A Young man came to Jesus as he went about doing good, preaching the gospel and healing the sick, and said unto him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" The question indicated that this young man regarded eternal life as something to be attained in the future, and he desired to know of the Master whether, according to his teachings, he had done all that was required of him. He believed that of himself it was possible to do some good thing whereby he might receive, because he deserved, the greatest of blessings. He evidently believed that he would be able to do all that was necessary, if he had not already done so; but if anything had been left undone he desired to know what it was. He was a good man as he regarded himself and he was no doubt proud of the fact that he had kept all the commandments from his youth up. However, he was not sure that he had done all that was required of him, and he asked, "What lack I yet?"
The Master first of all rebuked the sense of self-righteousness, saying. "There is none good but one, that is God," and then added. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Jesus did not tell him of some good thing which if he would do he would receive eternal life as a reward for his well-doing. He simply said, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments;" in other words, make use of the way which has been provided from the foundation of the world.
The young man's question was not answered in the way he had expected and hoped it would be. His concept of eternal life was very different from that of the Master. He regarded it as a reward to be bestowed at some future time, because of good deeds done while on earth. Possibly he questioned whether those who did not attain unto the measure of goodness he had attained would receive the reward which would be his. He would give something in exchange for life, or at least he would do that which would make him deserving. His view of the question was a self-centered one; he had not learned how to deny himself, nor seen the necessity for doing so. He evidently did not conceive of existence from which the thought of self had been eliminated.
