Riches versus perfection: The contrast in the story is set up between following the law and being perfect (being righteous, doing God’s will). The young man has kept the commandments. As has been demonstrated many times before by Matthew, keeping the law is not sufficient for his community. What is lacking is perfection, doing God’s will to the very best of one’s ability.
The young man’s obstacle to perfection is his riches. In the culture of the time, riches were considered a sign of God’s favor.
For the man to strip himself of his riches and reduce himself to utter poverty would not be easy. The cultural understanding of riches as a blessing, though, is being reversed by Matthew. He is instructing the rich in his church; they have nothing over those who are poor. In fact, their riches present a problem to their entrance into the kingdom. God has a special predilection for the poor; riches are not necessarily a sign of being favored by God.
Jesus instructs the rich man to disassociate himself from his riches, so that he might follow Jesus unencumbered. By following Jesus, the man has the opportunity to reach perfection, to fulfill God’s will perfectly. The man is to give his riches to the poor, those who have nothing, those who are considered to be cursed by God.
Once the rich young man gives away his wealth, he can follow Jesus, who is on his way to the cross. Those who are rich have an obligation to use their wealth to help those who have none, and, in doing so, to discover God’s will for them.