Resource Detail

2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel

SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS AND GIVE TO THE POOR

Matthew 19:16-30

Key Verses 19:21

1. Why do you think the man focused on the “good thing” to get eternal life (16)? What does Jesus’ reply teach about the source of goodness and salvation (17)? What does Jesus mean by “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments”?
2. Why do you think Jesus lists commandments that focus on relationships with other people (18-19)? What does the man’s statement, “All these I have kept,” reveal about his understanding of the law (20)? What does the man’s question, “What do I still lack?” show about his heart?
3. What does Jesus mean by “If you want to be perfect” (21a)?Why does Jesus tell this man to sell his possessions and give to the poor (21b)? Why do you think the man went away sad instead of obeying Jesus’ invitation (22)?
4. Why do you think wealth can make it difficult for a person to enter the kingdom of heaven (23-24)? What does Jesus mean by saying, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (25-26)? What promise does Jesus give to his disciples in response to Peter’s question (27-30)?
5. What does this passage teach about human limits and God’s grace to get salvation? What does this passage reveal about the relationship between wealth and discipleship?

2025 Matthew’s Gospel October 12 , 2025

GO, SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS

AND GIVE TO THE POOR

Matthew 19:16-30

Key Verse 19:21

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Have you ever heard of Charles Thomas Studd? He was born in 1860 into a very wealthy family in England. His father was a millionaire, and Charles was a star cricket player at Cambridge University. He was like a national celebrity—he had money, fame, and a bright future. But one day, he went to a revival meeting led by the American evangelist D. L. Moody. There, he met Jesus in a personal way. That moment turned his life upside down. He started asking himself, “If I live for wealth and fame, what will I be able to offer Jesus when He comes again?” So he decided to follow Jesus and give his whole life to Him. He donated all of his inheritance to help the poor and to support God’s mission work. Then he and six of his Cambridge friends went to China as missionaries. People called them the Cambridge Seven, and their faith deeply inspired the people of England. After ten years in China, Charles went on to serve in India and later in the Congo. That’s where he finished his race and went to be with the Lord in 1931. Just before he died, he said these powerful words: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” Charles T. Studd is remembered as a man who gave up everything—his wealth, fame, and comfort—to follow Jesus and preach the gospel.

In today’s passage, we meet a young man who couldn’t follow Jesus because of his great wealth. A man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (16) So who was this man? Verse 20 tells us he was a young man—probably in his thirties or forties. And verse 22 says, “He had great wealth.” Maybe he inherited a large fortune from his father. Or maybe he was like a young Bill Gates who started a successful company. Luke 18:18 also tells us he was a ruler—probably a leader in a synagogue. And Mark 10:20 says that he had kept the commandments since he was a boy. So he was not only wealthy and young, but also very moral and religious. This man had everything—youth, wealth, and social status. He was probably a role model for many young people of his time. Don’t you want to be successful, to have wealth and fame like this rich young man?

But this young man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Why did he ask that question? Even though he had wealth, fame, and a good religious life, something was still missing. He didn’t have assurance about eternal life. So what is eternal life? Many people think eternal life means living happily forever in heaven after we die. Yes, that’s true—but that’s not the whole picture. Eternal life isn’t only about the future; it’s something that changes our lives right now. John 17:3 says, “This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life means knowing God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ—having a deep, personal relationship with Him. And when we have that kind of relationship with God, something amazing happens inside us. Our hearts find real peace. Joy from heaven fills our souls. We begin to see purpose in our lives, and we gain a strong desire to live for God’s glory. The rich young man didn’t have the joy of eternal life in his heart.

