Note 5 at Mk. 10:21: Notice that the scripture makes special mention of the fact that Jesus loved this rich young ruler. This is stated after this young man had said he had kept all of God's commands, which was not the truth (see note 4 at Mk. 10:20, p. 329). Jesus' tough answer of "sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor" was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man's money had become his god and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become Lord.

Note 6 at Mk. 10:21: The one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus as his Savior. As explained in note 2 at Matthew 19:17, page 329, this young ruler was trusting in his goodness and not in the salvation that Jesus offered as a gift. Many millions of people are making the same mistake today. They trust in themselves instead of God (Lk. 18:9; see note 5 at Lk. 18:10, p. 320). One person may be better than another person, but all of us have sinned and come short of God's perfect standard (Rom. 3:23). Paul said it was not wise to measure ourselves by ourselves or compare ourselves among ourselves (2 Cor. 10:12). Who wants to be the best sinner that ever went to hell?