It would be heart-breaking to know of all the people who Jesus loves ... who nevertheless walk away.  When the eager, moral and truth-seeking man came to Jesus, kneeling down before Him, perhaps the disciples thought that he would be an excellent recruit.  He wanted to inherit eternal life and had come to the only person who could give it to him.  But the man had a different agenda.  He was a self-made man and wanted a self-made heaven.  When Jesus told him that his 'self', with its props of money and possessions, was the one obstacle – the news shocked him and he went away looking very sad (Mark 10:17-22).  

The passage is clear that Jesus was not hostile in any way to this young man, although He was totally opposed to his value system.  It may still surprise us that this young man's good life and personal self-discipline in religion, counted for nothing with Jesus (Philippians 3:7-8).  The Lord came straight to the point.  Sell everything, because none of it can save. Give it to those who have nothing (they will gain temporary help from it).  The reward, Jesus said, was treasure in heaven (Luke 12:32-34) - enjoying the everlasting pleasure of Jesus, after a life sold-out for Him.  Then, following Jesus for the rest of his life would be a consequence of receiving eternal life (not a way of earning it).  It was bitter medicine to take; that much showed in his face.

But what was he sad about?  The prospect of indefinite subtractions from his luxury lifestyle did not please him.  Neither did the prospect of missing eternal life, which he had worked so hard (but in vain) to achieve.  He was caught on the horns of a dilemma.  He had to choose what he was willing to lose most.  The answer was painfully expressed in his slow walk away from Christ.  It was an important tutorial for the trainee apostles too.  They were given the gospel of grace to share, not a set of rules as hurdles for the spiritually athletic to jump over and win eternal life by their own efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9).  And yet, works-based-religion keep re-immerging in the Christian Church in different forms, as pride replaces praise and self-satisfaction becomes more important than walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

How many come running to Jesus (in hope of an answer to the emptiness of life), but walk away sad when they find that His values do not match with theirs, and their earthly ambition is more precious than their eternal future.  However nice it would be to think that everybody who hears the Gospel will receive Christ, the reality is that many do not.  But they can never say that they did not know, nor that Jesus never loved them, if the gospel is faithfully explained inside and outside of the church.  It is hard for the wealthy to come to Christ, but not impossible – if, with God's help, we tell them the right gospel and they make the right choice (Hebrews 4:2).