But if we look closely at his question, we can see there’s something wrong with the way he asked it. He said, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” He thought eternal life was something he could earn by doing something good. The word “good” here means moral goodness—like doing acts of charity, showing mercy, or keeping the law. This young man believed that if he just did enough good deeds and kept all the commandments, he could earn salvation. That was the common teaching of Judaism at that time. It’s still what many religions and people believe today. Many people think, “If I just do good things, I’ll go to heaven.” We admire people like Mother Teresa, who dedicated her whole life to serving the poor and the sick. We respect those who give away their entire fortune to help others. Those are amazing acts of goodness that most of us could never match. But Jesus didn’t say that we can gain eternal life by doing good works. Why? Because no one is 100% perfect. No matter how hard we try to live a moral or religious life, we all fall short. We’re weak, we fail, and we sin. When we stand before a holy and perfect God, we can’t help but realize how sinful and unworthy we are. That’s why we can never earn eternal life through good deeds. The idea that we can save ourselves by being good enough is a complete illusion. Eternal life is not a reward for good work—it’s a gift of grace. We can only receive it by believing in Jesus Christ, who shed His precious blood for us on the cross.

Jesus pointed out the problem in the young man’s question. He said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good.” Through this, Jesus was teaching that only One—God Himself—is truly good. Now, this doesn’t mean that Jesus wasn’t good. Jesus is God, so He is absolutely good. The standard of what is good and what is evil doesn’t come from human opinion—it comes from God. So if we want to know what is truly good, we need to know who God is. And how do we know God? He has revealed Himself to us through the Bible. When we study God’s Word deeply and understand it correctly, we begin to see who God really is—and then we can also understand what is truly good.

Then Jesus said to him, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Now, does that mean Jesus was teaching that keeping the commandments is the way to eternal life? No, not at all. Jesus was helping the young man realize something deeper—that it’s impossible to gain eternal life by his own effort. So the young man asked again, “Which ones?” Jesus replied, “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” All of these come from the Ten Commandments except the command ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ The Ten Commandments can be divided into two parts. The first four deal with our relationship with God, and the last six deal with our relationship with other people. Jesus only mentioned the commandments that deal with our relationship with other people. And the entire Ten Commandments can be summed up in two simple but powerful commands: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). If we truly love our neighbor as ourselves, we won’t murder, we won’t commit adultery, we won’t steal, and we won’t give false testimony. So what is the heart, the spirit, behind all of God’s commandments? It’s love—loving God and loving people. That’s what it really means to keep God’s commands.

So how did the young man respond? He said, “All these I have kept.” Wow! That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? Who among us could ever say that to Jesus? When we hear his answer, we can think of two things about this young man. First, he really seems to have lived a disciplined and moral life. He probably thought through each commandment one by one. Maybe something like this: “Have I ever murdered anyone? No, of course not. Have I ever committed adultery? No way—I’m not even married yet. Have I ever stolen anything? Why would I? I’m rich—I can buy whatever I need. Have I ever lied about anyone? Hmm… maybe once, but nothing serious—let’s skip that. I honor my parents, I get along with my neighbors. So yes, I’ve kept them all.” From his own perspective, he really believed he had kept all the commandments. Second, he was sincere but naïve. He didn’t understand the deeper spirit of the law. He didn’t grasp the true meaning of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Keeping the law isn’t just about the literal words—it’s about the heart. Jesus had already explained this in the Sermon on the Mount. He taught that anyone who becomes angry with another person and says, “You fool!” has already committed murder in their heart. And anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. Jesus was teaching that sin begins in the heart. Anger in the heart leads to murder. Lust in the heart leads to adultery. But this young man never looked into his own heart. He focused on his outward behavior and missed what was going on inside.

Then the young man asked Jesus, “What do I still lack?” He really wanted to know what was missing in his life. So Jesus helped him look straight into his own heart. Let’s read verse 21 together: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” That command must have shocked him. It was completely unexpected. Now let’s pause for a moment—if Jesus said to you, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,” how would you respond? Would you say, “Yes, Lord”? Or would you say, “Lord, that’s too hard. I can’t do that”? It seems that this command isn’t a universal rule for every believer. Throughout the Bible, we see many godly people who were wealthy. Abraham, for example, was a man of great faith and obedience, and God blessed him with great wealth. Yet God never told Abraham to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. But there was a moment when God tested Abraham’s heart. He told him to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. That was probably a far greater test than giving up all his money. And Abraham obeyed. He didn’t hold anything back from God. Abraham passed the test, and God blessed his faith and obedience.

