The rich young ruler was killed in a robbery when he got off his camel for inspection, at the city gate, as predicted by Jesus. His sister went to Jesus asking for help and he resurrected him, despite resistance from the disciples, according to Mark's version of Peter's Gospel, that he added his testimony to, between Mark 10:34 and 10:35, per the excerpts quoted in Clement’s letter to Theodore. Afterward of him being raised, Mark sells everything but a house, which he gives to his mother, Mary where Peter goes after the Angel leads him out of prison. John/Mark, the rich young ruler is seen again in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus is arrested by Judas & 6,000 soldiers, where he is grabbed by his graveclothes and runs away naked. I conjecture the rich young ruler was probably robbed by a soldier at the gate, who was trying to bail out his brother, who was to be crucified. John/Mark appears to be quite evasive when it comes to soldiers, making his mother's house a logical place to lay low after a jailbreak. The real question is why did John Mark desert Paul and Barnabas again in Pamphylia, the third time?

A Trappist recluse, under sudden, unbidden inspiration, wrote that this rich young man was St. Dismas, the "repentent theif" who died next to Christ and to whom Christ said, "This day you will be with my in Paradise." The full story is published in "The Lost Writings of Ronald Knox" which is currently published by Catholic answers. Ronald Knox, incidentally, completed one of the first attempts to translate a more "readable" modern English version of the Bible that was still true to the original languages (esp. the Vulgate, completed by St Jerome who had access to source texts since lost). The story goes that the rich young man had inherited his family fortune by winning an inheritance dispute against his brother. After going away sad, he lost everything and became a criminal through a series of rationalizations based on his misfortune. During a robbery gone wrong, he killed someone with his partner in crime and was sentenced to be crucified. On the cross, upon hearing the mockery and attention Christ was getting from the crowd, he at some point recognized him as the wise teacher he had encountered and remembered him saying how hard it will be for a rich man to get to heaven. As we know he protested his partner's mockery of Christ and asked to be remembered by Christ in His kingdom, and received Christ's assurance that this very day he would be IN his kingdom with Him. Of course, no one is required to believe this story or that it was inspired, but if you consider the story temporarily as possibly a true account and meditate upon it, there is something beautiful about it and perhaps even more believable than that he went on as he was, a rich, pious man who followed the law. If a women with enough sense just to touch the outer garment of Christ received what her heart desired without even a word, then what would this man, who desired perhaps the greatest spiritual good, to be perfect, have received from his encounter with Christ? It is difficult for me to imagine someone coming to Christ with a desire even higher than physical healing to go away empty and sad and that to be the end of it. I would, of course, encourage you to read the source for yourself and consider what you thing about it, but this question is a very natural one to wonder what happened to him and this story provides a very satisfactory account.

Wow... early this morning during prayer time, I was pondering the “cost” of Americans in life as we know it. We, in America are that “rich man” even if we deem ourselves as “poor.” We waste so much in “self” and hardly consider to poor at the cost of “self”.... the REAL cost if He were to ask us to give it all and truly “follow” Him with ALL the heart, mind and soul”...... unbeknowing the “rich” man in the end will loose it all whether by the grave or by America’s fate.

True, we have no Scriptural evidence, but we have clear historical evidence. The rich ruling class of Israel was wiped out in AD 70, and their wealth taken by the Romans. We may speculate within the boundary of that historical fact.

We cannot speculate any of that since there is no scriptural evidence to support that notion. Truth is that we do not know if he did or did not follow Christ's advice. What we learn is the same lesson, but I like to think that he ended up making the sacrifice. Maybe the result was left out on purpose.

Yes, there's a powerful lesson in this story. Choose Jesus! Eliezer

Your synopsis of "the young ruler" and what happened to him hit home for me. I never thought about his life after he walked away from Jesus. He had everything to gain by following Jesus, and as you said, he had to have lost every thing when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Slaughter or slavery at the end of his life after he refused Jesus so great invitation, "Come follow Me. " I can think of things that keep me tied to my possessions and not to Jesus. Thank you for your post.