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The Pursuit of Eternal Life

Text: Matthew 19 : 16 - 30

Jesus had completed yet another piece of work. He had just left Galilee, and was now in Judea, beyond Jordan. His ministry involved teaching people concerning the issue of divorce. He also took time to bless the children who were brought to Him!

As He prepared Himself to leave, one individual caught up with Him and posed an important question. It was a query significant enough for Jesus to pause for a while to answer it.

“Now behold, one came and said to Him,
‘Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do
that I may have eternal life?'”
MATTHEW 19:16

This incident was so striking that the other two synoptists also recorded it. Mark described this young man in even more detail.

“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running,
knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher,
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?'”
MARK 10:17

Luke added another detail that gives us an even sharper understanding of who this person was.

“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying,
‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'”
LUKE 18:18

This person appeared to have qualities that were quite outstanding. He displayed good manners, for he had addressed Jesus most politely. He called Jesus, “Good Teacher”. He even knelt! And he was a ruler of the Jews! That was a rare sight to behold! His query about obtaining eternal life was a good and fair one!

AN ENGAGING DIALOGUE

What transpired is worth studying in some detail. This ruler had come to Jesus in broad daylight and had raised a vital issue. Jesus wanted to use this opportunity not only to reach out to the young man, but also to teach people once again, how they too should quest for eternal life. Sadly, the ruler had not understood that the Giver of eternal life stood before him. He had not recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Saviour of the world!

“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.’
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.’
‘Honour your father and your mother,’ and
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'”
MATTHEW 19:17-19

“Why do you call Me good?”

It is possible for this statement to be misread and of course misunderstood. How should we understand this statement?

1. Relative Good versus Absolute good

a) Perception of Jesus

When this ruler came to Jesus, he addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher”. If he had understood Jesus for who He really was, he would have believed in Him and been granted eternal life immediately. Obviously, he thought of Jesus as being “relatively good”.

b) Starting from the standpoint of the ruler

Since this ruler did not recognize that Jesus was the Divine Son of God, the term “good”, meaning “absolute good” must not be used except with reference to the Lord God Himself. Hence Jesus said, “No one is good, but One, that is, God.”

The ruler did not respond to this statement of Jesus at all. He could have, for he could have sought to inquire more about Jesus Himself. Since he did not respond Jesus went on to speak about keeping God’s commandments. It is likely that this ruler saw himself in quite a favourable light. He probably thought himself as being quite a “good” person.

2. The Keeping of the Law

What did Jesus mean when He raised up the matter of keeping the commandments of God? Did He mean that there was another way of salvation? Could a person hope to fully keep the law and then merit salvation?

Of course not! Jesus wasn’t being inconsistent with His teaching about finding salvation in Him (Cf. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest…”). His citing of the commandments of God was done with definite purposes in mind.

a) An attempt to evaluate self

Jesus hoped that the ruler would pause and examine himself properly. Would he not see that he had not been able to keep the laws of God perfectly?

b) An attempt to see the problem of sin in the heart

Before salvation can be obtained, the soul must be convicted of the problem of sin in one’s life. Few things bring up a person short as an evaluation of one’s life with reference to the keeping of the laws of God! Jesus was not introducing another way of salvation. He was citing the Scriptures in the hope that through self-evaluation, the ruler would come under conviction of sin.