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Translation
King James Version
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Complete Jewish Bible
The man asked him, "Which ones?" and Yeshua said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony
Berean Standard Bible
“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
American Standard Version
He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
World English Bible Messianic
He said to him, “Which ones?” Yeshua said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’
Geneva Bible (1599)
He sayd to him, Which? And Iesus sayde, These, Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt not commit adulterie: Thou shalt not steale: Thou shalt not beare false witnesse.
Young's Literal Translation
He saith to him, `What kind?' And Jesus said, `Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness,
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Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers . Public domain.
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Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 15.13
These commandments are sufficient for someone entering on the ground level of the path of eternal life. But they are not sufficient to lead one to the higher life, and certainly not to perfection. One who fails in just one of these commandments cannot even enter the beginnings of life. Anyone who wishes to enter the early stages of the path of life must be free from adultery and murder and any kind of theft. For just as the adulterer and murderer will not enter into life, so neither will the thief. Many of those who are said to believe in Christ are guilty of this sin. Just look at their daily business and the way money is entrusted to them and the crafts they practice.
Hilary of Poitiers (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 367
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
The infants are a type of the Gentiles, to whom salvation is rendered by faith and hearing. But the disciples, in their first zeal for the salvation of Israel, forbid them to approach, but the Lord declares that they are not to be forbidden. For the gift of the Holy Ghost was to be conferred upon the Gentiles by laying on of hands, as soon as the Law had ceased.
Hilary of PoitiersAD 367
Commentary on Matthew 19.5
This young man has grown impudent from studying the law. He is worried about his salvation. Jesus sends him back to the law so that he might understand that, in the very thing in which he takes pride, he has as yet done no righteous work. For the Lord answered him with the words of the law. But the young man, like the boastful and impudent people of whom he is a type, put his trust in the law, but he did not really comply with it at all. For they had been ordered not to kill, yet they had killed the prophets. They knew they were not to commit adultery, yet they had brought corruption on the faith and adultery on the law and had worshiped other gods. They knew not to steal, yet by stealth they had dissolved the commandments of the law, before Christ restored the freedom of believing in the faith. They knew not to bear false witness, yet they denied that Christ rose from the dead. They were ordered to honor father and mother, yet they had separated themselves from the family of God the Father and their mother the church. They were ordered to love their neighbor as themselves, yet they persecuted Christ, who had assumed the body of us all and had become neighbor to each one of us by the condition of the assumed body; they persecuted him to the punishment of the cross. So the young man was ordered to cast off and cut out all these vices and to return to the law.
John Chrysostom (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 407
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(Hom. lxiii.) But I for my part, though I deny not that he was a lover of money, because Christ convicts him as such, cannot consider him to have been a hypocrite, because it is unsafe to decide in uncertain cases, and especially in making charges against any. Moreover Mark removes all suspicion of this kind, for he says that he came to Him, and knelt before Him; (Mark 10:17.) and that Jesus when He looked on him, loved him. And if he had come to tempt Him, the Evangelist would have signified as much, as he has done in other places. Or if he had said nothing thereof, Christ would not have suffered him to be hid, but would either have convicted him openly, or have covertly suggested it. But He does not this; for it follows, He saith unto him, Why askest thou me concerning good?
Wherein then was the profit that He answered thus? He leads him by degrees, and teaches him to lay aside false flattery, and rising above the things which are upon earth to cleave to God, to seek things to come, and to know Him that is truly good, the root and source of every good.
This he said not to tempt Him, but because he supposed that they were other than the commandments of the Law, which should be the means of life to him.
But because all the commandments that the Lord had recounted were contained in the Law, The young man saith unto him. All these have I kept from my youth up. And did not even rest there, but asked further, What lack I yet? which alone is a mark of his intense desire.
And because He spake of riches warning us to strip ourselves of them, He promises to repay things greater, by how much heaven is greater than earth, and therefore He says, And thou shalt have treasure in heaven. By the word treasure He denotes the abundance and endurance of the reward.
For they that have little, and they that abound, are not in like measure encumbered. For the acquisition of riches raises a greater flame, and desire is more violently kindled.
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 63
Therefore when Christ said, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," he saith, "Which?" Not tempting, far from it, but supposing there were some others besides those of the law that should procure him life, which was like one who was very desirous. Then since Jesus mentioned those out of the law, he saith, "All these things have I kept from my youth up." And neither at this did he stop, but again asks, "What lack I yet?" which itself again was a sign of his very earnest desire.
