e goodness of God everlasting life would be impossible. In Mark’s passage it is Jesus who is referred to as being good. However, in Matthew’s passage it is the young man who is seeking goodness. In the passage Jesus makes reference to certain commandments. These commandments can be found in the book of Exodus 21, 12-16. The commandments, which God gave to Moses, were the rules that we should use to live our lives correctly. Jesus however tells us in this story that it is not good enough to just obey God’s commandments. We also should give all we have to those who have nothing if we desire to achieve everlasting life. In Deuteronomy 6, 16 we are told, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you, that you may have a long life and prosperity in the land which the Lord, your God is giving you.” Here we are told that if we honor our parents we will enjoy a long life in the land God gave us. This is heaven. The land given to us by God is the land of everlasting life. This verse emphasizes the fact that respecting our parents is part of what we need to do in order to gain everlasting life.After Jesus tells the young rich man to give all of his belongings to the poor and come follow him the man looks sad and goes away. Jesus then turned to his amazed disciples and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” They are extremely surprised because this statement can be seen as contradictory. In the certain passages in the Old Testament money and material goods are considered a gift from God. Psalm 128 is called The Happy Home of the Just and it discusses how those who walk in the way of the Lord will prosper and be happy. They will be granted such things as large families and a long life. Why in this psalm are those who are just granted wealth and luxury? Jesus tells the young, rich man he must rid himself of all those th...
