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“For it was said that the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).
A rich ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He told him to keep the commandments, and he replied that he had kept them from a young age. At this time, Jesus made a very difficult request to him. Sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have the treasures of heaven; and come, follow me” (verse 22).
This rich ruler was not lacking in the social and religious standards of his day. He paid tithes, kept the Sabbath, and gave alms. According to other Gospels, he was a young and honorable member of the Sanhedrin. The Lord said that he lacked one thing and demanded that the poor sell all they had and give it to them. What would that one lack?
Perhaps we can easily infer that he lacked concern for the poor. But now he is seeking eternal life, which raises the question of whether 'alienation' is absolutely necessary to obtain eternal life. The focus of what was asked of him is whether he has faith or not, whether he can follow himself by relying on God alone without relying on worldly riches.
It was revealed that he relied on money rather than God. There are many people in the world who seem to have faith on the surface. They keep Sundays, do good works, donate well, and lead a faithful life. People are moved by all of his qualifications and praise him, but Jesus says he lacks one thing even today. Even if he has all sorts of plausible virtues and has something to show off, he cannot gain eternal life from it. .Only those who believe in Jesus, the only begotten Son God sent into the world, can have eternal life (John 3:16). The one thing he lacks is faith in Jesus Christ.
Lack of this one thing is like lack of everything. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). There are many people who seem to believe, but in reality, there are many people who do not believe. They do not believe in God, but depend on money. These words reveal the hypocrisy of those who believe in the Lord with their mouths but believe in riches. The reason why he said that entering the world is as difficult as a camel going through the eye of a needle is to expose the attribute of the rich who believes in money rather than God. Money, of course, is important, but it cannot replace Jesus and cannot be exchanged for eternal life. The Lord asks us today, “Are you dependent on money? Do you rely on me?” This question will become more serious in today's era of financial supremacy, because in any age the righteous live by faith (Galatians 3:11).