Mark 10:17-22

¹⁷ Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

²⁰ And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

²¹ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

²² But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Also found in Matthew 19:16-22 and Luke 18:18-23.

Luke calls this young man a ruler, but doesn’t say what he was a ruler of. The word he uses can refer to a man of influence due to wealth. He was young, so that may indicate that he was not a member of the Sanhedrin or the leader of a synagogue, but we can’t know for sure. In any case, he didn’t come to Jesus looking for any material advantage.

Good Teacher (v.17) — probably sincere, but it indicates that he thought Jesus was just a good man.

“Why callest though Me good?” means not, “the epithet is not applicable to Me,but to God only, but, “do not make ascriptions of goodness a matter of mere courtesy or politeness.” The case is parallel to the unwillingness of Jesus to be called “Christ” indiscriminately. He wished no man to give Him any title of honor till he knew what he was doing. He wished this man in particular to think carefully on what is good, and who, all the more that there were competing types of goodness to choose from, that of the Pharisees, and that exhibited in His own teaching. — Wuest, pages 201-202.

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Having fixed the standard of goodness, the Lord proceeds [v.19] to rehearse the divine precepts which to the Jew were the highest expression of the good will (of God) … The Lord cites only the commandments which regulate man’s duty to his neighbor, probably because they admit of a relatively simple application of the conduct of life. — Wuest, page 202.

kept (v.20) = guarded, watched, used of sentinels keeping guard over something, took care not to break.

The man, when he heard Jesus’ answer, thought he had already met the requirements for eternal life by keeping the law.

looking at him (v.21) = fixing the eyes for a moment on an object, a searching gaze.

loved (v.21) = agape. This probably means that Jesus saw the truth about the man and loved him and his attempt to be good—loved what was good in him.

But Jesus knew a strict adherence to the Law wasn’t enough. There’s a deeper meaning that the young man didn’t grasp.

The man is conscious of his defect, an important point in his spiritual condition. … The sale and distribution of his property were the necessary preparations in his case for the complete discipleship which admits to the divine kingdom. The words are not a general counsel for perfection [in other words, they weren’t a hard and fast rule for everyone], but a test of obedience and faith which our Lord saw to be necessary in this particular instance. — Wuest, page 203.

follow (v.21) = to take the same road as another.

Jesus walked a road of self-abnegation, of self-sacrifice, of service to others, of separation. To have obeyed the instructions of Jesus, would not have given this young man eternal life. The latter can only be had in answer to personal heart faith in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. But that obedience would have been the first and necessary step for this man to take in order to become a disciple (a learner) of Jesus. Taking the same road with Him, would have eventuated in his receiving salvation in answer to his faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior. That which was keeping him from the latter step, was his love of wealth. — Wuest, page 203.

Take up the cross (v.21) — not in the best manuscripts (It would have meant nothing to the young man at this point.)

sad (v.22) = sorrowful as a result of disappointment and grief

His hopes were dashed; the one thing he wanted was beyond his reach; the price was too great to pay even for eternal life. For the time the love of the world prevailed. Yet it is unnecessary … to characterize his sorrow as that of the world (2 Corinthians 7:10); rather it may have been the birth-pangs of a spirit struggling for release. His riches were indeed as thorns which threatened to choke the seed of the word (Mark 4:7, 19), but the end of the struggle is not revealed. — Wuest, page 204.

If the young man had kept the law perfectly, he would have had eternal life, but the Bible makes it clear that nobody achieves, or can achieve, that level (Romans 3:23).

Ultimately, although he had great regard for Jesus, respect for the Law, and a desire for eternal life, at this point anyway, his faith was in his wealth.

One of my commentaries, with no explanation or support whatsoever, suggests that the young man thought better of his decision and was saved later—and that he was, in fact, Barnabas. I doubt it.