In part 1 we examined the only occurrence of the phrase eternal life in the Old Testament, Daniel 12:2. In that context eternal life was a reward given to the righteous after they were resurrected.
Today we’re moving on to the first occurrence in the New Testament, Matthew 19:16.  It is part of the story commonly known as the Rich Young Ruler and occurs in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30). One thing we need to remember here is that the focus of this story is not eternal life. This story focuses on the things that keep us from experiencing eternal life because we value them above God.
Yet, we learn something about the nature of eternal life. In Jesus’ answer to the man we learn three things. These are adapted from Matthew: From Biblical Text to Contemporary Life (NIV Application Commentary Series) by Michael J. Wilkins. (1) Eternal life is a way of living different from the normal humans experience (Matthew 19:17). Jesus doesn’t, at this point, clarify the nature of this life. It is only clear that it’s different from the life the young man is experiencing. (2) Eternal life is closely associated with the Kingdom of Heaven/God. They are not one and the same, but you can’t have one without the other. (3) Eternal life is part of salvation.
As you can see, the New Testament has expanded our view of eternal life. The gift is not only received at the resurrection, all who are saved experience it. It is a type of life different from the normal life experienced by humanity and is closely related to the Kingdom of God.
What other differences do you see from Daniel’s portrayal of eternal life and the Gospels’ presentations here?
This entry was posted
on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Bible & Theology.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
bob burnside
Bryon,In Daniel’s(12:2)the portrayal of eternal life, he simply describes two places, Heaven & Hell.I noticed in The New Testament when the men asked Jesus (calling Him teacher) that they were looking for a particular formula to enter into eternity, Was Jesus trying bring these men to an understanding, that a life lived with self-serving motives will not get you there.Jesus said to the three -keep the commandments,sell what you have,give to the poor,follow me.
http://bryonharvey.com BryonHarvey
Bob – In one sense our motivation to follow Jesus is always going to be self-serving. We all follow Jesus because we want a better life here and to spend eternity with Him rather than in hell. In general, Christ-followers don’t like to admit that but it’s true. At the same time, however, we have to be sure to put God first in our lives or we will never experience the life that he has for us.
With regard to the commands, each one was intended to teach the young man something specific that would guide him to eternal life. (1) Keeping the commandments pointed to the fact that God is truly good. (2) The command to sell his possessions helped him to see that he had put his money before God. (3) The command to follow Jesus was a command to live the life that Jesus modeled which is His command to all who trust Him.
Eternal Life (Part 2)
In part 1 we examined the only occurrence of the phrase eternal life in the Old Testament, Daniel 12:2. In that context eternal life was a reward given to the righteous after they were resurrected.
Today we’re moving on to the first occurrence in the New Testament, Matthew 19:16.  It is part of the story commonly known as the Rich Young Ruler and occurs in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30). One thing we need to remember here is that the focus of this story is not eternal life. This story focuses on the things that keep us from experiencing eternal life because we value them above God.
Yet, we learn something about the nature of eternal life. In Jesus’ answer to the man we learn three things. These are adapted from Matthew: From Biblical Text to Contemporary Life (NIV Application Commentary Series)
by Michael J. Wilkins. (1) Eternal life is a way of living different from the normal humans experience (Matthew 19:17). Jesus doesn’t, at this point, clarify the nature of this life. It is only clear that it’s different from the life the young man is experiencing. (2) Eternal life is closely associated with the Kingdom of Heaven/God. They are not one and the same, but you can’t have one without the other. (3) Eternal life is part of salvation.
As you can see, the New Testament has expanded our view of eternal life. The gift is not only received at the resurrection, all who are saved experience it. It is a type of life different from the normal life experienced by humanity and is closely related to the Kingdom of God.
What other differences do you see from Daniel’s portrayal of eternal life and the Gospels’ presentations here?
Tags: Bible, eternal life, Gospel, Matthew, Michael J. Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, Theology
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Bible & Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.