1/11/2026

Day 11
The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17–22 (NLT)

“As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”

The rich young ruler’s encounter with Jesus begins with urgency and reverence. He runs. He kneels. He asks the ultimate question—how to inherit eternal life. Nothing in his posture suggests arrogance or rebellion. He appears sincere, earnest, spiritually hungry. Yet this story ends not with rejoicing, but with sorrow. He walks away grieving, unable to surrender the one thing Jesus exposes.

Jesus’ response reveals both truth and love. Mark records a crucial detail: “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him” (Mark 10:21). What follows is not harshness or cruelty, but compassion. Love does not always comfort; sometimes it confronts. Jesus says, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Jesus offers the man everything—treasure in heaven, intimacy with Christ, true life—but He asks for everything in return.

The young man’s confidence rests on his moral obedience. He has kept the commandments from his youth. His religious résumé is impressive. But Jesus does not debate his morality; He exposes his loyalty. Beneath obedience lies attachment. Beneath discipline lies dependence. Wealth was not merely something he owned—it was something he trusted. As Jesus taught elsewhere, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21).

Jesus does not condemn wealth itself. Scripture is clear that riches are not inherently evil (1 Timothy 6:17). But when wealth becomes security, identity, or control, it becomes a rival god. Jesus identifies this man’s specific idol and names it. For another person, the “one thing” might be reputation, comfort, relationships, ambition, or hidden sin. The issue is not what we possess, but what possesses us. Christ does not share lordship. He demands the throne of the heart entirely (Luke 14:33).

The man’s response is devastating: “At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (Mark 10:22). Or more accurately, many possessions had him. He could not imagine life without them. Surrender felt like loss rather than freedom, deprivation rather than deliverance. His hands were so full that they could not receive what Jesus offered.

Jesus turns to His disciples and warns, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” Wealth creates illusions—self-sufficiency, independence, control. It whispers that we can manage life without desperation for God. It offers substitutes for trust and counterfeit saviors for our fears. No wonder Scripture warns, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

The disciples are stunned. If this moral, disciplined, devout man cannot be saved, who can? Jesus answers with hope: “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God” (Mark 10:27). Even surrender itself is a gift of grace. Salvation does not come through moral performance, but through relinquished control and dependent trust.

Peter nervously reminds Jesus of their own surrender: “We’ve given up everything to follow you.” Jesus responds with promise: no one who leaves anything for His sake will fail to receive far more—both now and eternally (Mark 10:29–30). Surrender to Christ is never loss; it is the greatest exchange imaginable.

The rich young ruler stands as a warning and a mirror. He was invited personally by Jesus to follow—and he walked away. His tragedy forces the question upon us: what are you holding that keeps you from wholehearted obedience? What would Jesus name as your “one thing”? Remember this truth: whatever you refuse to surrender, you already serve. And “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Only one is worthy of total allegiance.

“Surrender is settling it in the heart so completely that no other future is allowed to exist.”