One day a young ruler came to Jesus and fell on his knees before him. He said, "Good teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?"
Jesus told him to keep the commandments. "Which ones?" the man asked.
Jesus started quoting some of the 10 commandments; "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother."
Then he mentions a commandment, not one of the 10 commandments, but one from the book of Leviticus, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In Leviticus 19:18 the people were told to not seek revenge, or to bear a grudge against one of their people, but instead they were to love their neighbor as they loved themselves.
The young man said he had kept all these commands from the time he was a boy. He had lived a good life. The Bible says that Jesus looked at him and loved him, but Jesus looked into the man's heart and saw something that was keeping him from becoming a follower.
Jesus told him that he still lacked one thing; he must sell the things he owned and give the money to the poor. Then he would have treasure in heaven, and he could follow Jesus.
The young man's face fell and he sadly went away because he had great riches that he would not part with.
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KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." The directive sounded simple enough. Keep the rules. Do the law. Obey. But the rich young man had to ask, "Which ones?" I wonder if he expected Jesus to nullify a commandment or two. "Which ones?" The question was a build up to the one that followed Jesus’ answer. Jesus told him not to murder or commit adultery, to refrain from stealing and giving false testimony, to honor his father and mother, and to love his neighbor as himself.
Jesus was describing God’s law of love: the Ten Commandments.
"All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" he asked. In his own eyes he’d kept them all. On a four-point scale, he topped the honor roll. Jesus then showed the young man that he still had a false god in his life: "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" (v. 21). By doing that one "good thing," the rich young ruler could have put to death his false god, and truly started to keep the commandments. But he was unwilling to do so, and he went away.
The problem wasn’t that he was secretly breaking the Ten Commandments, but that he had missed the whole point of the Law. The rich young man’s life outwardly conformed to the standards God laid down in the law of Moses, but that wasn’t enough for him to enjoy true fellowship with God. It never has been. It never will be. You may twist and turn every which way but we must have the Law written into our hearts and minds so that are feet may follow and fullfill the true meaning of Gods love.
Many of us have 'false gods' that we are unwilling to let go and keep us from embracing God's love......
Jesus told him to keep the commandments. "Which ones?" the man asked.
Jesus started quoting some of the 10 commandments; "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother."
Then he mentions a commandment, not one of the 10 commandments, but one from the book of Leviticus, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In Leviticus 19:18 the people were told to not seek revenge, or to bear a grudge against one of their people, but instead they were to love their neighbor as they loved themselves.
The young man said he had kept all these commands from the time he was a boy. He had lived a good life. The Bible says that Jesus looked at him and loved him, but Jesus looked into the man's heart and saw something that was keeping him from becoming a follower.
Jesus told him that he still lacked one thing; he must sell the things he owned and give the money to the poor. Then he would have treasure in heaven, and he could follow Jesus.
The young man's face fell and he sadly went away because he had great riches that he would not part with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." The directive sounded simple enough. Keep the rules. Do the law. Obey. But the rich young man had to ask, "Which ones?" I wonder if he expected Jesus to nullify a commandment or two. "Which ones?" The question was a build up to the one that followed Jesus’ answer. Jesus told him not to murder or commit adultery, to refrain from stealing and giving false testimony, to honor his father and mother, and to love his neighbor as himself.
Jesus was describing God’s law of love: the Ten Commandments.
"All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" he asked. In his own eyes he’d kept them all. On a four-point scale, he topped the honor roll. Jesus then showed the young man that he still had a false god in his life: "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" (v. 21). By doing that one "good thing," the rich young ruler could have put to death his false god, and truly started to keep the commandments. But he was unwilling to do so, and he went away.
The problem wasn’t that he was secretly breaking the Ten Commandments, but that he had missed the whole point of the Law. The rich young man’s life outwardly conformed to the standards God laid down in the law of Moses, but that wasn’t enough for him to enjoy true fellowship with God. It never has been. It never will be. You may twist and turn every which way but we must have the Law written into our hearts and minds so that are feet may follow and fullfill the true meaning of Gods love.
Many of us have 'false gods' that we are unwilling to let go and keep us from embracing God's love......
