“Good Teacher,
what good thing shall I do
that I may have eternal life?”
(Matthew 19:16)
Seems like a good question for
Anyone to ask…
And yet Jesus saw right through
The young man who asked Him
The question
So let us look at this question
And examine what it says
“Good Teacher”
Surely a statement of respect
The man is acknowledging Jesus
As a Teacher
One who deserves to be listened to
And a “Good Teacher”
Perhaps better than the other
Teachers of the Scriptures
Like the Pharisees and Sadducees
“So He said to him,
“Why do you call Me good?
No one is good but One,
that is, God.”
(Matthew 19:17)
Look at the reply that Jesus
Gave this young man
“Why do you call Me good?”
Now, in a way, I have suggested a
Reason for the young man doing this
A term of respect and endearment
But then Jesus adds this:
“No one is good but One,
that is, God”
ONLY God is Good
ONLY God is worthy to be called Good
But wait a minute…
Don’t we believe that Jesus IS God?
YES we do…
And Jesus KNEW that He was God
So in a way, Jesus is asking a trick question:
“Do you really believe Me to be God
Or do you just believe Me to be a mere MAN?”
So…
“Good Teacher,
what good thing shall I do
that I may have eternal life?”
(Matthew 19:16)
“what good thing shall I do
that I may have eternal life?”
The young man is looking “to DO’ something
Notice that the emphasis is on WHAT
He can DO for himself…
Other than recognising Jesus as a Good Teacher
The young man is NOT looking to Jesus
To provide him with eternal life
He thinks that he can achieve
Eternal life himself…
By doing some “good thing”
And THIS is the problem for MOST people
People think that THEY can DO enough
By themselves, to GAIN eternal life
Which is why Jesus is the
ONLY Saviour of the world
As eternal life is a FREE GIFT
That ONLY He can give to all who will
Believe and trust in Him
And when we trust and believe in Jesus
There is NOTHING that we would withhold
From Him…
Which is why the young man went away
Sorrowful when he heard what Jesus said:
“If you want to be perfect,
go, sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, follow Me.”
(Matthew 19:21)
NOW, Jesus does not say that to everyone
But if He did…
We would…
Wouldn’t we…?