On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.”
- KJV Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
- NKJV So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
- NASB Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
- NLT When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells him he still lacks one thing: sell all, give to the poor, and follow him for treasure in heaven. The call exposes the heart's true master.
Overview
Jesus pinpoints the one thing the ruler lacks, not a missing good deed but undivided allegiance. The command to sell everything and follow exposes wealth as his idol and offers something infinitely better, treasure in heaven and Christ himself. The issue is not that money saves or damns, but that nothing may rival Christ as Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 12:33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
- 1 Tim 6:18–19Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- Matt 19:21Jesus told him, “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.”
- Matt 6:19–20Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 9:57–62As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
- Luke 16:9I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
- Luke 10:42But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
- Phil 3:13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- 2 Pet 3:8Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
- Ps 27:4One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- Luke 9:23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
- Acts 2:44–45All the believers were together and had everything in common.
- Acts 4:34–37There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,
- Matt 19:27–28“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 18:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.