I suppose the gospel didn't teach him not to bait and switch, or draw people in on false pretenses. He tricked people into paying him, so he can shovel his come to Jesus ********.
Even now, after all the criticism, I am pretty sure that Jesus is telling him it was all for the good and it was all worth it. If you have a direct line to God, or in this case the son of God, and he tells you to do stuff, how can you ever do something wrong?