Matthew 19:16-18
‘One came and said to Him, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do — so that I may have eternal life?” And He said to him…: “If you will enter into life, keep the Commandments!… You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honour your father and your mother!… If you will be perfect…, come and follow Me!”‘ Matthew 19:16-21.
Who was this man? Calvin comments: “He was ‘a ruler’ (Luke 18:18)…, a man of very high authority…. A good man…. By ‘kneeling’ (Mark 10:17), he testifies his reverence for Christ…. He…asks..what good thing he should do in order to obtain it (life). He therefore dreams of (his) merits, on account of which he may receive eternal life as a reward due!…
“Christ has no other intention, than to maintain the truth of His doctrine…. ‘Keep the Commandments!…. You shall not murder!… Honour…parents!… You shall love your neighbour! (Which) contain nothing different from the former Commandments, but is a general explanation of them all…
“The Law must have been dead to him (the ruler)…. He…imagined…he was…righteous…. He fearlessly boasts…he had discharged his duty properly, from his childhood!…
“Yet Christ does not demand anything beyond the Commandments of the Law…. I confess that we are nowhere commanded in the Law to ‘sell all.’ But as the design of the Law is to bring men to self-denial, and as it expressly condemns covetousness — we see that Christ had no other object in view than to correct the false convictions of the young man….
“‘One thing you want (or lack)’…in the very keeping of the Law!… The Law…represses all sinful desires, and teaches us to bear the cross…. The young man…is attached to his riches, and burns with covetousness…. He (Christ) does not only enjoin him to sell, but…to give to the poor…. Christ applauds not simply the selling, but liberality in assisting the poor….
“Christ…says: ‘Follow Me!’ He enjoined him not only to become His disciple, but to submit His shoulders to bear the cross — as Mark expressly states…. Christ does not command all…to sell all that they have. For the husbandman, who had been accustomed to live by his labour and to support his children, would do wrong in selling his possessions if he were not constrained to it by any necessity. To keep what God has put in our power, provided that by maintaining ourselves and our family in a sober and frugal manner we bestow some portion on the poor — is a greater virtue than to squander all….
“The young man…withdraws from the school of Christ…. He finds it uneasy to be stripped of his riches…. But if we are not prepared to endure poverty, it is manifest…covetousness reigns!”
What must you do to get eternal life? Keep the Commandments, and keep following Jesus!
