June 14

Matthew 19:16‑17
“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” —Matthew 19:16, 1716And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And 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. (Matthew 19:16‑17).
IN addressing Jesus Christ as “Good Master,” the young man evidently meant to do Him honor, but Jesus points out the fact that only God is good. All men are sinners (Rom. 3:1212They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)). Therefore, if Jesus was only a man, He was not good, in this absolute sense. If truly good, then He was God. After this solemn declaration, the Lord Jesus took the inquirer up on his own ground. The Law promised life to those who kept it (Lev. 18:55Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 18:5); Gal. 3:1212And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. (Galatians 3:12)). So the Lord answered, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,” This declaration was designed to show the man his inability to obtain life on that ground, for if conscience were active, he would realize he had violated the Law already.
“What must I do, has oft been asked,
Eternal life to gain?
Man anxious seem, for any task,
If this he may obtain.
But all the doing has been clone,
As God has clearly shown,
When by the off’ring of His Son,
His purpose He made known.
He laid on Him the sinner’s guilt,
When came th’ appointed day,
And by that blood on Calv’ry spilt,
Takes all our sins away.”
—Anon.