satisfied. This only goes to prove nothing in this world will ever truly satisfy us, for God created us with a God-shaped vacuum that only He can fill.
Now, according to Mark, this ruler of the synagogue ran to the Lord Jesus. He had a strong and passionate desire in his heart to get this issue settled and he came to believe that the Lord Jesus could possibly help him. And when He arrived, according to Mark, he fell on his knees.
Not long after his conversation with the Lord Jesus, this man went away having never received eternal life. He may be the only man in the Gospels who came to the feet of the Lord Jesus and went away in worse condition than before he came. He went his own way in great sorrow.
His problem was his dishonesty. In spite of the fact that he came to the right person, and received the right answer to his question, he rendered the wrong response. Like all religious people, he was superficial. The religious must be superficial because we all know no one can be perfect in his actions. And, if we are trying to earn our desires through our goodness, we must never let anyone see our badness.
In v.18 he referenced the Lord Jesus as “Good Teacher," a description the Jews only used of God. This explains why the Lord Jesus, in v.19, asked the young man, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone?"
The subsequent behavior of the ruler proved that he did not believe the Lord Jesus was God. If he really thought he was in the presence of Almighty God, why did he argue politely about the law, brag about his character, and then refuse to obey His words? Surely he knew that God sees the heart and knows all things!
In v.20 we read, "You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” The ruler had a superficial view of his own sin. No doubt he sincerely tried to keep the law; in fact, this may have been what brought him to the feet of the Lord Jesus in the first place. The Lord Jesus did not quote the law to him as a means of salvation, because obedience to the law does not save us. He held the law before the young man as a mirror to reveal his sins.
In v.21, the ruler said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." Since he thought he had kept the law his whole life from his youth, he still knew he did not have eternal life. There was doubt in his mind and this is why he came to the Lord Jesus in the first place.
According to Matthew 19:17 the Lord Jesus also said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." The Lord Jesus was speaking to him in his own language. All this ruler ever knew was good works. All he had ever known was self-produced achievement, self-made morality and spirituality.
In v.22 we read, "When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
This young man failed to understand that by the law we learn of our sinfulness. He looked into the mirror of God's word and did not see the sin in his own life. He saw the law as a means to feel good about himself. He failed to understand the principle that if we break the law in one point, we've broken it all.
He also failed to see that the law cannot save us. He tried to establish his own righteousness, failing to understand the true righteousness of God as revealed in the law.
In order to inherit eternal life, we must confess our sin and we must realize that we can not earn God's acceptance by our obedience to the law. The Lord Jesus didn't argue with this man. Rather, He informed him that salvation is reserved for those who face their sin and their inability to measure up and come in total abandonment and submission to Him.
The emphasis of the Bible is on the work of the Redeemer, not on the work of the redeemed, especially when it comes to our salvation. William Hordern once said, "It is never our repentance that causes God's forgiveness; rather, it is God's forgiveness that causes our repentance."
