In the phrase “to inherit eternal life” the focus is not so much on enjoying infinite duration in a diachronic continuum as it is on becoming free of the restraints of confusion, failure, and frustration so characteristic of mortality. Just as the analogy of space is sometimes used to describe human experience, as in “deep” convictions or feelings, “high” aspirations, or “broad” generalizations, so also the analogy of time is used to indicate a quality of experience, as in “passing” (insignificant) whims and “timeless” (unconditional) truths.

In the Old Testament (Eccl 8.17), as well as in the New Testament (1 Cor 2.5), life is a mystery beyond human understanding. On the one hand, it is recognized that the animate life (“of the flesh”) is related with blood (Gen 9.4), and on the basis of this principle the whole sacrificial system was developed (Lev 17.11).

But it is also recognized that life is a matter of less tangible elements, expressed as “breath,” “spirit,” or “being” (Gen 2.7). It is in this perspective that the creation of the world is described as a triumph of order over chaos, of light over darkness, and of productive life over the destructive primal void (Gen 1; Job 38.4‑33). God is the source of all life, and specifically of human life (Gen 2.7). He is the living God (1 Sam 17.36; Isa 37.17), who by his very nature is (Exod 3.14), and he is from everlasting to everlasting (Pss 90.2; 93.2; Jer 10.10).

Life is the gift of God to his creatures, and the enjoyment of life is consequently closely related to having a right relationship to God (Ps 23). The result is a kind of good news/bad news situation with the alternatives of promise and threat: repeatedly the Scriptures insist on the critical importance of loyalty and faith in God, of humility and integrity before him (Gen 22; Deut 28; Ps 1). Those who are obedient and faithful to God will enjoy a long life, freedom from all evils, and in a word, God’s salvation (Ps 91). Separation from God or disobeying his laws leads to destruction and death (Pss 2.2‑4; 73.27).

By tradition it was the Law given through Moses on Mount Sinai that revealed the will of God for his people. The importance of understanding the Law became paramount, and determining its proper application became a dominant concern for successive generations of leadership in the community. In the first century there were competing schools of interpretation led by outstanding rabbis such as Shammai, Hillel, and Gamaliel, among others. So it was only natural that Jesus would be questioned about his views on the Law.

According to the accounts in Matthew and Mark, it was specifically a scribe or a Pharisee who raised the question to Jesus as to which of the commandments he would rank as first in importance. The question was theoretical, and designed as a litmus test. Luke used this same incident from the traditions about Jesus, but he adapted it for a wider Hellenistic readership. He described the questioner more generically as a lawyer, and he recast the question in a less hypothetical and more practical, personal way: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In all three Gospels Jesus’ answer is the same: that the Law enjoins love of God and of one’s neighbor. But while in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark Jesus concludes by saying that this is the most important of the commandments, or that all the Law and the Prophets (that is, the whole Bible) are based on these two commandments, in the Gospel of Luke the conclusion is again more personal: “Do this, and you will live.” The contrast presented by Luke is between the lawyer, who wishes to achieve a quality of life by carefully observing some religious rules, and Jesus, for whom loving God and one’s neighbor is the way God’s will is realized on earth.