16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew tells about a rich young man who had morality without Christ. This incident stands in contrast to the little children who came to Jesus with simple dependence. All three synoptic gospels record the encounter of Jesus and this young man.
19:16
Now behold [someone unusual coming], one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
The young man asked Jesus about doing something to attain eternal life. That was the wrong question.
19:17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good[intrinsically] but One, that is, God.
Jesus did not deny His deity here. This was a challenge for the young man to come to grips with who Jesus was. Jesus knew the man was not ready for the right answer. Either Jesus is God or He is not. If Jesus is “good,” then He is God Himself.
But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
This is an impossible challenge. No one keeps all the commandments. Jesus challenged the young man’s idea of “what good thing shall I do” to obtain eternal life (v. 1). Jesus did not introduce the commandments to show how to receive eternal life but to demonstrate the need for salvation.
19:18
He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
Jesus laid out five of the Ten Commandments (verses 18 and 19) that make up the second table of the Law. The six commandments of the second table deal with human relationships. Jesus deliberately picked commandments the young man felt he kept.
19:19
‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Note the climax of the five commandments: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus would challenge the young man on this one.
19:20
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
This self-righteous man was under the delusion that he kept “all” these commandments. He was not short of gall.
19:21
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect [note this word; this is the standard for entering eternal life], go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
The Lord exposed the young man’s lack of awareness of his failure to observe the fifth of the five commandments by telling him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. Jesus forced this man to examine his heart. He definitely was not “perfect.”
19:22
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
There is a façade in self-righteousness. This man realized that he was not as perfect as he thought he was. His wealth was his worship. His possessions possessed him. Jesus exposed two things about him:
1. He was not blameless before the law; he was sinful.
2. He did not possess true faith (16:24)
PRINCIPLE:
Perfection is the standard for entering eternal life.
APPLICATION:
Since God is absolute, we cannot break the smallest aspect of His perfection. If we do, God cannot live with us in eternity. God cannot tolerate sin of any kind, no matter how finite.
Ja 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point ,he is guilty of all.
In order to go to heaven we have to be as good as God is good. Since there is “none righteous” (Ro 3:10) and “all have sinned” (Ro 3:23), none of us can possess eternal life by being good. That is why Jesus had to pay for our sin. He wiped away every sin we ever committed or will commit so that we can enter the presence of God. He did this by paying for our sin on the cross. When we place our faith in the finished work of Christ for our sin, God grants us eternal life.
