Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22;
Luke 18:18-23
Matthew 19:16-22 | Mark 10:17-22 | Luke 18:18-23 |
16. And, lo, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17. Who said to him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but God alone? 1 but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18. He saith to him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honor thy father and mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 20. The young man saith to him, All these things have I kept from my youth: what do I still want? 21. Jesus saith to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. 22. And when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had many possessions. 2
| 17. And as he was going out into the road, one ran, and, when he had kneeled down, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do, that I may obtain eternal life? 18. And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but God alone. 19. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. 20. But he answering said to him, Master, all these things have I kept from my youth. 21. And Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said to him, Thou art in want of one thing, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking the cross on thy shoulders. 22. But he, affected with uneasiness on account of the saying, went away sorrowful; for he had many possessions.
| 18. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do, that I may obtain eternal life? 19. And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but God alone. 20. Thou knowest the commandments, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother. 21. And he said, All these things have I kept from my youth. 22. Having heard this, Jesus said to him, Yet one thing thou wantest; sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. 23. Having heard these things, he was grieved; for he was very rich.
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Matthew 19:16.
But, in order to form a more correct judgment of the meaning of the answer, we must attend to the form of the question. He does not simply ask how and by what means he shall reach life, but
17.
He that does these things shall live in them, (Leviticus 18:5;)
and again,
I call heaven and earth to witness that l have
this day showed you life, (Deuteronomy 30:19.)
We have no right, therefore, to deny that the keeping of the law is righteousness, by which any man who kept the law perfectly -- if there were such a man -- would obtain life for himself. But as we are all destitute of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23,) nothing but cursing will be found in the law; and nothing remains for us but to betake ourselves to the undeserved gift of righteousness. And therefore Paul lays down a twofold righteousness, the righteousness of the law, (Romans 10:5,) and the righteousness of faith, (Romans 10:6.) He makes the first to consist in works, and the second, in the free grace of Christ.
Hence we infer, that this reply of Christ is legal, because it was proper that the young man who inquired about the righteousness of works should first be taught that no man is accounted righteous before God unless he has fulfilled the law, 7 (which is impossible,) that, convinced of his weakness, he might betake himself to the assistance of faith. I acknowledge, therefore, that, as God has promised the reward of eternal life to those who keep his law, we ought to hold by this way, if the weakness of our flesh did not prevent; but Scripture teaches us, that it is through our own fault that it becomes necessary for us to receive as a gift what we cannot obtain by works. If it be objected, that it is in vain to hold out to us the righteousness which is in the law, (Romans 10:5,) which no man will ever be able to reach, I reply, since it is the first part of instruction, by which we are led to the righteousness which is obtained by prayer, it is far from being superfluous; and, therefore, when Paul says, that the doers of the law are justified, (Romans 2:13,) he excludes all from the righteousness of the law.
This passage sets aside all the inventions which the Papists have contrived in order to obtain salvation. For not only are they mistaken in wishing to lay God under obligation to them by their good works, to bestow salvation as a debt; but when they apply themselves to do what is right, they leave out of view the doctrine of the law, and attend chiefly to their pretended devotions, as they call them, not that they openly reject the law of God, but that they greatly prefer human traditions. 8 But what does Christ say? That the only worship of which God approves is that which he has prescribed; because obedience is better to him than all sacrifices, 9 (1 Samuel 15:22.) So then, while the Papists are employed in frivolous traditions, let every man who endeavors to regulate his life by obedience to Christ direct his whole attention to
18.
I confess that we are nowhere commanded in the law to sell all; but as the design of the law is, to bring men to self-denial, and as it expressly condemns covetousness, we see that Christ had no other object in view than to correct the false conviction of the young man. 13 for if he had known himself thoroughly, as soon as he heard the mention of the law, he would have acknowledged that he was liable to the judgment of God; but now, when the bare words of the law do not sufficiently convince him of his guilt, the inward meaning is expressed by other words. If Christ now demanded any thing beyond the commandments of the law, he would be at variance with himself. He just now taught that perfect righteousness is comprehended in the commandments of the law: how then will it agree with this to charge the law with deficiency? Besides, the protestation of Moses, (Deuteronomy 30:15,)which I formerly quoted, would be false.
Mark 10:21.
It ought also to be observed, that he does not only enjoin him
The mortification of the flesh is still more strongly urged by Christ, when he says,
But God is sometimes said to love those whom he does not approve or justify; for, since the preservation of the human race is agreeable to Him -- which consists in justice, uprightness, moderation, prudence, fidelity, and temperance -- he is said to love the political virtues; not that they are meritorious of salvation or of grace, but that they have reference to an end of which he approves. In this sense, under various points of view, God loved Aristides and Fabricius, and also hated them; for, in so far as he had bestowed on them outward righteousness, and that for the general advantage, he loved his own work in them; but as their heart was impure, the outward semblance of righteousness was of no avail for obtaining righteousness. For we know that by faith alone hearts are purified, and that the Spirit of uprightness is given to the members of Christ alone. Thus the question is answered, How was it possible that Christ should love a man who was proud and a hypocrite, while nothing is more hateful to God than these two vices? For it is not inconsistent, that the good seed, which God has implanted in some natures, shall be loved by Him, and yet that He should reject their persons and works on account of corruption.
Matthew 19:22.
1 "Il n'y a nul bon, sinon un seul, c'est Dieu:" -- "There is none good but one only, it is God."
2 "Car il avoit beaucoup de richesses;" -- "for he had much wealth."
3 "Que c'estoit un prince ou seigneur; c'est a dire, un homme d'estat et de grande authorite;" -- "that he was a prince or lord; that is to say, a man of rank and of great authority."
4 "Combien que les richesses rendent un homme honorable au monde; -- "though riches render a man honorable in the world."
5 "Non point par trahison, et pour surprendre Christ;" -- "not by treachery, and to take Christ by surprise."
6 "Pource qu'ils sont enveloppez de ie ne scay quelle ombre de sainctete;" -- "because they are covered by I know not what shadow of holiness."
7 "Sinon qu'il ait accompli toute la loy de poinct en poinct;" -- "unless he has fulfilled all the law in every point."
8 "D'autant qu'ils font bien plus grand cas de leurs traditions humaines, que des commandemens de Dieu;" -- "because they set far higher value on their human traditions than on the commandments of God."
9 "Pource qu'il estime plus obeissance que tous les sacrifices du monde;" -- "because he esteems obedience more than all the sacrifices in the world."
10 "Vray est qu'entre les commandemens ceux qui parlent de la recognoissance que nous devons a Dieu tienent le premier degre;" -- "it is true that, among the commandments, those which speak of the acknowledgment which we owe to God hold the first rank."
11 "A faire examen pour cognoistre les personnes;" -- "to make a scrutiny for knowing persons."
12 Josephus says that there were five on each table, from which it must be inferred, that he considered the Fifth commandment as belonging to the First Table. His words are: He showed them the two tables, with the ten commandments engraven upon them, Five upon each table; and the writin was by the hand of God. -- (Ant. 3. 6, 8.) -- Ed.
13 "La fausse persuasion et presomption de ee ieune homme;" -- "the false conviction and presumption of this young man."
14 "Parquoy il est besoin de mettre quelque distinction, et recognoistre qu'il y a divers degrez d'amour en Dieu;" -- "wherefore it is necessary to state some distinction, and to observe that there are various degrees of love in God."
15 "Signifient du tout une mesme chose;" -- "mean entirely the same thing."
16 Que c'a este pour sonder et descouvrir un vice cache;" -- "that it was to search and discover a concealed vice."