Jerome (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 420
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
He that asks this question is both young, rich, and proud, and he asks not as one that desires to learn, but as tempting Him. This we can prove by this, that when the Lord had said unto him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments, he further insidiously asks, which are the commandments? as if he could not read them for himself, or as if the Lord could command any thing contrary to them.
But because he had styled Him Good Master, and had not confessed Him as God, or as the Son of God, He tells him, that in comparison of God there is no saint to be called good, of whom it is said, Confess unto the Lord, for he is good; (Ps. 118:1.) and therefore He says, There is one good, that is, God. But that none should suppose that by this the Son of God is excluded from being good, we read in another place, The good Shepherd layeth down his life for his sheep. (John 10:11.)
For Our Saviour does not reject this witness to His goodness, but corrected the error of calling Him Good Master apart from God.
(cont. Vigilant. 15.) That Vigilantius asserts that they who retain the use of their property, and from time to time divide their incomes among the poor, do better than they who sell their possessions and lavish them in one act of charity, to him, not I, but God shall make answer, If thou wilt be perfect, Go and sell. That which you so extol, is but the second or third grade; which we indeed admit, only remembering that what is first is to be set before what is third or second.
For many who leave their riches do not therefore follow the Lord; and it is not sufficient for perfection that they despise money, unless they also follow the Saviour, that unless having forsaken evil, they also do what is good. For it is easier to contemn the hoard than quit the propensityb; therefore it follows, And come and follow me; for he follows the Lord who is his imitator, and who walks in his steps. It follows, And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sorrowful. This is the sorrow that leads to death. And the cause of his sorrow is added, for he had great possessions, thorns, that is, and briars, which choked the holy leaven.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Matthew
(Verse 18, 19.) But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, 'Which ones?' Jesus replied, 'You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.' This young man is tempting, and from this we can prove that when the Lord tells him, 'If you want to enter life, keep the commandments,' he deceitfully asks what those commandments are: as if he himself had not read them, or as if the Lord could command something contrary to God.
Cyril of AlexandriaAD 444
FRAGMENT 218
When Christ says to him, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments,” the man expects him to add immediately, “my commandments.” “Which ones?” he asks. He was quite deceived in his expectation. For Christ did not answer him as he expected but simply pointed him to the law. This is not because the law is perfection, for “no one is justified by the law,” as it is written, but because the life lived according to law is a kind of introduction to the eternal life, briefly acquainting trainees to the things above. “For the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ.” The law is the starting point for social justice. Christ is the perfection. For the beginning of good is to act justly, he says. Just action then is shown by the law, but goodness is shown by Christ. The law taught us to repay those who wish to harm us, as in “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” But Christ taught us to let go such balanced vengeance with a view to the greater good, teaching that “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well.”
Gennadius of Massilia (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 496
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(Gennadius, de Eccles. Dogm. 36.) It is good to distribute with discrimination to the poor; it is better, with resolve of following the Lord, to strip one's self of all at once, and freed from anxiety to suffer want with Christ.
Remigius of Rheims (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 533
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
These words prove that the Law gave to such as kept it not only temporal promises, but also life eternal. And because the hearing these things made him thoughtful, He saith unto him, Which?
And Jesus, condescending as to a weak one, most graciously set out to him the precepts of the Law; Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder; and of all these precepts follows the exposition, And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. For the Apostle says, Whoso loveth his neighbour has fulfilled the Law? (Prov. 13:10.) But it should be enquired, why the Lord has enumerated only the precepts of the Second Table? Perhaps because this young man was zealous in the love of God, or because love of our neighbour is the step by which we ascend to the love of God.
But to those who would be perfect in grace, He shows how they may come to perfection, Jesus saith unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go, and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor. Mark the words; He said not, Go, and consume all thou hast; but Go, and sell; and not some, as did Ananias and Sapphira, but All. And well He added, that thou hast, for what we have are our lawful possessions. Those therefore that he justly possessed were to be sold; what had been gained unjustly were to be restored to those from whom they had been taken. And He said not, Give to thy neighbours, nor to the rich, but to the poor.
Rabanus Maurus (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 856
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(e Bed. in Luc. Mat. 18:3.) This man had, it may be, heard of the Lord, that only they who were like to little children were worthy to enter into the heavenly kingdom; but desiring to know more certainly, he asks to have it declared to him not in parables, but expressly, by what merits he might attain eternal life. Therefore it is said And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?
