Note 4 at Mr 10:20: This young ruler said he had kept all of these commandments from his youth, but that was not the truth. Ro 3:23 says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This young man may have sincerely believed that he had not broken any of God's commands, but he was sincerely wrong.

This was the reason that Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:3), and also the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet" (Ex 20:17). This man's money had become his god, as can be seen by the fact that he chose to reject Jesus' instructions if it was going to cost him his possessions.

Jesus didn't demand that Zacchaeus (Lu 19:1-10) or other rich people sell all of their possessions before they could become His disciples. Indeed, one of the Lord's blessings that He gave to godly people was riches (Abraham - Ge 13:2 and 24:35; Isaac - Ge 26:12-16; Jacob - Ge 36:7; Joseph - Ge 49:26; David - 1Ch 22:14-16; and Solomon - 1Ki 3:13, 2Ch 1:12, and 9:27). Jesus told this man to sell all his goods and give to the poor, because he trusted in his riches (Mr 10:24).