Matthew 19:19

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:16-22 Christ knew that covetousness was the sin which most easily beset this young man; though he had got honestly what he possessed, yet he could not cheerfully part with it, and by this his want of sincerity was shown. Christ's promises make his precepts easy, and his yoke pleasant and very comfortable; yet this promise was as much a trial of the young man's faith, as the precept was of his charity and contempt of the world. It is required of us in following Christ, that we duly attend his ordinances, strictly follow his pattern, and cheerfully submit to his disposals; and this from love to him, and in dependence on him. To sell all, and give to the poor, will not serve, but we are to follow Christ. The gospel is the only remedy for lost sinners. Many abstain from gross vices who do not attend to their obligations to God. Thousands of instances of disobedience in thought, word, and deed, are marked against them in the book of God. Thus numbers forsake Christ, loving this present world: they feel convictions and desires, but they depart sorrowful, perhaps trembling. It behoves us to try ourselves in these matters, for the Lord will try us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He saith unto him, Which? - In reply to the inquiry of the young man, Jesus directed him to the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and fifth Exodus 20:12-16, as containing the substance of the whole - as containing particularly what he intended to show him that he had not kept. See notes at Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:27.

Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder - See the notes at Matthew 5:21-26.

Thou shalt not commit adultery - See the notes at Matthew 5:27-32.

Thou shalt not steal - To steal is to take the property of another without his knowledge or consent.

Thou shalt not bear false witness - Give testimony contrary to truth. This may be done in a court of justice, or by private or public slander. It means to say things of another which are not true.

Honour thy father ... - That is,

1. Obey them, keep their commands, Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-3.

2. Respect them, show them reverence.

3. Treat their opinions with respect - do not despise them or ridicule them.

4. Treat their habits with respect. Those habits may be different from ours; they may be antiquated, and to us strange, odd, or whimsical; but they are the habits of a parent, and they are not to be ridiculed.

5. Provide for them when sick, weary, old, and infirm. Bear with their weakness, comply with their wishes, speak to them kindly, and deny yourselves of rest, and sleep, and ease, to promote their welfare.

To this he added another - the duty of loving our neighbor, Leviticus 19:18. This Christ declared to be the second great commandment of the law, Matthew 22:39. A neighbor means:

1. any person who lives near to us.

2. any person with whom we have dealings.

continued...

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Mt 19:16-30. The Rich Young Ruler. ( = Mr 10:17-31; Lu 18:18-30).

For the exposition, see on [1330]Lu 18:18-30.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 18,19. Mark addeth, defraud not, Mark 10:19, but Luke doth not put it in, Luke 18:20. Three things we may observe:

1. There are no commandments mentioned but those of the second table.

2. Nor are they reckoned up in order.

3. The tenth commandment is expressed by, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; which elsewhere our Saviour calls the second great commandment, and makes comprehensive of all the commandments of the second table.

We must not from our Saviour’s order here, in the enumeration of the commandments, either conclude that the precepts of the second table are greater than those of the first, or that it is enough to keep them in order to eternal life: nor yet, that the fifth commandment is lesser than the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, because it is put after them. But;

1. Our Saviour had reckoned up commandments enough to convince this man that he could not by keeping the commandments hope for eternal life.

2. He had reckoned those, by some of which he intended by and by to convince him that he had not kept the commandments.

3. And those of the non observation of which it was most easy to convince him.

4. The Pharisees looked upon these as the most vulgar and easy commandments.

5. Because love to our neighbour is an excellent evidence of our love to God.

As concerning the order in which they are enumerated, it was not our Saviour’s business here to show which was the greatest commandment; that he hath elsewhere determined, calling, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, &c., the first and great commandment: here he is not solicitous about the order.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Honour thy father and thy mother:.... This, as it is the first commandment with promise, so the first of the second table, and yet is here mentioned last; which inversion of order is of no consequence: so the "seventh" command is put before the "sixth", and the "fifth" omitted, in Romans 13:9 and with the Jews it is a common (c) saying, , "there is neither first nor last in the law": that is, it is of no consequence which commandment is recited first, or which last. Moreover, it looks as if it was usual to recite these commands in this order, since they are placed exactly in the same method, by a very noted Jewish (d) writer.

And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; which is not a particular distinct command from the rest, or an explication of the tenth and last, not mentioned; but a recapitulation, or compendium, and abridgment of the whole, and is said to be a complement and fulfilling of the law; see Romans 13:9.

(c) T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 6. 2. Zohar in Num. fol. 61. 4. (d) R. Sangari, Sepher Cosri, par. 3. sect. 11, fol. 146. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Bengel's Gnomen

Matthew 19:19. Τίμα, honour) Honour implies somewhat in addition to love.—τὸν πατέρα, thy father) It may be supposed that the young man in question had transgressed this more than the negative commandments; on which ground it is placed last.—τὸν πλησίον, thy neighbour) The Jews were peculiarly deficient in the love of their neighbour.—ὡς σεαυτὸν, as thyself) The love wherewith God loveth us, is the standard of the love wherewith we ought to love one another. God loves Titius as He does Caius: therefore Caius ought to love Titius as he does Caius, i.e., as himself.[868] Yet the love of the godly, like that of God, is not without discrimination of the good and the bad.[869]

[868] He who is endued with this love will evince it even to the child of beggars: he who is not endued with it will prefer himself to all men whatsoever, even to the elect of God.—V. g.

[869] Matthew 19:20. ἐκ νεότητός μου, from my youth) The reading which omits these words, however less probable it be declared by the margin of both Editions, has nevertheless been subsequently received into the Vers. Germ., the reasons on both sides being regarded by Bengel in a different light from what they had been.—E. B.

BL Vulg. Cypr. Iren, omit the words. But Dabc Orig. 3,669d, Hilary 704, retain them (D omitting μου). The words are plainly, I think, interpolated through Harmonies from Mark 10:20, Luke 18:21.—ED.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - Honour, etc. Lange considers that in this verse we have a summary of the two tables, "Honour thy father and mother," summing up the commandments of the first; and "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," those of the second (Leviticus 19:18). Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. St. Mark and St. Luke omit this clause; the latter adds, "Defraud not." According to our text, Christ gives four negative and two positive commands: the last being a summary taken from Leviticus 19:18 (comp. Romans 13:9, 10; Galatians 5:14). It has been questioned why our Lord omits the tenth commandment (as we call it) from the catalogue. Virtually he introduces it in ver. 21; but he may have refrained from formally mentioning it because covetousness was the ruler's besetting sin, and the marked omission of this precept might force the man to reflect upon this failing, which would wreck his spiritual life. On the other hand, it may be that Christ is not intending to give an epitome of man's duty; but affording merely an outline of the same, he naturally passes over some portion without special mention. Matthew 19:19