Mark 10:17-31
And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall 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 murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.’” And he said the Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God.” And they were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” Looking upon them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” Jesus, said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first.”
“One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor.”
Above is the text for the entire story of the rich, young ruler so that you can see it in context. Try to read it with new eyes. Try to read it without the wind of doctrine blowing through it.
In this excerpt, I want you to see that Jesus did not tell the man to give away all that he had. He told him to sell it. The man did not have only money. He owned much property. That probably means real estate, but likely includes other property as well. Jesus wanted the man to follow him and knew very well that the man could not manage all that property and go out on the road too. Jesus wanted the man to convert the property into cash. Then his assets would be portable. In this more liquid form the man could have sown into many great works and projects. Jesus was not making the man bankrupt; he was teaching him how to work in the Kingdom of God. He was going to teach him wealth management and growth according to God’s financial principles. He was going to teach him the law of sowing and reaping. The man would have ended up much wealthier by far.