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Why did Jesus tell him to sell it?
Matthew 19:16-22 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to Him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
There is a reason Jesus told this rich young ruler to sell all he had, and not give it away. Selling it would put the rich young ruler in a position that he would have to price his possessions’. And if you can not price your possesions to sell them it means the things, mean everything to you. Do you have anything that you can not put a price on and sell? Then it becomes equal value to God in your life, or takes the place of God in your life.
And by the same token, if you have received something from God, and it is to help others, and you can price it. It has you putting a price on what God’s word means to you.
If you can price it to sell and sell it for a price, Then you give yourself away no matter what it is you are selling. God’s word or possessions.
That is why He said sell it. To find out what price he would place on it.
Who do you know placing a price on the messages from God?
The key word is SELL, can you give it a value. It lets the world know what God means to you.
Finally! I’ve been trying to make heads or tails of this story for some time. I have always found this story confusing, seeing how God doesn’t want us to NOT have things. Jesus wasn’t telling the man to get rid of what he had; He was just testing the man to see if he could really set a price to his precious possessions. As it says in the story, the man just couldn’t bear the thought of putting God before what he had. He had to simply walk away in sadness. Thank God that I read this post; it finally revealed to me a truth to the story I’d overlooked.
Hi!
Scuze me for barging in… Beaver, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the story interpreted better, more clearly than you’ve done here! Amen!
I think Jesus was indeed telling the rich young man to sell it all… He was telling him to get rid of all of the things in his life that he’d placed before God!
Jesus wasn’t saying that there was anything wrong with having wealth. He was saying that idolizing that wealth before God was wrong.
When Nicodemus visited Jesus we know that he was a very wealthy man. Jesus didn’t tell him to rid himself of all of his wealth and follow Him… Why? Because he did not idolize his wealth in the same way that this young man did. Nicodemus was told that he must be born again. Perhaps he was being told that he must be a humble child and give give up that which he idolized before God… His power and status.
We all have to be born again in one manner or another.
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