22- JESUS AND ETERNAL LIFE, AS HE TAUGHT IN THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

Below are listed four places where the Lord Jesus deals with a question concerning eternal life.

Matthew 19:16- 'Good Master, what good thing shall I do , that I may have eternal life ?'
Mark 10:17- 'Good Master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?'
Luke 10:25- 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?'
Luke 18:18- 'Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?'

The passages in Matt. 19:16, Mark 10:17 and Luke 18:18 seems to be the same story and recorded by all three writers. They 'see the same thing or story'. Luke 10:25 is another incident that extends into the parable of the Good Samaritan.

All references ask the same question and all have the same response from the Lord. There is an entirely different approach, if you please, than that taken in the Gospel of John, where the emphasis is to believe and have life through his name. John 20:30-31

There certainly should be an awareness of this distinction and also the insight as to what the Lord is doing. This writer believes that the Lord knew beyond a shadow of doubt that no one could gain eternal life by keeping the commandments.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo, why did the Lord answer in this particular fashion ???

The Lord stated in Matt. 19:17 '….but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. The Lord here is drawing this man and his question out to a very critical test.

Notice, the Lord does not set the questioner straight, by telling him, Don't you know that you can not inherit eternal life ? cf. Matt. 5:5 The Lord certainly used this terminology when he taught the disciples about inheriting everlasting life in Matt. 19:29

After stating his answer to the questioner, another question is given : 'Which' ? That is, which commandments are you talking about ? So, Jesus names half of the Decalogue :

Thou shalt do no murder Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17

Thou shalt not commit adultery Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18

Thou shalt not steal Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19

Thou shalt not bear false witness Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20

Honour thy father and thy mother Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16

And the portion in Leviticus 19:18b :

…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self…

It would seem that Lev. 19:18b would have covered the five commandments listed as they seem to in another context, Matt. 22:34-40. But that must be another study.

The response of this young man is : All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet ? We do not have the Lord calling this man a liar. That is, no one can keep the law, and yet this young man claimed that he did. To be cognizant of the true intent of this man's statement, he like Paul in Phil. 3:6b, speaks of the ability of obser- ving the law through the sacrifices on behalf of a person who did not keep the law totally, completely and fully.

EVEN SO, the man acknowledges that in his keeping of the law, he still lacked. He was not sure what he lacked. There was something that he lacked that should/might/could give him a sense of possessing a life he did not have. That life was the eternal life, he approached the Lord about. The Lord, as the great teacher, brings this man to the realization of his own short comings, having kept the law and still seeking, seeking what now is obvious : the law did not offer it, keeping the law did not obtain it. The Lord then points to a direction for completeness, wholeness, perfection.[ These terms are relative as they are used in the context of acknowledged sin. ]

Jesus answers by giving another level of learning concerning life : If thou wilt be perfect,

Go sell that thou hast
Give (the proceeds ) to the poor
(and thou shalt have treasure in heaven)
Come, follow me ( and you'll get to know me and my claims, even as found in John's Gospel)

This man went away without finding for what he was searching, because he had great possessions. He had a poor value system. IF, this young man had made a move to go, sell and be willing to give it all away, he may have been stopped by the Lord from doing that very thing. Why? Possibly, because if you are rich, and already know the limitations of the riches as far as eternal life is concerned, you may keep them and use them for God's service and glory. But as the Lord states in the following context, this does not usually happen. And, possibly, when one arrives at the needed level of faith-maturity, there comes with it the realization that money and riches are neutral, it is the love/lust for these riches that corrodes and corrupts a person's mind and philosophy.

The Lord then states that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The rich man had asked about eternal life. Jesus here makes eternal life equal to entering the kingdom of heaven. 19:23-24. He also makes the kingdom of heaven the same as the kingdom of God.

The disciples were shocked by the discussion. They ask, 'Who then can be saved ? Matt. 19:25. Can this make eternal life, entering the kingdom of heaven and saved, all equal terms in this larger conversation and context? It would seem to be true here. We need to be aware of other passages that may have a different perspective on these definitions.

The Lord brings their thinking to a contrast between the impossibilities of mankind in attaining salvation and a sovereign God who graciously works to make all things possible in that very realm of salvation, eternal life, the kingdom of heaven and of God.

Who can study the Bible and not find this anything but challenging to the mind and exciting to the soul.?

Return to Index of Jerry's Writings

e-mail Jerry Sterchi