![]() ![]() (1) It may be taken as guaranteeing national permanence to the people among whom filial respect and obedience is generally practised or (2) it may be understood in the simpler and more literal sense of a pledge that obedient children shall, as a general rule, receive for their reward the blessing of long life. That thy days may be long upon the land.-The fifth commandment (as all allow) is “the first commandment with promise” ( Ephesians 6:2) but the promise may be understood in two quite different senses. ![]() The Divine legislation of Sinai is in full accord, here as elsewhere, with the voice of reason and conscience, affirming broadly the principles of parental authority and filial submission, but leaving the mode in which the principles should be carried out to the discretion of individuals or communities. ![]() 8:12, § 5) and Rome made the absolute authority of the father the basis of its entire State system. Greek ethics taught that the relation of children to their parents was parallel to that of men to God (Aristot. Confucianism bases all morality upon the parental and filial relation, and requires the most complete subjection, even of the grown-up son, to his father and mother. 342, 343), and a bad son forfeited the prospect of happiness in another life ( ibid., pp. In Egypt the duty of filial piety was strictly inculcated from a very early date (Lenormant, Histoire Ancienne, vol. Even among savages the obligations of children towards their parents are felt and acknowledged to a greater or a less extent and there has never been a civilised community of whose moral code they have not formed an important part. Honour, reverence, and obedience are due to parents from the position in which they stand to their children :-(1) As, in a certain sense, the authors of their being (2) as their shelterers and nourishers (3) as their protectors and educators, from whom they derive the foundation of their moral training and the first elements of their knowledge. Of all our duties to our fellow-men, the first and most fundamental is our duty towards our parents, which lies at the root of all our social relations, and is the first of which we naturally become conscious. But, practically, the view that the fifth commandment begins the second table, which lays down our duty towards our neighbours, is to be preferred for its convenience, though it trenches upon symmetrical arrangement. That humble faith in Christ is the only path to eternal life (John 14:6 Ephesians 2:1–10).Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12) Honour thy father and thy mother.-It is not a matter of much importance how we divide the commandments nor is it historically certain how they were originally distributed between the two tables. God gives those who come to Him through faith in Jesus credit for Jesus' goodness instead of judging us based on our own goodness. He came to die on a cross in Jerusalem to pay for our sin. ![]() That trusting, dependent humility is something Jesus recently highlighted (Matthew 19:13–15). Understanding that we are not good, that we are sinful, is the first step toward understanding the gospel of Jesus: We need His goodness to be saved. Jesus wants this rich, young ruler to know that he is not truly good. Instead, He is exposing to this man that he cannot keep even these five commandments. Jesus begins to list five of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:18), ending with the two in this verse: Honor your parents, and love your neighbor as yourself.Īs with prior verses, Jesus is not saying that if a person could obey these five commands from God perfectly, they would receive eternal life. Perceptively, the man asks, "which commands?" Likely, he wanted to know if the additional commands added over the years by the Pharisees were necessary or only the commands of Moses. In other words, to commit no sins at all. He tells the man to keep the commandments if he would enter life. His intent is to walk through the question with the rich man from the perspective of Judaism. Jesus' response (Matthew 19:17) is not meant to be taken out of context. Jesus is subtly asking the man if he's willing to see Jesus as good-meaning to see Him as God-and obey accordingly (John 14:15). At the same time, Jesus' response sets the stage for the rest of the encounter. This is Jesus' first clue to the man that his own goodness will not be enough to save him. It is the essential question at the heart of nearly every religion. A wealthy young man (Luke 18:18 Matthew 19:20) is asking Jesus what good thing he must do to have eternal life, to be included in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:16). ![]()
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