Luke 18:22 Commentary and Bible Study

One thing this man lacked. That doesn't mean to say that he only had one sin. It doesn't mean that he'd got everything right and was almost fit for heaven, apart from one thing. Oh no. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he says ‘one thing’ means that outwardly he thought he was doing well, but there was one great problem. Where was his heart? ‘You want to go to heaven? You want to know if there is anything you can do to get you there? You say that you have kept certain of the commandments’ – not all of them were mentioned – ‘but there's one big thing which is missing. Your heart. Are you for self or are you for God? Are you really deep down all for yourself? Yes, you want to go to heaven, but you want things to turn out in this life for you, for your benefit, to please you, to exalt you, and not the Lord. You don't want him to be first. You are asking for blessing, but you don't want him to be the ruler of your life and the chief thing in your affections.’ So the Lord Jesus Christ says to him in effect, ‘Let's see where you stand’, and he sets him a test. This test is not set for everyone, but it was a test for this man. The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't say to us all, sell up everything you have, but he said it to this man, because it was a test. He said it to prove him. Could he do it? If asked, where was his heart? Did he really want the blessing which he said he wanted? Or did he love himself more than he could ever love the Lord? ‘Sell all’, says the Lord, ‘and give to the poor.’ Well, that is a good thing to do, but there is probably another reason why he was told to give to the poor. Because that would mean he could never get it back. If he left it in trust or he left it in the custody of somebody else; if he sold up and put the money in the bank and went and followed Jesus Christ, or distributed certain sums to friends of his who could look after him, then when he changed his mind, he could take it back. But if he gave it to the poor, it was done, finished. ‘The thing which in your case’, the Lord says, ‘is the big barrier for you coming to God, is your love of your wealth. If you give it to the poor, it will have gone. And then come and follow me, learn from me. Come and have a relationship, a personal walk with me’, says the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘But in order to do so, you have got to give up something in your life which is a barrier. In your case, those riches are everything to you. They rule you; they mean so much to you.’