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And Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing.” You may be seated. Dear Hosanna Bell and all the baptized, we hope to leave this place today rejoicing in all the gifts that the Lord Jesus gives to us. And that will be a stark contrast to the young man who left Jesus sad.
In our gospel reading today, we want to compare and contrast the rich young ruler with Hosanna Bell, the baptized, and see what the difference is. Because it’s not actually that often in the Gospels that someone leaves the presence of Jesus sad. We see a lot of other options. Sometimes people will leave the presence of Jesus angry, desiring to kill him or plotting against him. Most of the time, we see people leaving the presence of Jesus with joy and rejoicing because of the gifts that he’s given them. Sometimes, people leave the presence of Jesus confused, kind of marveling at what they’ve seen. But it’s very rare that someone leaves Jesus sad.
And it’s not because Jesus is frustrated with this boy, this young man, or angry with him. In fact, the text tells us that Jesus looked at him and loved him. And spoke this hard word of the law to him to expose the idolatry of his heart. And that’s what we want to see. Because what was it that caused him to leave the Lord sad that day? It seemed like everything started out great.
By the way, did you see the beginning of the text in Mark? It says Jesus was setting out to go. He was leaving Capernaum, probably for the last time, leaving this place, his adopted hometown, and heading down south for his passion, suffering, and death. So he’s leaving Galilee and heading down south towards the cross. And it seems like this young man was waiting for that. Maybe he couldn’t sleep all night. Maybe he woke up really early in the morning to make sure that he didn’t miss Jesus, that he could catch Jesus before he left town.
And he sees Jesus and the disciples leaving. He runs to them. That already is rare. He runs to Jesus. He falls down at his feet. He kneels there and asks Jesus this question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Now it seems like that— and I think this is right. You know, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give us this little story right at this spot. In that, we can see how precious this event was to the Holy Spirit, who wants us to consider and think about these things.
It seems like this rich young ruler was just about as good as Phariseeism could get. Most of the time, the Pharisees, which were defined by self-righteousness, thought that they could be good enough to please God, that by their own works and efforts, they could make God happy and find an open heaven. And that’s really what this guy thinks. Remember when Jesus says you should keep the commandments and he says, “I’ve done it”? Really? But it seems like he, without any guile, thinks that he’s outwardly kept the law, that he has, in fact, done these things, that the Ten Commandments were like a checklist that he’s managed so far in his life to check off and say that, yes, I haven’t murdered, I haven’t committed adultery, I haven’t stolen anything, I haven’t even been— well, the Lord Jesus gets after him with covetousness, and that’s probably the problem. “Honor your father and mother.” “I’ve been obedient to my parents.” Check, check, check, check, check.
But he still knows, and this is the good thing, because most of the time, the Pharisees who thought they were righteous thought that they had arrived, that they had achieved what they were there to achieve, and the result was anger and rejection of Jesus. But it seems like this guy wasn’t there. He wasn’t angry at Jesus, who was there assaulting his own conception of his self-righteousness. He knew something was missing.
Now, we know that something is wrong in his heart right from the get-go when he comes to Jesus and says, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus turns back the very first word that he says. “Good? Why do you call me good? There’s one good but God.” It seems like what’s going on there, by the way, is that either this man would think that Jesus is God and therefore not call him teacher, or think that this man is a teacher and therefore not call him good.
So that this man is coming to Jesus as the guru, as the one who’s figured out the way to salvation for himself, and now he can share that information with others. In other words, he’s not coming to Jesus as the Savior, as the atoning sacrifice, as the one who forgives sins. He’s coming to Jesus as the one who’s figured it out and could you also tell me how to figure it out?
Jesus answers the question. He says, “You know the law. What does it say?” He goes through the commandments—five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten—lists them all. And the man says, “I’ve kept all of these.” And then, surprisingly, Jesus doesn’t say, “Well, should I check with your parents about that or talk to your friends?” Jesus just assumes that’s okay, that’s fine. But he looks at him, and he’s not—this is—he’s not angry. The text tells us that Jesus loves him.
