Question:
Dear Greg,
I
wish not to argue with the words of men, so let’s listen to what Jesus says in
Matt. 19:16-18, about commandments. (vs.
16) “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good things
shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (vs. 17)
“And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good?
There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into
life, keep the commandments’” (vs. 18)
“He said unto him, ‘Which?’ Jesus
said, “Thou Shalt Do No Murder, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery, Thou Shalt Not
Steal, Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness, Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother and,
Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself.”
Tell me, why would Jesus say to keep these just to abolish them after the
crucifixion? This would not make
sense. Jesus came to make clear the
true intent of the commandments – not to destroy.
If you do not call these commandments, I don’t know what is.
David
Answer: Dear
David,
You
open your comment with a declaration that you do not wish to argue – and then
inform me of your interpretation. I
will answer the question, which seems to be hidden with your declaration – but
not expressly stated. I assure you
that I am not here to argue, but to answer questions.
I am well aware of the interpretation you derive from this passage,
having believed it, and taught it from pulpits and college classrooms for many
years. God graciously saved me from
that misunderstanding, and I share it with you in brief below:
1.
The rich young ruler was a Jew. He
lived under the old covenant, as in fact everyone in the immediate audience did.
This teaching happened before the cross. The use, therefore, of commandments in this context is
obviously the Ten Commandments.
2.
The lesson of this account is that keeping the ten commandments do not
gain or earn salvation. The
question the young man had was – “what GOOD THING MUST I DO to possess
eternal life?”
3.
Jesus answered the question by pointing out the logical futility of
keeping the commandments perfectly – GOOD ENOUGH so that commandment keeping
would gain eternal life.
4.
When asked to specify commandments, Jesus noted the ones that Jews of
that day placed less emphasis upon – without overtly addressing whether the
careful commandment-keeping of the first four was meritorious for salvation.
Jesus’ point was – ”OK- I know you think that your care for the
first four is such that you gain your own salvation by keeping them.
Without arguing that point, lets talk about those which are less
emphasized by your culture and traditions – after all, there are ten, not just
four.”
Following
this same line of logic, we might also note that Jesus did not
mention
the first four – some might say because “everyone was keeping them” (the
argument from silence), while others explain it the way I do above.
The fact remains – Jesus did not mention the first four, one of which
is, I suspect at the core of your question.
5.
The young man was obviously blind to the fact that he had not, nor has
any human being ever, apart from Jesus, God in the flesh, kept the Ten
Commandments perfectly. We are all
sinners in need of God’s grace. The
young man did not “see” this.
6.
This is the key to the passage. The
young man claimed to be keeping the law. He
did not acknowledge any sin, any imperfection or any need.
He was filled with self-righteousness and self-centeredness. Jesus continued to answer the young man on his own terms,
without attempting to overtly discredit the young man’s blind and faulty
logic. He directly confronted the
young man’s selfishness – a sin in itself – by telling him to go and sell
his possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Jesus Christ.
This
account shows us that a careful and calculated keeping of the law – the Ten Commandments
– the old covenant – does not gain us eternal life.
Eternal life is God’s gift to us, and that fact demonstrates God’s
love – the great divine attribute of giving and loving.
Jesus pointed out to the young man that while he may have felt
self-satisfied about his law keeping that he lacked love for his fellow man –
the very central characteristic of God. Jesus
was asking what good was his law keeping other than swelling his already
considerable level of self-righteousness?
God’s
gift of eternal life is based solely on his love – not on any of our merit,
for we have none. As the Old
Testament prophet noted, all our righteousness is as filthy rags.
We must turn to Jesus Christ alone for salvation, for he alone is worthy.
You might wish to read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 for further background.
May
God bless you and be with you.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht