Matthew 19:16-19

[mystic]

Note: mystic posted this on another thread, however I am moving it to the correct category. Dan 

I wonder why Christ advised only on these 6 commandments and why not the other 4?

“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

[jimmie]

1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

[alon]

Aug 17, 2020 4:29:23 GMT -8 mystic said:

I wonder why Christ advised only on these 6 commandments and why not the other 4?

“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

That’s an insightful question. jimmie gave a great answer, very concise and biblically based. Another short (if somewhat dismissive) answer would be “In Jewish tradition, as in our own when citing complete texts are not necessary to either make thew point or to connect with the message. But this touches on a much larger teaching.

FIrst off, In Jewish tradition these are not always called 10 Commandments. “Comadments” in Hebrew is מצות mitzvot, from תוה tsavah “to command, order, charge.” In Hebrew this list is often called עשרת הדיברות aseret hadibrot, ten utterances, sayings, proclamations, words.

In Deuteronomy, דברים devarim, meaning “words” Moses addresses a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. In this Moses restates and explains the aseret hadibrot:

Deuteronomy 5:6-9, 11a,12,16-21 (ESV)
6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before [besides] me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [key words here are תַעֲשֶׂ֥ה ta’aseh, to make, and פֶ֣֙סֶל֙ pesel, and idol- “you are not to make an image or an idol of anything in the heavens, earth, or sea.” That’s all possible domains from which to pick an image, and we are forbidden to do it.]
9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain," [לַשָּׁ֑וְא lashva, “vain” means unnecessarily: H7723  שַׁו  שָׁוְא shâv'  shav desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjectively), uselessness (as deceptive, objectively; also adverbially in vain): - false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity. basically it’s saying “do’t take the Name of God without purpose.”]
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 “‘You shall not murder [לֹ֥֖א תִּֿרְצָֽח lo te’ratsach, also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence].
18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19 “‘And you shall not steal.
20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [וְלֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁוְא v’lo ta’aneh v’riacha ad shav, do not carry a vain (false) witness against your neighbor; what’s important here is we see this word שָֽׁוְ shav which previously we saw as speaking the Lord’s name in vain, now we see it speaking of someone else in vain.] 
21 “‘And you shall not covet (חְמֹ֖ד chamad, delight in, lust after, desire) your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’

Protestants, Catholics, and Jews have different lists. In Jewish tradition, the first is “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” That is more a statement of fact than a commandment, which one reason in Hebrew these verses are called aseret hadibrot, 10 words, or utterances.

Here are the different lists of the 10 Commandments of the three major religions:

Jewish
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them;
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother;
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, wife, servants, ox, ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Protestant
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain:
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother:
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, wife, servants, ox, ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Catholic
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember thou keep the Sabbath Day.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

Basically Catholics and Protestants share the same list, except Catholics dropped the 2nd about idolatry and split the 10th into two separate commandments. Jews, as noted start with “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” Protestants and Catholics both start with “I am the Lord your God; Thou shalt have no gods before me.” But they split this command into two parts, thus eliminating “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” from the list and allowing them both to call these "commandments" only.

Note the first four from the Jewish list have to do with our relationship with God. The last six deal with our relations with others. …

[alon]

Your question is basically why did Yeshua list the ones about others and not the ones about God. There was a similar encounter elsewhere, with basically the same question:

Luke 10:25-28 (NASB) And a lawyer [νομικός nomikos, an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

Jesus asked him “How do you understand Torah?” because he was an expert in it. He gave the right answer, the same one Yeshua gave elsewhere when asked which commandment was at the core of Torah. His question was about ζωήv αἰώνιοv zōēn aiōnion, eternal life. Now many read right past this without grasping the significance. Christian doctrine would say “believe in the Son of Man” or “follow Yeshua” is how we attain eternal life. But Yeshua’s own answer was “keep the commandments of Moses and you will live.” But the part Yeshua focuses on in this is one's relationship with HaShem. Why did He reference this part of the commandments? Because the question came from a Torah scholar asking how to attain ζωήv αἰώνιοv zōēn aiōnion, eternal life, and his focus was on a more concise interpretation, the core element of what we call "salvation."

Matthew 19:16-19 (ESV) And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The young man asked the same basic question about ζωήv αἰώνιοv zōēn aiōnion, eternal life. Again Yeshua says “keep the commandments.” Now as you noticed, Yeshua lists only the second part of the 10 Commandments. However they were not in proper order, and He adds Lev 19:18- “love your neighbor as yourself” (which is not part of the Ten Commandments).

Matthew 19:20-22 (ESV)  The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect [τέλειος teleios], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This guy was obedient to the aseret hadibrot, but he wanted to know what he was missing. In essence, how could he become perfect? Yeshua told him how to be τέλειος teleios, “complete, perfect, blameless.” In Hebrew this is תמים tamim. Yeshua in using this term was alluding to several Torah passages the man would have recognized. God told Abraham to be “perfect” (Gen 17:1), Noah was described this way (Gen 6:9), and the Psach lamb was to be “perfect and without blemish” (Ex 12:5). This is what it means to be “complete.”

