It wasn’t the question that was strange, it was the one who was asking (Mark 10:17). The parallel story in Matthew 19 says the man was young; Luke 19 says he was a ruler; all three of the Gospels agree he was rich—he was a rich, young ruler. But a question was eating away at this rich young man. So He ran up to Jesus and blurted out the question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It may have been his youthful, business oriented boldness that caused him to ask, but he asked what everyone wanted to know. What does God require of me?
Jesus answered by listing off commandments—mainly the last 6 commandments (Mark 10:19). He didn’t start with number one, like we might think. Even if it was in His plan to get to the first four, He was interrupted before He could. The young man cut in to say, “All these I have kept since I was a boy” (Mark 10:20). The young man’s boldness is a very interesting thing. Think about it: he actually interrupted God to speak of his own perfection. There may have been a big smile on the young man’s face. So far, he was passing the test with flying colors. This may have been a regular thing in his life.
Of course, Jesus wasn’t finished. I like that Mark says that Jesus looked at the young man and loved him. “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Selling everything was not a general requirement for all people, it was the essence of what this young man needed. It revealed to him the real issue in his life: what really came first in his life?
The core of Jesus’ requirement to the young man is summed up in an answer to a question from the pharisees about the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4, 5, Jesus summed up God’s requirements—“the one thing” the young man lacked—“the one thing” many lack: putting God first in life. How do we do this?
If we look at the first four commandments in Exodus 20—the ones Jesus skipped when talking to the young man—we will see what He was talking about. In the first part of the covenant God says, “have no other gods before Him” (Exodus 20:3). He asks us to be faithful to Him. In order to love God with all that we are we must remove anyone or anything that might take His place in our hearts. Our first priority, our only allegiance, our greatest love should be towards God. Our agreement with God says that we will not put anyone else in His place.
Next He says, “do not make any idols or worship them” (Exodus 20:4–6). God is asking us not to “make” anything, or allow anything, to take His place in our lives. Idols often steal our worship and rule our lives—whether it is money, a symbol, a celebrity, or even our favorite religious writer/ speaker. We can even get to the point where we think that we are God’s greatest example to mankind pushing the only perfect example, Jesus Christ, aside. But, putting God first means that we will not allow any created thing to replace God, or what He does, in our lives, and therefore take our worship and service from Him.
Then He says, not to take His name in vain (Exodus 20:7). It literally reads, “do not take my name upon yourselves in emptiness.” This means more than the misuse of God’s name in your speech, but more importantly, improper representation of God’s name in your life. He’s basically saying, “honor my name, represent my character well.” It is easy to build up or tear down someone’s name, or reputation. 2 Timothy 3:5 describes people “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” These are those who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk—representing God with an empty life. Loving God with all that we are means that we will live in such a way as to keep His name holy and honorable.
Finally, He says, “remember His Sabbath by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8–11). Part of our covenant with God includes remembering to meet with Him on His special day, the Sabbath. In fact, we would do everything to make sure we spent the whole day with Him—not just one or two hours—because He is our God and we love Him and want to spend time with Him. If we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul we would look forward to and protect our time with Him on His holy day.
Jesus was clear about what God wanted: total devotion to Him. The young man’s response to Jesus answer? “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22). What a tragedy! To be in the presence of Jesus and yet walk away sad. This was obviously the hardest thing the young man could have heard. What God required was impossible for him. He was asked to put the Kingdom of God before his own kingdom and he could only walk away. His desire for eternal life was not as great as for his earthly riches.
This is what the covenant requires of all of us towards God as well. God asks you and I to put aside our kingdoms and seek His. He asks that we love Him above all else. He asks that we follow Him. This is what God requires. So we have two options: uphold our end of the covenant and put God first, or walk away. But know this: Jesus says that not one who has left anything behind for His sake and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this life and in the life to come (Mark 10:29, 30). It may be the most difficult choice of your life, but don’t let another tragedy happen. Don’t walk away sad—choose Christ!