{"id":3165,"date":"2014-02-28T19:58:37","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T01:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=3165"},"modified":"2025-07-01T07:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T13:21:17","slug":"matthew-1916-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=3165","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 19:16-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

16\u00a0Now behold, one came and said to Him, \u201cGood\u00a0Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

17\u00a0So He said to him,\u00a0\u201cWhy do you call Me good?\u00a0No one\u00a0is\u00a0good but One,\u00a0that is,\u00a0God.\u00a0But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

18\u00a0He said to Him, \u201cWhich ones?\u201d\u00a0Jesus said,\u00a0\u201c\u2018You shall not murder,\u2019 \u2018You shall not commit adultery,\u2019 \u2018You shall not steal,\u2019 \u2018You shall not bear false witness,\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

19\u00a0\u2018Honor your father and\u00a0your\u00a0mother,\u2019\u00a0and, \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

20\u00a0The young man said to Him, \u201cAll these things I have kept from my youth.\u00a0What do I still lack?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

21\u00a0Jesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

22\u00a0But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

23\u00a0Then Jesus said to His disciples,\u00a0\u201cAssuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

24\u00a0And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

25\u00a0When His disciples heard\u00a0it,\u00a0they were greatly astonished, saying, \u201cWho then can be saved?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

26\u00a0But Jesus looked at\u00a0them\u00a0and said to them,\u00a0\u201cWith men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

This account also appears in Mark 10:17-27<\/span><\/a> (where it says that Jesus loved the young man) and in Luke 18:18-27 (where we learn that the young man was a ruler, perhaps a Pharisee)<\/h3>\n

good thing (v.16) \u2014 trying to enter the kingdom by his own merit<\/h3>\n

Why do you call Me good? (v.17) \u2014 As if to ask, “Have you really thought this through?” Jesus was making the point that only God is good. If the young man thought Him good, that mean he was referring to Jesus as God. Was he ready for that?<\/h3>\n

In addressing Jesus Christ as “Good Master,” the young man evidently meant to do Him honor, but Jesus points out the fact that only God is good. All men are sinners (Romans 3:12<\/span><\/a>). Therefore, if Jesus were only a man, He would not be good, in this absolute sense. If truly good, then He is God. After this solemn declaration, the Lord Jesus took the inquirer up on his own ground. The law promised life to those who kept it (Leviticus 18:5; Galatians 3:12<\/span><\/a>). So the Lord answered, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” This declaration was designed to show the man his inability to obtain life on that ground, for if conscience were active, he would realize he had already violated the law.<\/span><\/h3>\n

“He saith unto Him, Which?” This was clearly an attempt to evade the full force of the Lord’s words. In reply, Jesus quoted five of the principal commandments and concluded by summing up all of those that refer to our duties to our fellow-men by quoting from Leviticus 19:18, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” It would indicate an unawakened condition of soul if one could face all these and not plead guilty. \u2014 Ironside, page 245.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Jesus listed the commandments (vs.18-19) that were displayed outwardly. The young man claimed to have kept those.<\/h3>\n

sell what you have and give to the poor (v.21) \u2014 Jesus showed that the young man hadn’t kept the commandments to love God with all his heart or to love his neighbor as himself.<\/h3>\n

The man’s response demonstrated that he was not righteous, for he was unwilling to fulfill the second table of the law and love his neighbor as himself. His response also revealed that he did not fulfill the first table of the law that forbade one to have gods above the true God. One’s god is what he serves, and this man loved and served his wealth. \u2014 Pentecost, pages 360-361.<\/span><\/h3>\n

rich man (v.23) \u2014 not necessarily one who has riches, but one who trusts in riches<\/h3>\n

Christ’s use of the word for a surgeon’s suturing needle indicated that His references to a camel and a needle were to be taken literally. The popular explanation that the eye of a needle referred to a small gate within the large city gate has no historical basis. Christ was not teaching that it is difficult for one who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom. He was showing that it was utterly impossible for one who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom. Such a teaching seemed inconceivable to the disciples who had been brought up on the philosophy that riches were a sure sign of divine pleasure and an evidence of God’s blessing. If the rich whom God loved and blessed and with whom He was pleased could not enter the kingdom, what chance was there for the multitudes? Christ responded, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). \u2014 Pentecost, page 361.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Lord’s point was that no man can gain eternity by his own merit or effort (v.26). It is impossible. But he can gain it through God.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16\u00a0Now behold, one came and said to Him, \u201cGood\u00a0Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?\u201d 17\u00a0So He said to him,\u00a0\u201cWhy do you call Me good?\u00a0No one\u00a0is\u00a0good but One,\u00a0that is,\u00a0God.\u00a0But if you want to enter … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3165"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9296,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions\/9296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}