“I have kept all these, what do I still lack?” – Matthew 19:20 

These words, from a rich young man, speak to some things at the heart of the human condition. Things that Jesus has been speaking about throughout the Matthew’s gospel. 

The rich young man is so concerned with doing what’s right, that he forgot to get right within himself. To make his heart right.

I, personally, feel for the guy. Here is someone with a whole life story that we don’t get, whose name is left out and replaced just by his age and wealth. These are what defines this character for us as readers today.  

I wonder how you read this story. I had begun to write a small bit here about him having humility enough to ask Jesus for his help. Once again, however, we lack tone – it is also possible that this could have been performative; someone who thinks they’ve got it all sussed trying to get the great teacher to affirm him.  

Aside from the sub-heading of this story, which wouldn’t have been a part of the original text, we don’t know anything about this individual before this interaction. A meeting with Jesus, however, has a tendency to reveal the heart of a person. After Jesus tells him that to be perfect, he would need to sell his possessions and give that money to the poor, he is said to have ‘gone away grieving’.  

If he had been asking with an honest heart, wanting to know what Jesus wants from him, then I suspect his reaction might have been different. In fact, we don’t need to suspect. There is a mirror to this story in Luke 19, where Jesus meets with another rich man. 

“He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:1-9 

What a contrast between our rich young man in Matthew and Zacchaeus. Luke 19:3 says that Zacchaeus was ‘trying to see who Jesus was’, and on encountering Jesus, he was transformed within. His genuine humility meant that he didn’t need to be asked to give away his possessions – he knew what the right thing to do was because his heart had changed.  

Matthew 19, then, serves as a cautionary tale against greed, avarice and self-centredness. Jesus’ reflection to his disciples doesn’t leave much to the imagination. 

“Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

Why? Jesus has already told us this in Matthew 6: 

“No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24 

Our rich young man from chapter 19, it seems, is serving his wealth. We’re told “he had many possessions” and his emotional response to parting with them reveals a heart that finds it’s worth in material things. 

It might be easy to distance ourselves from a character like this, but a reality check reminds us that we are among the most affluent people in the world. We live in a society shaped around consumer culture and I know that everyone reading this will have “many possessions”. 

Are we, then, to go and sell all we have and give that money to the poor? 

I’ll leave that up to you to decide. 

Instead of answers, I’ll leave you with two questions to ponder: 

1) What does your heart serve – God or wealth? 

2) If wealth, how can you change that?  

    If God, what are you doing with your wealth as a result? 

Let’s not fall into the trap of the rich young man who thought he was already doing everything right. Be open to a change of heart and/or a change in lifestyle.  

We need to allow Jesus to transform us into who he wants us to be.