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.
This young man wasn’t the only one to claim he had fully obeyed the Law of Moses. The parents of John the Baptist, for example, were “both righteous in God’s sight, walking blameless in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). They had fully obeyed the Law’s commands. The apostle Paul, too, before his salvation, says he was “blameless according to the righteousness that is in the Law” (Phil. 3:6). And there were many others. Obeying the Law was not impossible, as some incorrectly teach.*
* Being fully obedient to the Law didn’t mean you never sinned. Unintentional sins or minor offenses could be atoned for by offering a sacrifice in the Temple of God in Jerusalem. But it did mean that you had avoided intentional sins, for which no offering was available (Num. 15:27-31).
But the young man knew that his obedience to the Law had not saved him. So he continued, “What am I still lacking?” (Matt. 19:20). Even perfect obedience to the Law doesn’t bring salvation. Why not? Because there is no promise of eternal life in the Law of Moses.
So then what are the promises of the Law of Moses? Having many children, having abundant crops, living in the land of Israel, having a long life, having victory over enemies, and many others (Deut. 28:1-14). But these are all promises for this present life. Eternal life isn’t one of them. For that, you have to go beyond the Law. And that’s what Jesus was helping the young man to see.
At first, the young ruler assumed that all he needed was some good deed, a mitzvah as it’s called in Hebrew: “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16). This idea came naturally to someone living within the framework of the Law of Moses. The good deed of honoring your parents, for example, gets you the reward of long life: “that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you” (Exo. 20:12).
But for him to understand, Jesus had to take him beyond the Law. “Why are you asking me about what is good? One alone is good” (Matt. 19:17). Or as Mark and Luke record it, “No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19). Paul expresses the same idea by quoting the Psalms: “Not one is righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10 quoting Psalm 14:3). Even our righteous deeds are “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6 KJV).* Some claim that Jesus’ response shows that he isn’t God. But he is instead pointing to a contradiction in the man’s request. Since we are not good in God’s sight, it’s impossible for us to do good. Even our obedience to God is tainted.
* The literal meaning in Hebrew is even more graphic: “All our righteous deeds are as the [unclean] clothes of a menstruating woman” (Isa. 64:6).
That’s when Jesus mentions obeying the commandments: “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). But notice carefully that he only mentions “life” and not “eternal life.” This was a common Jewish teaching: that obeying the commandments brings life. It comes from Leviticus 18:5: “And you will keep my statutes and my judgments [the Law] which if a man will do them, he will live by them.” Paul mentions this same teaching in Romans 10:5: “For Moses writes of the righteousness that comes from law, ‘The man who has done these things will live by them.’” In other words, he will live and not die as a result of disobedience. But this promise of life concerns only this present life, not eternal life. And that’s exactly what Jesus is helping the young man to see: that eternal life isn’t given for obedience to the Law.
The commandments that Jesus mentions are some of the most important commandments in the Law of Moses: “You will not commit murder, you will not commit adultery, you will not steal, you will not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you will love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19:18-19). These are things that every Jewish person knew from childhood (Matt. 20:18-19). They were commandments that they expected to bring them life. But the young man wanted something more. And that’s why he asked, “What do I still lack?”
This young man wasn’t the only Jewish person to realize the limits of the Law of Moses. Today, too, Jewish people who accept Jesus know that the commandments they’ve been observing all their lives did not and cannot bring eternal life. For that something else is needed. And that’s why Jesus goes on to say, “If you want to be perfect [perfected or complete in the sense of reaching the goal, teleios]...come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21). Eternal life cannot be found in the Law. It can only be found by following Jesus.
But this is no easy calling. The full verse says, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21). It wasn’t just the rich young ruler that Jesus said this to. He says it to everyone: “Any of you that doesn’t give up [or leave behind, apotassetai] all his own possessions cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33, also Luke 12:33). Jesus was leading the rich young man into a completely new kind of life: life in the Messiah. This is the only path to eternal life. Unfortunately, the young man wasn’t willing to accept the challenge. “He went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property” (Matt. 19:22).
This young ruler wasn’t the only one to turn away because of wealth. As Jesus went on to explain: “Amen I say to you, it’s difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 19:23). How difficult? “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24). Can a camel go through the eye of a needle? Obviously not. Many have tried to evade Jesus’ clear meaning by claiming there was a special gate in Jerusalem called “the Eye of the Needle.” Since this was a small gate, the camels had to kneel down to get through. But this is a made-up story. We know a lot about the gates of Jerusalem, especially in the time of Jesus. But as my archeology professor put it: no such gate has ever been found or even mentioned.
No, Jesus was referring to the eye of an actual needle. And his point, very clearly, was that it’s impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God—without a miracle. As he went on to say, “For men, this is impossible. But for God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).
But there are others who have accepted Jesus’ challenge. As Peter said after the young ruler walked away, “We have left everything and followed you” (Matt. 19:27). And in response Jesus promised, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold [now “in this time” according to Mark and Luke] and inherit eternal life [“in the age to come” according to Mark and Luke]” (Matt. 19:29). These are promises that go far beyond anything found in the Law of Moses. And they’re available to everyone who dares to accept Jesus’ calling: “Come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21).
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