"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
In today's lesson, it is worthy to note that when the young rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus simply told him to obey the commandments.
We should keep in mind that during the time of His New Testament ministry, Jesus Himself, being a Jew, could only teach the rules of the old law, seeing that the new law of faith could not and would not be established until He had completed His soul saving sacrificial ordeal on the cross and had returned to the Father in heaven.
After the young man had professed that he had always kept the law, he was saddened when Jesus told him he must also sell all that he owned because the young man was very rich, he had more interest in His own physical wealth than he had in the welfare of his eternal soul.
Also in this lesson, Jesus went further to say; "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
Even today those who have more than an abundance of wealth tend to give themselves to the worship of that wealth over the worship of our Savior who holds the keys to heaven and life everlasting.
Jesus closed this lesson by telling Peter that salvation it is impossible for mortal man to accomplish his own salvation, but with God ALL things are impossible.~
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