If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matthew 19:16-22

What did Jesus mean when he asked the young man to sell away all he had and follow him?

The young man had asked him, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (v16). Jesus' first reply has two parts. First he says, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good." The gospels of Mark and Luke record this sentence as, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone", for the young man had called Jesus, "Good teacher" (Mark 10:17-18, Luke 18:18-19). Evidently, Jesus is refering to God as the "only one who is good". But why did he correct the young man's usage of the word "good"?

Jesus then tells the young man, "If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He then lists the commandments: "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12-16), and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)". The young man's reply is that he has kept all these commandments and asks what else he must do.

This is when Jesus replies, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (v21) Notice that Jesus first says, "If you would be perfect": just as only God is good, only God is perfect. Perhaps the young man believed that he could earn perfection in God's sight through his acts. This would be suggested by his original question to Jesus, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" He wanted to know what he could do to inherit salvation. What is in fact Jesus' reply? When Jesus tells him to follow the commandments, Jesus is not implying that following the commandments alone will earn one salvation. Rather, in refering the young man to the Law of Moses, he provokes the desired response. The young man knows that the law alone cannot save, for he says, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"

Jesus then reveals the only way that the young man, or you or I, may gain eternal life, the only way we may be made perfect in the sight of God. He says "Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Is Jesus saying that if we give ourselves to a life of poverty and ascetism, we will gain eternal life? Definitely not, for that would mean that doing some "good deed" can earn a man salvation.

Look at the young man's subsequent reaction and Jesus' response: "22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." " (v22-24) Jesus told the young man to sell all he possessed because he knew that the young man's worldly possessions were the things keeping him from the kingdom of God. I t is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, for the rich have far more things in the world to distract them from the things of God. In the parable of the sower, Jesus says, "22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." (Matthew 13:18-23)

The question then is, are we rich? Am I "a rich person" that Jesus refers to? When Jesus refers to the rich, he is not talking about those who are wealthy in the sense of the absolute monetary value of their possessions. In the parable of the sower mentioned above, Jesus speaks of "the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches". It is not monetary wealth he is speaking of but rather anything in the world, that replaces God in our lives, anything that makes us rich in worldly things but poor in things of the kingdom of God.

What then does it mean to be rich? See what Jesus says in reply to Peter's question, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" (v27):

28Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Jesus promises his disciples a special place in the new earth. This sentence stands out: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." Here he finally reveals who will inherit eternal life. Those who have given up, who have sacrificed for Christ will have eternal life.

This verse parallels another: "37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:37-39

So how then can we lose our life for the sake of Christ. We are naturally sinful, and everything in our flesh calls out for us to glorify ourselves, to satisfy our worldly desires and longings. In one way or another, all of us are rich in the world. Be it possessions, relationships, reputations or ambitions, all of us have wealth in this world. In and by ourselves, we can never give them up for Christ.

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:25-26

So it is only by the grace of God, as he chooses to show mercy on us, that we may be empowered to surrender our fleshly desires and give ourselves wholely him instead. Let us not cling to the treasures of this earth, but rather pray that God will give us eyes to see and desire the overwhelmingly greater treasure that he is. Then may God enable us to say as the Apostle Paul, "7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Phillipians 3:7-8.