Matthew 19:16 tells of a rich young man who asks Jesus what good thing he must to do inherit eternal life. There is a sense, by asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, that he seems to think that, through his obedience to the Mosaic Law and his religious works, he can gain the righteousness that God requires. Such a mindset was very common at that time and is still common in America today. But that was never the plan to reconcile a holy God with sinful humanity.

Jesus responded to the question by asking the young man why he asks what is good. It is significant that he asks what "good thing" he must do to earn his salvation. Jesus said that there is only One who is good. How can a perfect work that satisfies God's standard to reconcile humanity with himself come from imperfect people? That can only come from God alone.

Jesus told him that if he wants to enter life, he needs to obey the commandments. This is not to be taken that Jesus is advocating salvation by works. In verse 25, the disciples ask who can be saved, if it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Riches were taken as a sign of God's favor, so many people simply made the assumption that the rich were also saved. If the rich, who were thought to have God's favor, weren't able to enter the kingdom of heaven, what hope is there for anyone else?

In verse 26, Jesus tells them that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. That shows salvation can only come from God, so there is no way that Jesus was teaching salvation by works. God does demand obedience to his commands, but our obedience shows the faith and salvation that we already have. Obedience is not the basis of our salvation. It is the evidence.

The young man asked which commands he should obey. The writer was once told that there are 613 commands in the Law of Moses (also known as the Mosaic Law), so it was important to know which were the most important commands. The young man needed to know how to summarize all the Law into a few commands. Jesus told him, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself." In another passage, Jesus said the most important commands are Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18. That means loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The young man evidently sensed that he was still missing something, since he pointed out that he had kept all of these laws. *The young man's question also shows that he knows that good works are over and above what is expressly required in the Mosaic Law. He asked Jesus what he still lacks. The writer has heard it said that anyone who tries to be good enough to earn his or her way into heaven knows that it can't be done. The writer also knows this from personal experience prior to accepting Christ as his Savior.

Jesus told him that if he wanted to be perfect, he should sell all of his possessions and give to the poor. Then he would have treasure in heaven. Jesus then invited the man to follow him. It must be emphasized that the young man doesn't gain eternal life by selling all of his possessions and giving them to the poor. Though that is certainly a noble act, it doesn't address the issue of his sinful nature. The latter part of Jesus' response, "Come, follow me," does address the man's sin problem. By telling him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor, Jesus is telling him how to lay up treasures for himself in heaven.

This does not mean that Jesus is telling every Christian to sell all of his or her possessions and give them to the poor. There are lots of ways to lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven. Jesus said that if you do something as simple as giving someone a cup of cold water because he or she is a Christian, you will by no means lose your rewards. Our prayers for each other, teaching, encouraging, giving of our time and talents, and our monetary offerings are all ways of laying up treasures in heaven. We can discover our spiritual gifts by what we do well and what we enjoy doing. Exercising our spiritual gifts is a terrific way to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

When Jesus told the young man to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor, the man went away sad, because he was very wealthy. *Jesus wanted undivided loyalty and full-hearted obedience from this man, but the man was unable to give it because his money was competing with God. He had a divided heart. That is the reason that Jesus told him to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor. We also need to ask God to reveal to us whether there is anything that is causing us to have a divided heart. If so, what is God calling us to do about it? God still wants full-heart obedience and undivided loyalty. That hasn't changed.

Jesus then told his disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. That is clearly impossible. Given that the rich were seen as being favored by God, the disciples had to wonder what hope there was for anyone. Jesus told them that with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Salvation could only come from God. It has to be his gift to us, not something that we earn.

In verse 27, Peter pointed out to Jesus that the disciples had left everything to follow him. What would they receive in return? Jesus told him that at the renewal of all things, that is, after Jesus' Second Coming, they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It is hard to imagine a higher honor in heaven than that. We may not see immediate rewards for following Christ, sometimes not even in this lifetime, but Jesus assures us that will all be more than worth it. Not even the smallest deed that we do for him goes unnoticed.

Jesus said that no one who has left their family, as the disciples had, would fail to receive a hundred times as much in the kingdom of heaven. He adds that they would also inherit eternal life because of their faith in Christ, through Jesus' later death and resurrection for us. The chapter ends with Jesus saying that many who are last will be first and many who are first will be last. Whether someone is rich has nothing to do with his or her standing before God. What matters is faith in Christ, and the things done for Christ will determine our reward in heaven.

You can find further background on Matthew 20 at one of the Bible study pages on the site.

*= from the Expositor's Bible Commentary