Monday 10 November 2025
Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (v. 16)
Background
The story of the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22 is a deeply human encounter, one that lays bare both the longing for eternal life and the difficulty of being open to the radical demands of discipleship. The young man approaches Jesus with a question that many of us, in one form or another, have asked: “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” His enquiry is earnest; he is not seeking to test Jesus, but rather to find assurance and direction. He has by his own account kept the commandments from his youth; he is a person of integrity, striving to live a good and moral life. Yet, despite all this, he senses something is lacking – “What do I still lack?”
Jesus’s reply is at once compassionate and challenging. He begins with what is familiar: the commandments. But when the young man persists, Jesus invites him to a step that requires true openness: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor… then come, follow me.” (v. 21)
It is a call not simply to do more, but to let go – to open himself fully to the demands and the promise of the kingdom of God. The text tells us that the young man “went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (v. 22) His sorrow is telling: he cannot open his hands and his heart to the new life Jesus offers because he is held fast by what he already possesses.
To be open, in the context of this passage, is not just about being receptive to new ideas or experiences. It is about an openness that is willing to risk, to relinquish and to trust. The young man’s wealth becomes a symbol – not simply of material possessions, but of anything that binds us, anything to which we cling for security, identity or self-worth. Jesus’s challenge is not an arbitrary test, but an invitation to freedom: to open ourselves to God’s grace, we must be prepared to let go of what we hold most tightly.
This openness is not easy. The young man’s grief is a mirror for our own struggles. We may not possess great wealth, but we all have things – habits, relationships, ambitions, fears – which can make us closed to God’s call. The journey of faith is, in many ways, a continual process of opening: opening ourselves to the Spirit’s prompting, to the needs of others, to the possibility of change. It is a willingness to be unsettled, to recognise that eternal life is not a reward for our efforts, but a gift that requires empty hands to receive.
The hymn “O the bitter shame and sorrow” echoes this movement of the soul, from self-sufficiency to surrender: “some of you and some of me… more of you and less of me… all of you and none of me.” The rich young man’s story invites us to ask: "What must I let go of, in order to be truly open to God’s life and love?" In the end, being open is not just about what we surrender, but what we receive – the treasure in heaven, the companionship of Christ, and the freedom to follow wherever he leads. May we, with God’s help, find the courage to open our hearts and lives to the newness that Christ offers, trusting that in letting go, we are not diminished, but made whole.
To Ponder:
- Jesus responds to the young man with both compassion and challenge. Think about a pastoral encounter you have had. How do we balance the expression of compassion and the delivery of challenge in the church’s mission and ministry?
- Church life can be very busy. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation about what we need to stop doing in order to make time to do a new thing? How did that conversation go?
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Adrian Burdon
The Revd Dr Adrian Burdon is Superintendent Minister of the Telford Circuit in the West Midlands District. Adrian has been a presbyter since 1988 and, in addition to Shropshire, has worked in the Oldham Circuit, on the Fylde Coast, in Leeds city centre, the Northeast of England, and as a mission partner in the South Pacific. Adrian is Chair of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland writing group which writes material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.