Not “command-“S”… Rather “ONE SPECIFIC COMMAND.”
What do you think THAT ONE Command…and it’s OBEDIENCE …
WAS THEN….IS NOW?
No not one command, the Ten Commandments, the covenant.
A young man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but
if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:16–17 (ASV).
Here is the setting;
A rich young ruler approached Jesus sincerely. He wanted eternal life. He believed there must be something he should
do. Jesus first pointed him to God as the only true source of goodness. Then Jesus gave a clear answer: if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.
The man then asked, “Which?” Jesus listed commandments from the law: Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother, and Love thy neighbor as thyself. These come from the Ten Commandments and from the law given through Moses.
This shows something important. Jesus did not say the commandments were gone. He did not say they no longer mattered. He connected eternal life with obedience to God’s commandments.
But the story does not stop there.
The young man said he had kept these from his youth. Then Jesus showed him where his heart was still attached. He told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions.
So what is the context teaching us?
Keeping the commandments is not only about outward actions. It is about the heart. The man kept many commandments outwardly, but his love for riches was greater than his love for God. Jesus exposed that. The first commandment is to have no other gods before the Lord. For that man, wealth had become his god.
Jesus’ words show that entering life requires obedience to God, and that obedience must be real, from the heart, not only in appearance. It also shows that following Jesus is not separate from the commandments. To follow Him is to obey God fully.
In simple words: eternal life is not gained by empty words. It is walked in by those who keep God’s commandments and are willing to let go of anything that stands between them and God.