Luke 18:18-27
A certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
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. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): The story we have now read is three times reported in the Gospels; Matthew, Mark and Luke were all moved by the Holy Ghost to record the history of the rich man who came to Christ. This fact should be noticed. It shows us that there are lessons before us which demand special attention.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Very little benefit would accrue to a person from knowing that a rich young man had turned away from Christ because he disliked the directions which our Lord had given him. If we would derive any material instruction from this event, we should consider what aspect it has upon the manners of men in general: we should, after the example which our Lord Himself has set us, contemplate the effects which wealth generally produces on those who possess it, and the obstacles it lays in our way to the kingdom of heaven.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): It is true indeed, that riches do not, in their own nature, hinder us from following God; but, in consequence of the depravity of the human mind, it is scarcely possible for those who have a great abundance to avoid being intoxicated by them.
MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): That which makes it so hard for a rich man to be saved, is the difficulty of having riches and not placing our happiness in them, being secure because of them, and having our hearts cleave unto them, so as we cannot deny ourselves in them to obey any command of God; and the suffering them to be temptations to us to pride, luxury, ambition, oppression, contempt and despising of others.
CHARLES SIMEON: It is difficult for a person to have riches, and not be corrupted by them. Whatever a corrupt heart can desire is attainable through riches. Wealth opens a way for all manner of sensuality and self-indulgence: and, at the same time that it gives us facilities for gratifying our evil inclinations, it leads us into such habits as greatly dispose us to sin. A luxurious table draws us to intemperance; intemperance inflames our passions; and affluence opens an easy way to the indulgence of them. The rich even think that they are, in a measure, licensed to commit iniquity: and, in their eyes, intemperance and lewdness are, at the most, no more than venial follies, which they can commit without shame, and look back upon without remorse. It is difficult for a person to have riches, and not be puffed up by them.
THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): Wealth often ends in pride.
JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Pride breeds in wealth as the worm doth in the apple, and he is a great rich man indeed, and greater than his riches, that doth not think himself great because he is rich.
CHARLES SIMEON: As great respect is paid to riches, the people who possess them are apt to think that they deserve it. They arrogate it to themselves; they are offended, if any persons refuse to gratify them with the homage which they claim. They shew in their look, their dress, their manner of speaking, yea, in their very gait, they “think themselves to be somebody.” They expect their wishes to be consulted, and their judgment to be followed. They are impatient of contradiction. They do not like, either in public or in private, to be told of their faults. If a minister deal faithfully with their consciences, they rather condemn him for what they will call his rudeness or harshness, than themselves for their departure from God. How commonly this disposition springs from riches, we may judge from that direction which is given to ministers; “Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded,” 1 Timothy 6:17.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Somehow or other―“Gold and the gospel seldom do agree, Religion always sides with poverty;”―Because a man’s possessions are so liable to get into his heart. He is apt to turn them into idols, and to make devotion to them the great object of his life; as long as he does so, he cannot be saved.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): To be rich, therefore, is in general a great misfortune: but what rich man can be convinced of this?
CHARLES SIMEON: Where is the man, who, if offered great riches, would be afraid to accept them, lest they should impede his way to heaven? or, when congratulated on his attainment of wealth, would damp the ardour of his friends by entreating rather an interest in their prayers, that the newly-acquired riches might not corrupt and destroy his soul? Where is the man possessed of riches, who does not think his way to heaven as easy as that of any other person? In short, where is the person who does not say in his heart, “Give me riches: I will run the risk of their doing me any harm: I have no doubt I shall get to heaven with them as easily as without them?” But would it be thus, if we really believed the words of our blessed Lord?
ADAM CLARKE: Christ himself affirms the difficulty of the salvation of a rich man, with an oath, verily; but who of the rich either hears or believes Him!
JOHN CALVIN: So they who are exceedingly rich are held by Satan bound, as it were, in chains, that they may not raise their thoughts to heaven; nay more, they bury and entangle themselves, and became utter slaves to the earth. The comparison of the camel, which is soon after added, is intended to amplify the difficulty; for it means that the rich are so swelled with pride and presumption, that they cannot endure to be reduced to the straits through which God makes His people to pass.
CHARLES SIMEON: Alas! even the Apostles themselves scarcely knew how to receive so hard a saying: we are told, that they were “astonished out of measure,” Mark 10:26. But it becomes us to credit the assertion of Him who could not err, and would not deceive.
J. C. RYLE: Few of our Lord’s sayings sound more startling than this. Few run more counter to the opinions and prejudices of mankind. Few are so little believed. Yet this saying is true, and worthy of all acceptation. Riches, which all desire to obtain—riches, for which men labour and toil, and become gray before their time—riches are a most perilous possession. They often inflict great injury on the soul. They lead men into many temptations. They engross men’s thoughts and affections.
THOMAS BROOKS (1608-1680): Earthly riches are called thorns, Luke 8:14; and well they may, for as thorns, they pierce both head and heart; the head with cares in getting them, and the heart with grief in parting with them.
CHARLES SIMEON: Hence that caution of the Psalmist’s, “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them,” Psalm 62:10.
JOHN CALVIN: This doctrine is highly useful to all; to the rich, that, being warned of their danger, they may be on their guard; to the poor, that, satisfied with their lot, they may not so eagerly desire what would bring more damage than gain.