Deuteronomy 18:13 (ESV) You shall be blameless (תָּמִים tamim) before the Lord your God,

Leviticus 19:2 (ESV) “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy קדשים qodashim, for I the Lord your God am holy.

תָּמִים tamim, “blameless” and קדשים qodashim “holy” are not the same, but they are related concepts. Israel was to be blameless, to be perfect, without spot or defect; but then HaShem told them to take it to another level, קדשים qodashim, to be holy; be different, distinct, set apart. That’s what the extra “word” Yeshua gave this young man was about. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It pointed to the rest of Torah (not just the aseret hadibrot)  and its meaning, as well as His words explaining this:

Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV) And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

So two questions, essentially the same, but two different answers each addressing the focus of the person asking. Together these give us both the elements in this reply to a similar question.

The young man in Mat 19 was asking about a higher level of obedience. Yeshua told him to give all his wealth, which was holding him back. This is not easy, and whatever holds each of us back may be different. Now eternal life does not depend on perfection, which implies being like the Almighty. Yeshua alluded to this point when He said “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good." Obedience, which is much more achievable is what’s required. Strict holiness is always something we should strive for, even knowing we’ll never achieve it. But that is what we are called to do.

The answer to your question then is, when we look at this in context with the entire passage, and with all Yeshua said, as well as in the context of Torah, we see Yeshua is here dealing with a particular aspect of a larger question. So He quotes those instructions that emphasize His point. But to understand what He says, we must understand that larger question, its significance (which I only touch on here), its context in scripture, as well as a bit about how 1st cen Jews expressed themselves. Otherwise we’d be like most people and just sail right past this important point.

[mystic]

Nothing more for me to ask on this, very well explained, thanks!

However, I am confused why there should be different lists for different religions, is it because the different religions created their lists based on their interpretation of the 10 commandments or was it a language issue?

[alon]

Aug 20, 2020 4:14:37 GMT -8 mystic said:

Nothing more for me to ask on this, very well explained, thanks!

However, I am confused why there should be different lists for different religions, is it because the different religions created their lists based on their interpretation of the 10 commandments or was it a language issue?

In the case of the Catholics, they simply deleted the part about making and worshiping idols, for obvious reasons. Then to keep the count at 10 they split up the last commandment.

In the case of the Jews they, as I said don't always call them the 10 Commandments, but rather the 10 Words, or Ten Instructions. Also they consider this to be tied to the Shema, which comes in the next chapter. So they take a little different view on this passage. It's like I have been saying in the parashot this year: Torah is not "The Law." That is a Christian view. It is "Instructions." But since Christians think of the OT as all about laws, they have to have 10 Commandments. Since Jews have "10 Words," they don't have to parse this out so i sounds like God is "laying down the law." He gave the new generation intructions, and He told them why:

Deu 5:33b "... and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess."

Dan C

[mystic]

I am not understanding the difference between law and instructions here, seems to me they both one and the same. For if you don't follow the instructions there will be consequences, same as if you break a law?

[alon]

Aug 22, 2020 3:57:52 GMT -8 mystic said:

I am not understanding the difference between law and instructions here, seems to me they both one and the same. For if you don't follow the instructions there will be consequences, same as if you break a law?

We were told the consequences as a warning. When we see a child reach for a hot burner, we tell them not to do that, and that if he does he'll get a "bad owie." There is no law saying don't grab a hot burner. But the consequences will be inevitable. So when God says "Obey that you may live long in the land," that's not a law either. But He did promise the Hebrews He'd reward them if they obeyed. He also said He'd kick 'em out if they disobeyed. That too was a promise. But He did not say "You WILL obey or else!" It's our choice. He is long-suffering, and many times has delayed His wrath. But if it was a law, soon as they broke covenant the penalty would follow. Now there are laws; for example if you ambushed and killed someone and were found guilty in court, you would be stoned to death. But most of Torah is instructions on how to live. And we all mess that up, but as it's not laws per-se, the consequences can be mitigated .

Dan C 

[mystic]

Great info above, one for my notes, thanks!

[jimmie]

Aug 22, 2020 3:57:52 GMT -8 mystic said:

I am not understanding the difference between law and instructions here, seems to me they both one and the same. For if you don't follow the instructions there will be consequences, same as if you break a law?

Law Vs. Instruction
If you know alon and myself very well through our posts you know that I tend to use LAW more while alon uses INSTRUCTION more when talking about what God tells us.
I have recently studied Ps 119 and counted how the psalmist refers to what God tells us. He uses WORD (39), LAW (25), COMMANDMENT (23), STATUTE (23), JUDGEMENT (22), TESTIMONIES (21), PRECEPT (20), WAYS (7), RIGHTEOUNESS (5), SALVATION (5), TRUTH (3), THY NAME (1), KNOWLEDGE (1), AND ORDINANCE (1) to describe what God tells us. In truth it is not Law Vs. Instruction, for they are one and the same thing but neither quite gives us the full picture of what God is saying to us as attested to by the psalmist.
P.S. Please check my count.