Bible Study on Matthew 19, verses 13 to 22, what good thing shall I do

 

Matthew 19:13 ¶  Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15  And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

 

Here it is worthwhile to go back to chapter 18 and read the chapter and my comments. I suggest again that one possibility for this emphasis on children is that we will all be children in Heaven. It makes a lot of sense as in not being given in marriage and some of the statements in Matthew in particular.

 

Notice how suffer is used by contrasting it with forbid them not? It means to allow, to permit.

 

Matthew 19:16 ¶  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17  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. 18  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, 19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21  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. 22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

 

Verse 16 underscores that there was an understanding that eternal life, life after death, was a possibility but had to be received somehow. Clearly not a Sadducee who did not believe in eternal life he used the phrase Good Master which John Gill said was much used when speaking to teachers, called Rabbis.

 

Jesus quotes back at him from what I think may be 1Samuel 2:2;

 

1Samuel 2:2  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

 

He then tells the person that he should keep the commandments if he wants to inherit eternal life.

 

Deuteronomy 6:25  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

 

This teaches us that while eternal life might not be specifically promised in the Old Testament, under the Law given to Moses, it was implied as understood by the Jews. I’ve already gone over how frequently the resurrection from the dead was mentioned in the Old Testament.

 

See this verse on a physical resurrection from Job, written between 1500 to 2000BC.

 

Job 19:25  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

 

And a thousand years later see this verse on a physical resurrection from Isaiah.

 

Isaiah 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

 

And then, a few hundred years later, as Daniel writes under the reigns of the last Babylonian emperors and the first Persian.

 

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Jesus then restates some commandments, teaching us that the following is a reference to murder of an innocent person not killing in self-defense.

 

Exodus 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

 

The young man swears that he has been fastidious in observing those principles. However, Jesus tells him to go one step further and to give all that he has to the poor. This was specifically said because the young man had great wealth. This isn’t saying that every Christian must make himself impoverished and be a beggar to follow Christ. This is a statement about how the wealthy love their wealth and will do almost anything to keep from parting with it. Follow along as Jesus continues and explains to His disciples what was just stated to the wealthy man.