And then there was an intense eagerness in the manner of his coming. He "ran" to Him. He felt the business on which he came brooked no delay. It was pressing, urgent, vital business, and when he reached the Lord, regardless of all the proprieties, and careless of what his friends would think or say, he flung himself on his knees in the dust before Jesus. Other rich men who felt the influence of Jesus appear in frank and open courage to come far behind this young man. Joseph of Arimathea dared to plead his cause in the council, but we cannot imagine him bending the knee to Jesus in a public place. Indeed. from the absence of his name in the pages of the Gospel narratives until the end, he appears to have preferred to keep his discipleship secret for fear of the Jews. Still less can we imagine (Nicodemus doing this. He believed that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, but he never dared to come out openly with such a statement.
like Joseph, the honourable counsellor, probably had in mind his position and reputation. We cannot imagine Nicodemus falling on his knees before Jesus in the public street and calling Him "Good Master." All he dared to do was to come to Jesus secretly and by night. But this young man cast all considerations of dignity and social position io the winds. He risked his reputation, he risked the goodwill of. his friends. He felt that it was vital that he should know the secret of eternal life and that Jesus alone could tell him. And so down in the dust he went at the Lord's feet, braving all the shrugs and amusement of the onlookers, erying out, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life."
There is another whom we meet|* later in the New Testment who could and might have done this. Paul of Tarsus, who became Paul the Apostle. Indeed, the two men present many similarities in their early lives as recorded in these pages. Both, according to their light, had lived a morally blameless life. This young man tells Jesus, all the command-
Now, if we have rightly understood the character of this young ruler, and accurately portrayed it, why does he not meet with a more cordial reception from Jesus. The Lord's reply to his request is stern and cold, almost harsh. Now, why is this? This at least we can know with certainty. The reply can only be dictated by love and wisdom and from a desire io help him. Perhaps there was something superficial and ovér-emotional about this young ruler and Christ would check such a spirit by confronting it with the stern facts, the hardship and the sacrifices of the Christian life. We see a similarity in His dealings with the scribe who wished to enlist as His follower and to whom Jesus recounted the sacrifices entailed by discipleship, for "Foxes have holes and the birds the air have nasis, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." So to the young ruler's impassioned enquiry comes the seemingly cold answer, "Why callest thou me good, none is good save one, even God?" Mark these words carefully. They do not constitute a confession of imperfection on our Lord's part: rather, they are spoken with the purpose of challenging the young man to make a venture of faith. As though He would say, "You believe I can instruct you in the way of eternal life, are you able to venture further and see in Me the Way, the Truth and the Life?" And then our Lord proceeds to answer his question in a way that will test the inwardness of his motive in asking it. He refers him to the law of Moses. "Thou knowest the commandments:
l, Do not commit adultery, Do not bear false wit: and the young man these I observed from
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.