18] And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? [19] And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. [20] Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. [21] And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. [22] 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. [23] And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. [24] And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! [25] For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. [26] And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? [27] And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

The subject being discussed in this scripture story of Jesus and the rich man is what is required to inherit eternal life. Jesus immediately makes the point that only God is good, which eliminates any man being “good” and obtaining eternal life by being “good.”
The next point in the story is that the ruler asked what to do to “inherit” eternal life. When something is “inherited” it is not earned, but is received as a gift, so eternal life must be received as a “gift” from God. However, Jesus did not dismiss the importance of obedience to the commandments of God, and illustrated their importance by repeating the last six commandments that concern our relationship to other people. The rich ruler said that had kept all those from his youth and Jesus did not call him a liar. The rich ruler had a problem and Jesus illustrated his problem by telling him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. The response of the rich ruler was sorrow and refusal to do it. His problem was that he loved his riches more than he loved God. He had made a “god” out of his riches and was breaking the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods but me. Exodus 20:3.
Jesus then made the point that it was impossible for a rich man to enter heaven, by comparing it to a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle. Then, Jesus says the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Only God can convert the heart of a man and make it possible for him to enter heaven.
The last point that Jesus made by using this example is that heaven is not obtained by having riches. The Jews thought that if you were “rich” you had been blessed by God and if you were “poor” you were cursed by God. So in their eyes a “rich man” was assured of eternal life. Jesus gave the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to dispel that belief.