The rich young ruler asked Jesus: “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17). But...wait! Was Jesus really telling him that eternal life comes by obeying the Law of Moses? It may sound that way at first. But by the end of the conversation, Jesus was talking about discipleship: “Come follow me” (Matt. 19:21). So then why does he tell the man to obey the commandments? A common interpretation is that Jesus points to the Law as a reminder of our inability to keep its commands. But to this, the man responds: “I have kept all these things” (Matt. 19:20). And Jesus never contradicts him.