A hard saying of Jesus
Sell All That You Have
A rich ruler ran to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. He claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth. Jesus, loving him, told him one thing was lacking: sell all that he had, give to the poor, and come follow. The man went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.
“Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”Luke 18:22
Why it sounds hard
This saying has troubled the wealthy and the sincere alike. Does Jesus require every follower to sell everything and take a vow of poverty? Some read it that way and conclude that ordinary believers with homes and savings cannot truly be His. Others rush to dismiss it, insisting it applied to one man only and touches no one else, which quietly lets us all off the hook. Both distortions dodge the blade. Jesus did not ask this of Zacchaeus, who gave half, or of the women who supported His ministry from their means. Yet He asked it here without flinching, and the man's grief proves He meant it. The difficulty is that money had become this man's god, and Jesus went straight for the idol.
What it actually means
Jesus was answering a man who thought he had kept every commandment. So the Lord held up the first commandment against his heart: you shall have no other gods. The command to sell everything was not a universal price tag on salvation but the exact diagnosis this man needed. His wealth was the throne rival, the thing he trusted and would not surrender. Jesus does not require every disciple to be penniless, but He requires every disciple to have no idol, and He will name whatever ours is. For this ruler it was riches. The tragedy is that he called Jesus good and asked about eternal life, yet when offered the living God in exchange for his gold, he counted the gold worth more and walked away grieving.
The heart behind the hard words
Notice that Luke says Jesus, beholding him, loved him. This was not a trap or a cruelty but love telling the truth. Jesus saw the one chain still binding a good and earnest man, and He loved him enough to name it, even knowing the man might refuse. That is the heart behind the hard command. Christ is never after our poverty for its own sake; He is after us, and He will not share the throne with a rival that is slowly killing us. He offered this man Himself, which is worth more than every possession on earth, and grieved to watch him choose less. The same Lord stands before every heart, asking us to release the one thing we clutch, so that our hands are free to hold Him.
Questions people ask
Does Jesus require everyone to sell all their possessions?
No. He did not ask it of Zacchaeus, who kept half his wealth, or of others who followed Him with homes and means. He asked it of this ruler because riches were the idol on the throne of his heart. Jesus requires that no disciple keep an idol, and He will name whatever competes with Him in you.
Can rich people be saved?
Jesus said it is hard, as hard as a camel through a needle's eye, because wealth breeds a trust that resists God. But when the disciples asked who then can be saved, He answered that what is impossible with men is possible with God. Salvation is His gift, and He can free even a rich heart to hold Him first.