I also tend to think that there might be something else going on here. Since the Law was to "point to Christ the Messiah", and since Christ was the "end of the Law for righteousness", I think Jesus could be telling him that what he was lacking was the leaving of the law for Christ.

The rich, young ruler was content with abiding in the Law for his righteousness, and was missing the Law's entire purpose. He was truly lacking the righteousness that the law pointed to, and was rather trusting in his own. So, when Christ told him to "sell all of his possessions and follow him, and he shall have treasure in heaven", he was saying at least three things: first, that Christ was the culmination or apex or end of the law for righteousness, for He was to be followed from then on; second, that he actually needed to abandon the law as his righteousness and begin following Christ, for he was told that he still lacked something by following the law, and third, that Christ was worth abandoning everything and every possession he had in order to obtain Him, and that He must be valued as such and sought after at as the pearl of great price over and above his riches.

The guy didn't see the law pointing to any Messiah for whom to trust in for righteousness. He didn't desire to abandon the law for an external righteousness, by which to obtain eternal life. And, he didn't value Christ as worth giving away his possessions for. He would rather have his riches and his false righteousness rather than the external righteousness of Christ. When he was told that eternal life was only found in following Christ, he didn't believe it to be worth him trading his every possession for it.

Even if he would have sold his possessions and had given the money to the poor and followed Christ around Galilee and Judea, that still would not have merited eternal life for him, and that would not have fulfilled what Jesus meant by "follow me". The command to "follow him" meant much more, for it meant to abandon the law and what he was hoping in for his righteousness, and forsaking it all, and resting entirely on that "alien righteousness" that is found in Christ. So, Christ went on to say that it is "hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God", for they tend to be the ones with the most distorted vision of what is valuable. They value possessions over Christ.

That's what I think for now.

Blessings!

__________________
Charles Plauger
Member/Grace Reformed Church
Oakland, MD