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Christ Community Chapel is a church in Hudson, OH, that invites people to reimagine life because of Jesus. Learn more about us at ccchapel.com.
Luke 18:18–30
A ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.”
And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
But He said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed You.”
And He said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Well hey everyone, welcome again to Christ Community Chapel. My name is Mike, one of our pastors here, and it’s really great to be with you.
“One more book, Di. One more book.”
That was the question my two-year-old daughter Brielle asked me a few weeks back. My wife Christina was out of town and we were reading before bed. She wanted one more book. She wanted more time with “Di,” as she calls me.
It was Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, and it was great. I was soaking up the dad time.
And then Monday came around. And on Monday, mama came home.
And what do you think happened when mama came home?
Dad was out. Mama was in.
And she looked at me and she said, “Di no. Di stop. Mama.”
You know what I realized? In her heart of hearts, she is a mama’s girl. At least for now. I’ve got some time.
Dad is good, but mama is better.
My guess is you know that distinction, right? That good/better distinction.
Maybe it’s with your friends. Maybe with your classmates or teammates. One is good, you just prefer someone who is better.
A coworker. An employee. One is good, someone else is better.
You’re probably thinking this right now: this pastor may be good, but Joe or Zach, they’re just better. I feel your pain.
We are finishing a four-week sermon series. It’s been anchored in one passage, Matthew chapter 13.
In this passage, Jesus explains why certain people miss Him. They hear about Him, they might even be interested in Him, but they still miss Him.
And there are a number of reasons, but the reason we’re going to focus on is Matthew 13:22:
“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
Jesus is saying there are people who are going to hear about Him, be interested in Him, even say, “Jesus, You are good,” but still miss Him because something else is better.
That’s what our story is all about.
The story that was read for us comes from Luke chapter 18, and it’s the story of one man who hears about Jesus, has a conversation with Jesus, is invited by Jesus Himself to follow Him, and looks at Jesus and says, “Thanks, but no thanks. Jesus, I know You are good, but my money and riches are just better.”
To find out why he did that, let’s go to Luke chapter 18.
There are three questions for our time together:
What’s the cost?
Why?
And who will pay?
First question: What’s the cost?
Look at verse 18 with me:
“A ruler asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”
Notice: ruler. Notice: good. Notice: eternal life.
This story centers around one person. We just know him as “the ruler.” He’s in charge of a lot. He has authority. He has power.
Verse 23 tells us he is extremely rich. Not just rich, but extremely rich.
He has power, money, and curiosity about Jesus.
If he lived in Northeast Ohio, he’d probably live in a community like this. He’d probably attend a church like this. He’d probably be sitting in a pew on a Thursday night like you are.
One person. One question:
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
What’s the cost?
If we aren’t careful, we’ll think of eternal life transactionally, like a product or service. Like Jesus is some kind of vendor offering supplements or pills that help you live longer, stronger, healthier.
But in this passage, eternal life is connected to following Jesus, entering the kingdom of God, and salvation.
Eternal life is not transactional. It’s relational.
Eternal life is life with the Eternal.
It’s life with God.
A relationship with God.
So really, the fundamental question being asked is:
“What does it cost to be in a relationship with God?”
Jesus answers in verse 20:
“You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.”
Jesus is quoting the Ten Commandments.
And it appears at first that Jesus is saying:
“Keep the commandments. Be good enough.”
The ruler hears that and thinks:
“Great news. Check, check, check. I’ve done all that.”
But that’s not it.
The cost is not simply being good enough.
Because Jesus keeps going.
Verse 22:
“One thing you still lack.”
One central thing.
One key ingredient.
“You still lack one thing.”
What is it?
“Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Sell everything?
All your money?
Your checking account?
Your savings account?
Your retirement?
Everything?
You can imagine the ruler thinking:
“Jesus, gas prices are high. Interest rates aren’t great. I’ve got a mortgage and a car payment. Can we maybe meet in the middle?”
Which raises the question:
Why?
Why does Jesus tell this man to give away everything?
Imagine coming home from work or the grocery store with your hands full.
You want to hug your spouse or your kids, so what do you do instinctively?
You put something down before you pick something else up.
To receive someone, you drop something.
That’s where Jesus is going.
The cost to earn eternal life belongs to Jesus.
The cost to receive eternal life belongs to us.
Jesus fully paid for salvation through His life, death, and resurrection.
Ephesians 2:8 says:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Salvation is a gift paid for by Jesus.
But people don’t come to Jesus empty-handed.
They come with their hands full.
The ruler’s hands were already full.
Jesus only references commandments 5–10, the commandments about how we treat others.
But what’s missing are commandments 1–4:
How we treat God.
Jesus knew the ruler’s heart.
He was moral.
Responsible.
Successful.
But he loved money more than God.
Money was his ultimate treasure.
His true god.
The problem wasn’t that he had money.
The problem was that money had him.
So when Jesus says “sell everything,” it’s not transactional — it’s relational.
Jesus is saying:
“You have to choose your ultimate treasure.”
If you want Me, you have to let go of your money.
If you want your money, you can’t have Me.
You can’t have both.
If we want a relationship with the true God, we need to end our relationship with our false gods.
And that raises the question:
What does Jesus know about us?
What do you love most?
What defines your life?
What captures your thoughts from morning to night?
For some people it’s money.
For others it’s control.
Success.
Comfort.
Relationships.
Family.
Good things that slowly become god-things.
So how do we know what we’re holding onto?
We ask God.
“God, show me what I’m holding in my hands.
Show me what I love more than You.”
And my guess is, the one thing you hope He doesn’t mention is probably the one thing He wants to address.
Which leads to the final question:
Who will pay?
Who hears this and says,
“Yes. I’ll let go.”
The people listening asked the same thing:
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus answered:
“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
The rich ruler looked at Jesus, looked at his money, looked back at Jesus, and with sadness in his heart said:
“I can’t do it.”
Money was too sticky.
Jesus, You may be good, but money is better.
And he walked away.
So what actually opens someone’s hands?
Usually one of two things:
Something so good…
Or something so bad.
Pastor Mike shared how he’d gladly pay to play golf at Augusta National because it’s something so good.
And he shared about the terrifying day his two-year-old son had five seizures in one day. In moments like that, you don’t care about the cost — you just want help.
And in Jesus, both are true.
Jesus offers us something so good.
And protects us from something so bad.
Because Jesus Himself was the perfect rich ruler.
He had all authority.
All riches.
All treasure in heaven.
And what did He do?
He opened His hands.
He became poor.
Powerless.
A servant.
He was crucified by greedy and power-hungry men.
Why?
Because you were His treasure.
He loved you that much.
He says:
“I can save you from eternal death.
I can give you eternal life.
Money can do neither of those things — but I can.”
The rich ruler thought:
“There’s no way I can afford to lose what I’m holding.”
And Jesus says:
“There’s no way you can afford to keep it.”
All you can think about is what you’ll lose.
But with Jesus, you have no idea what you’ll gain.
One man.
One question.
“What does it cost to be in a relationship with God?”
And Jesus says:
“Sell everything and come follow Me.”
Why?
Because if we want a relationship with the true God, we need to end our relationships with our false gods.
Money is good.
Jesus is better.
Let’s pray.
“Father in heaven, thank You for this passage and this story. God, You know our hearts and how hard it is for us to open our hands. We get caught up in so many things, especially money.
Thank You for how different Your Son was. Thank You for His love and the way He treasured us enough to open His hands and give up everything so we could be with You.
Show us the greatness of Jesus and the foolishness of money.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.”