Matthew 19 Footnotes

19:16-17 Jesus did not teach that eternal life is earned by keeping the commandments. Instead, the man had to follow Jesus (v. 21). Jesus began where the man was: a Jew seeking life and righteousness must look to the law. But Jesus sought to move him to a new understanding. It is not strict adherence to the law that leads to life, as the would-be follower himself realized, but submission to the Messiah and to the broader ethic of the law as defined by him. Matthew’s account tells us that this man was young (v. 22). Luke’s parallel narrative indicates that he was very rich (Lk 18:23) and that he was a ruler (Lk 18:18); thus, the characterization of this would-be follower of Jesus as the “rich young ruler.”