In Luke’s account of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus responded to the ruler’s question regarding the inheritance of eternal life with this statement: “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Luke 18:20).
We know there were other commandments given by God to Israel. Why did Jesus single out these particular commandments to this young man?
These commands come from the Ten Commandments given to the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21). Israel was entering into a covenant with God at that time, and these commandments were the foundation of that covenant. Many other commands were spelled out in detail to Moses on the mountain, but these first ten were spoken to all the people and written down on tablets of stone as the basis of their conduct before God and one another as His people.
The first four of the Ten Commandments address man’s treatment of God. “You shall have no other gods before Me,” “You shall not make for yourself a carved image,” “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:3-4, 7-8). The remaining commandments, quoted by Jesus to the ruler, address man’s treatment of his fellowman.
The commandments regarding one’s fellowman granted the protection of certain rights to the people of God: the right to life (“do not murder”); the right to property (“do not steal”); the right to a good reputation (“do not bear false witness”); and the right to a homelife (“do not commit adultery”).
Jesus elsewhere taught that all the law of God was kept in loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:37-40). The commandments spoken to the ruler are the commandments that are kept by loving our neighbor as ourselves. Paul taught the same thing in Romans 13:9. “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The fifth of the Ten Commandments (which Jesus mentioned last to the ruler) concerns the way one is to treat their parents: “Honor your father and your mother.” This is a special commandment in that it establishes a principle that will guide a child into a prosperous adulthood. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth’” (Eph. 6:1-3). Children learn to honor and obey God by learning to honor and obey their parents. A parent who allows their child to dishonor them hates their child and sets them up for eternal destruction (Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 23:13-14).
We return to the original question: Why did Jesus only mention the commandments that have to do with the way we treat our fellowman? Aren’t all the commandments important? Why single out these commandments?
Several thoughts come to my mind, but let’s consider this fact – God cares about the way we treat one another. In fact, He judges the way we would treat Him by the way we treat others. When speaking of judgment on the last day, the saved are told, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). The reason they passed judgment is because they showed great kindness to the Lord when He was in need. When asked how they were able to do such things, the Lord explained, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (v. 40).
Loving our fellowman should not be difficult, for he was made in the image of God (Gen. 26-27; James 3:9). Loving our brother should be easier. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (1 John 4:11, 20-21).
Like the Rich Young Ruler, we “know the commandments.” We may be living under a new and better covenant, but except for the Sabbath Law, all these commandments are repeated in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we careful to follow them? Are we careful about how we are treating our fellowman?