Jesus knew exactly what was in the rich young man’s heart. He knew that this man’s greatest obstacle was his love for wealth. That’s why Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and then come follow Him. It wasn’t just a command—it was a test of the heart. When we decide to follow Jesus, He often asks us to lay down the things we hold most dearly. To be His disciple, we have to put Jesus at the very center of our hearts—above our dreams, our possessions, and even our own lives. That’s what true discipleship means. So let me ask you: What is most precious to you? What do you treasure the most in your life? Are you willing to let it go for the sake of following Jesus? For me, when I decided to follow Jesus, I had to let go of my own dream—to be successful in the world. But when I surrendered it to Him, something amazing happened. I experienced true freedom. My heart was free to follow Jesus with great joy and peace. And God made my life very fruitful in Christ.

But what was the young man’s decision? He went away sad, because he had great wealth. In the end, he couldn’t let go of his possessions. And by holding on to his wealth, he walked away from the path that leads to eternal life. It is truly heartbreaking to see a young man miss the opportunity to gain eternal life. When Jesus saw this, His heart broke. So He turned to His disciples and said, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Now, Jesus didn’t say it’s impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom—He said it’s hard. Then He used this striking image: a camel going through the eye of a needle. Some scholars say that in those days, there was a small gate called “the Eye of a Needle.” A camel could only pass through it if it took off all its load and knelt down. It was very difficult—but not completely impossible. For someone who’s rich, entering the kingdom of God is even harder than that. Because to enter, you have to lay everything down—you have to humble yourself, unload your pride, your possessions, and your self-dependence—and come before God with an empty heart.

Why is it so hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God? We all want to be successful and wealthy, right? But let’s think honestly—why do we want to be rich? Most of us believe that if we have enough money, our future will be secure. We think we’ll be able to retire early, live comfortably, and enjoy life. We imagine traveling wherever we want, eating at nice restaurants, living in a big, beautiful home, carrying luxury bags, wearing expensive watches, driving fancy cars, and earning the admiration of others. But the truth is, no matter how much money we have, it can’t fill the emptiness inside. Wealth can’t give us real peace, lasting joy, or true happiness. How many people have fought and broken relationships over money? How many wealthy people end up miserable—or even take their own lives—because their hearts remain empty? When we have wealth, it becomes easy to stop seeking God. We start to believe that money can solve everything we need. That’s why it’s so hard for the rich to enter God’s kingdom. So if you’re not rich—or if you’re struggling financially—don’t be discouraged. Having less can actually be a blessing, because it helps us depend on God more deeply. When our hearts are poor and humble before God, the kingdom of heaven opens wide for us. And if you are blessed with wealth, don’t put your trust in it. Money can easily become an idol. Jesus clearly said that no one can serve both God and money. The Bible doesn’t say money itself is evil. But it warns that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Money is a tool—it can be used for good or for harm. God gives us wealth so that we can use it to bless others, help the poor, support His mission, and bring glory to Him.

Last Friday, I had a phone call with Missionary Pablo Star Oh, who is now serving in Costa Rica. He worked for the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and used to be an ambassador for Spain. After retiring, he could have easily enjoyed a comfortable life in Korea. But his passion for God didn’t allow him to settle into an easy life. So, as he approached the age of seventy, he made the bold decision to go to Costa Rica as a missionary. Costa Rica is a beautiful country where many Americans go to retire. So I assumed that Missionary Pablo must be living in a nice house there. But to my surprise, he told me that he’s living in a shared house—just renting one small room—and even shares the bathroom with others. In only two months since he arrived, he’s already leading Bible studies with eight Costa Rican college students! When I spoke with him, his voice was full of joy. He told me how happy he is to live as a missionary and said he hopes to continue serving there for ten years. What a beautiful life—a man who gave everything to Jesus and now finds true joy in serving His mission.

Are you ready to let go of what’s most precious to you in order to follow Jesus? Jesus commands us, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” May we all become faithful disciples who truly follow Jesus wherever He leads. Amen.