See two kinds of life which we have heard set before men; the Active, to which pertains, Thou shalt not kill, and the rest of the Law; and the Contemplative, to which pertains this, If thou wilt be perfect. The active pertains to the Law, the contemplative to the Gospel; for as the Old Testament went before the New, so good action goes before contemplation.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Matthew 19:18 captures a pivotal moment in Jesus' interaction with a rich young man who seeks to inherit eternal life. In response to the man's inquiry about which commandments he must keep, Jesus begins to enumerate several specific prohibitions from the Decalogue, focusing on those related to ethical conduct towards one's neighbor: murder, adultery, theft, and false witness. This initial listing serves as a foundational reference point, setting the stage for Jesus to reveal the deeper, more radical demands of true discipleship and the limitations of mere outward obedience to the Law.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The passage employs Enumeration as Jesus lists specific commandments, providing a clear and direct response to the young man's query. This technique serves to highlight the foundational moral principles that Jesus is referencing from the Old Testament Law. Furthermore, there is a subtle use of Irony in the young man's question "Which?", as he seemingly seeks a shortcut or a specific "good thing" to do, only to be met with a list of commandments he likely believed he had already perfectly kept. This sets up the dramatic irony of the subsequent verses where his self-righteousness is exposed by Jesus' radical demand. The commandments themselves function as Metonymy, where the specific prohibitions stand in for the broader ethical framework of the Law, particularly the principle of loving one's neighbor.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Matthew 19:18 serves as a crucial bridge, connecting the Old Testament Law to New Testament ethics and the radical demands of the Kingdom. While Jesus affirms the validity of the commandments, His interaction with the rich young ruler demonstrates that mere external adherence is insufficient for true righteousness or eternal life. The commandments listed—those pertaining to one's neighbor—underscore the inseparable link between loving God and loving humanity, a principle Jesus would later summarize as the "second great commandment." This passage implicitly teaches that the Law's purpose is not merely to provide a path to earning salvation, but to expose the depth of human sin and the need for a righteousness that transcends outward performance, ultimately pointing to Christ as the fulfillment of the Law.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Matthew 19:18 challenges us to look beyond a superficial understanding of righteousness and to examine the true condition of our hearts. The rich young ruler, confident in his outward obedience, represents many who believe that good deeds or adherence to rules are sufficient for gaining God's favor. However, Jesus' subsequent interaction reveals that true discipleship demands a radical, internal transformation and an unreserved commitment to Him, often requiring us to surrender our most cherished possessions or self-perceptions. This passage calls us to humility, recognizing that while God's moral law is timeless and good, our ability to perfectly fulfill it is flawed, highlighting our need for grace. It prompts us to consider whether our obedience stems from a genuine love for God and neighbor, or from a desire to earn something.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Jesus only list some of the Ten Commandments, and not all of them?
Answer: Jesus' selection of commandments in Matthew 19:18-19 is strategic. He focuses on the "second table" of the Decalogue—those commandments that govern human relationships and duties to one's neighbor (murder, adultery, theft, false witness, honoring parents, and loving your neighbor as yourself). By doing so, Jesus was likely probing the young man's heart, starting with the areas where he felt most confident in his obedience. This emphasis on horizontal relationships (human to human) serves to set up the ultimate challenge of the "first table" (human to God) in the form of the radical command to sell his possessions and follow Jesus, which tests his love for God above all else. Jesus' aim was not to give an exhaustive list of rules but to expose the young man's true spiritual condition and his ultimate idol.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Matthew 19:18 initially presents Jesus affirming the Old Testament Law, its deeper Christ-centered fulfillment lies in demonstrating the Law's inability to grant eternal life and its ultimate purpose in pointing to the need for Christ. The rich young ruler's confidence in his outward obedience to these commandments highlights humanity's inherent inability to achieve perfect righteousness through works, a theme powerfully articulated by Paul in Romans 3:20. Jesus, as the perfect embodiment of the Law, not only kept every commandment flawlessly (unlike the young ruler, who failed the ultimate test of selfless love in Matthew 19:21-22), but He also fulfilled its righteous demands on behalf of all who believe (Romans 10:4). The commandments Jesus lists here, which are about loving one's neighbor, are ultimately summarized and perfectly exemplified in Christ's sacrificial love on the cross (John 15:13). Thus, this passage, far from promoting legalism, subtly underscores the necessity of a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, who is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.