The issue in Matthew 19:21 is the core principle of the second table of the law: loving your neighbour. In light of this, Jesus here gives the young man a test-commandment—not a commandment for all people, just as Matthew 19:12 did not contain one; it is not given in that sense here or anywhere else in Scripture. It is a commandment by which this man must see his own shortcomings and the cause of his misery, so it may, in similar circumstances and for similar reasons, also be a commandment for others. Jesus showed where this young man’s sin lay by telling him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. This command is for this rich young man in this specific situation (compare Zacchaeus in Luke 19:8 and Joseph of Arimathea in Matthew 27:57). This young man was in bondage to his own wealth. He felt that he had fully kept the commandments, but clearly, he did not love his neighbour—the poor—as himself.
What is at issue here in Matthew 19:21 is the core principle of the second table of the law: namely, loving your neighbour. In light of this Jesus here gives the young man a test-commandment. This is not a commandment for all people, just as Matthew 19:12 did not contain one; it is not given in that sense here nor anywhere else in Scripture. It is a commandment by which one man, in one particular case, must learn to recognize his own shortcomings and the cause of his misery. As such it may, in similar circumstances and for similar reasons, also serve as a commandment for others.1
Jesus here in Matthew 19:21 identified where this young man’s great sin lay and revealed it to him by demanding that he sell all his possessions and give to the poor. This is not a general commandment, but a command addressed to this rich young man in this specific situation (compare, for example Zacchaeus in Luke 19:8 and Joseph of Arimathea in Matthew 27:57). This young man had been held in bondage by his own wealth. He thought that he had fully kept the commandments, but it is clear that he did not love his neighbour—the poor—as himself.2
21 Jésus lui dit: Si tu veux être parfait, va, vends ce que tu possèdes, donne-le aux pauvres, et tu auras un trésor dans le ciel. Puis viens, et suis-moi.