The Commands Jesus Confirms

18“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,’^c and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^d ” (Matthew 19:18-19)

Thoughts: Which of the commandments are we to keep to gain eternal life?  These are all the commandments regarding love of neighbor, the second table of the Ten Commandments.  For those who say that Jesus came to abolish the Law, Jesus reaffirmed the Law here specifically.  Holiness still has a place in Jesus' thought and in heaven.  Heaven is a holy place where evil toward others is not allowed.  To get to heaven we need to repent of doing these things.  But in the end, it is not stopping such things or even repenting that saves us.  No one keeps these perfectly. The Rich Young Ruler says he has "kept these things" but he has still not truly kept them.  He has not given to the poor and has let greed control him.  He cannot give up his wealth and as such he has broken the commandment to love his neighbor as himself. But he also broke other commands.  Greed certainly steals from others, but it can be indirectly involved in the death of others.  Greed or covetousness (which was not mentioned with these but is implied in all of them) can also cause us to lie to keep what we have or even to withhold from parents in honor of ourselves. The problem is that we feel better about ourselves than we really are.  We can easily get smug, thinking we are better than we are.  The Rich Young Ruler was better than most.  He gave sincere effort to being good, but perfection- the one thing that we lack- is always missing without grace.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your commands that have eternal meaning . Help me to rely on your grace to follow them and to be forgiven when I have failed.