Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 19:18-19

"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, Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." — Matthew 19:18-19 (ASV)

The questioner ventures to ask, “Which?” Did he suppose that certain ceremonial precepts would be mentioned? Probably he did, for he felt himself quite sure upon all the points of the moral law. Our Lord, however, gives him nothing new, but turns to the ancient Decalogue. He quotes the second table of the law first and begins with commands which would appear to the young man to be the mere commonplaces of morality.

The last-quoted command summarized the rest, and it ought to have opened the questioner’s eyes to his shortcomings, for who has loved his neighbor as himself? The young aristocrat was not, however, convicted of sin. He pressed his inquiry as to salvation by works because he thought himself on the road to winning it.