What's the point of the tenth commandment?
score:6
In the story of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus asks the man what commandments he has kept from his youth. He responds with the complete "second table" - i.e. those command which represent man's duty to man, rather than his duty to God - minus one. The young man admits that he hadn't lied, killed, stolen, committed adultery, and honored his parents - but doesn't mention that he avoid covetousness. And, Jesus knew this about him.
That is why Jesus told the young man, "Go, sell all that you have, and follow me."
In telling the young man to divest himself of all he owned, he was telling the young man that he must learn to lean on God, and not his own power.
Stealing says, "Things should be mine." It is a kind of pride that says "I deserve this." God says, "I have given you what you need."
Covetousness says, "If only I had the resources, I could meet my own needs." God says, "I am your only need." It is not a sense of entitlement - It is a sense of self-sufficiency, the opposite of the interdependent relationship that God would have.
The "point" of the prohibition on covetousness was simply this - God is all we need. Absent God, we can never have what we need to live a full life. With God, we need nothing else.
Upvote:1
I believe the point he is trying to get across here is that one should really be following the spirit of the commandments, not the letter of them. If you get the point, he really doesn't need to go on through all 10 of them.
Upvote:2
A lot of the commandments are redundant. Jesus sums it up pretty well in Matthew.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
That last line is saying the other commandments are related to 1) Love God and 2) Love People. So you're right in saying that some commandments are covered by other ones.
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