And we know that Jesus loves everybody, but it says it in the text. He looked at him and he loved him. There was something really unique about this man that Jesus sees. He loves him and says, “Okay, you lack one thing.” Now that’s an amazing thing to say to someone who’s got everything. This man was rich, remember? He’s got lots of wealth, plenty of money, plenty of food, plenty of clothes. His future’s secure. He’s had great success in life, and yet, “You’re missing one thing.”
And you almost can hear the man say, “That’s what I think too. I think I’m missing just one thing. If you could just tell me that one little secret, then my whole life is going to click together. What is it?” And Jesus says, “Go sell everything you have, and you’ll have treasures in heaven. And come and follow me.”
And the man, you almost get the sense, says, “Well, anything but that. That’s the one thing I can’t give up.” To go and sell all of my riches, give it away, and come and follow me. And it’s an amazing thing that Jesus is giving this man the opportunity to become one of his disciples.
Don’t you wonder what would have happened if he would have done it? If he would have, like the other disciples, said, “Fine, I’ll sell it. I’ll see you later, just give me ten minutes, and I’ll follow you to Jerusalem.” And he would have been there in the upper room to receive the Lord’s body and blood for the first time. And he would have been gathered there when Jesus appeared to him from the dead. And he would have been with the disciples when Jesus ascended into heaven, and they were scattered out into all the world. Who knows if this rich young ruler would have written an epistle that would have been included in the New Testament?
But at this particular moment, the thing that has captured his heart is not the name and kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in fact, it is his own wealth. And this, I think, is why Jesus didn’t list at first the first three commandments: “You shall have no other gods,” “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,” and “Remember the Sabbath day,” because the man’s real problem was his idolatry, that he was worshiping his possessions.
And this is why he leaves Jesus sad: because on the throne of his own heart, in the center of his conscience, is not the name of Jesus, but rather his stuff. And Jesus’ words to him are a hard call to repentance to him, and to me, and to you, and to all who hear these words.
Jesus is saying to this rich young ruler, “You cannot serve God and money. You cannot serve the Lord and mammon. You cannot treasure above all things your own possessions and wealth and also treasure him. There’s only one spot—there’s one throne in your own heart. And if you piled that seat full of gold or whatever, then there is no room for the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the reason why this man leaves sad.
And we have to look closely at it because the Lord Jesus does not intend for us to leave his presence today in the same way. He wants us to leave this place not sad because of the things that the Lord Jesus asks of us, but rejoicing in the things that he gives to us. And that joy begins by recognizing that our treasures are not in this life, but are in the world to come.
Jesus says it like this in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first my righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. Seek first my kingdom, and all of these things will be given to you.” So that we are not chiefly first seeking after our own well-being and our own whatever, but seeking after the Lord’s gifts, which he gives generously. And when we have that, we leave rejoicing.
The danger, you see, is coming to the Lord Jesus with hands outstretched to receive his gifts, but those hands are full of all of these things that we want to hold on to. And I don’t know what it is. It’s probably different for each one of us. For this rich young man, it was all of his wealth, all of his treasures. But for you, it might be something different. There are all these things, and they are just taking up the place that the Lord needs to give you his own gifts.
So we repent. We consider whatever we have to be rubbish for the sake of gaining our Lord Jesus Christ. And we look to him for all good. We call upon his name. We turn to Him for the gifts of eternal life that He wants to give us. And when we do that, when we come with empty hands like Hosanna, with nothing to give, with nothing to hold on to, with nothing that we treasure in our own heart, when we come to the Lord looking for His gifts, then He lavishes His gifts and treasures upon us.
He gives you the forgiveness of all of your sins. He gives you the open door to everlasting life. He gives you the promise that you will live forever in the new heaven and the new earth. He gives you this treasure, which is above all treasures, that he smiles at you and promises that he loves you.
So, in a few minutes, we’re going to leave this place. And I want us to leave in the joy of the Lord’s gifts, not holding on to our own idols, but repenting and trusting in his word. So that we leave rejoicing in the gifts that the Lord gives for this life and the gifts that he gives to us in the life to come. May God grant us this faith, this peace, this comfort, and this joy through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
