New Testament Law

Luke 18:18-27

Luke 18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

18:21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

18:23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

18:24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

18:26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
[KJV]

There are a few possible interpretations of these verses:

1. Jesus was testing the young man to see if he was willing to follow Jesus.
2. Jesus was commanding those commandments which He stated in these verses.
3. Jesus was saying that people should follow the Ten Commandments.

Here is an analysis of these interpretations:

1. The young man came to Jesus and asked Him what he could do to get eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. Then the young man asked Him which commandments, so Jesus replied with some commandments. The young man said that he had kept all those commandments since he was a youth. Jesus told him to sell everything he owned, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jesus. This showed the young man that his treasure was on earth, not in heaven. The young man was too much in love with his riches to follow Jesus. Jesus showed him that his top priority was money and physical wealth. The young man actually preferred to be rich rather than to have eternal life.
2. A literal interpretation of these verses would mean that Jesus commanded people:
   • Do not commit adultery
   • Do not kill
   • Do not steal
   • Do not bear false witness
   • Honour thy father and thy mother
   • Sell all that thou hast
   • Distribute unto to the poor
   • Follow Jesus
3. Some people say that Jesus was commanding people to follow the Ten Commandments. There are two problems with this interpretation:
   1. Jesus didn't state all of the Ten Commandments, only five of them. Also, "Sell all that thou hast", "Distribute unto the poor", and "Come and follow Me" are not in the Ten Commandments.
   2. The Old Testament Law has been abolished. It doesn't make sense to say that Jesus was commanding Christians to follow a law that isn't in force any more.

Compare these verses with Matthew 19:16-26.