“Now, this is where things usually get either overly bland or overly spicy. On the bland side, teachers and commentators rush to tell us all that this is not a universal command. That it was only for this guy. The following verses undercut that idea. And this man is a living, breathing proof of what Jesus taught back in Mark 4 in the parable of the soils – how the deceitfulness of wealth will choke out the word and make a life unfruitful. He is a case study of spiritual truths that apply to us. The call of Christ is demanding. We must sacrifice. We must forsake all other idols and surrender to the Lord.
On the spicy side, those teachers who are a little more enamored with asceticism will rush to say that obviously this is a demand for every Christian to empty their savings and give it all away. That penniless Christianity is in and of itself, better Christianity. The problem with that is not only the rest of the Bible, but even the rest of this story.
It’s not just hard for a rich person to get into heaven, it’s hard for anyone to get into heaven. But also consider the rest of the Bible: We see righteous rich. We see ungodly poor. Peter would later tell Ananias and Sapphira that they did not have to sell their land and give it to the church, but that the money was theirs to do with as they pleased. One commentator deftly notes: “If possessions are evil in and of themselves, why would they be given to the poor?”
But that does not mean we’re off the hook. One scholar writes, “That Jesus did not command all his followers to sell all their possessions gives comfort only to the kind of people to whom he would issue that command.” Jesus Himself said plainly, “You cannot serve both God and money.”
The reality is, it’s very easy to be the rich young ruler in American Christianity. Statistically speaking, we are not a wonderfully sacrificial people. Our whole culture is set up for selfishness, not sacrifice.“
