Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Is Jesus "Good"?

Luk 18:18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Luk 18:23  And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
Luk 18:24  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Luk 18:25  For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Luk 18:26  And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
Luk 18:27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.



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I have seen that verse taken by Jehovah's Witnesses, and others, to be Jesus's own confession that He is not God....but is that really what is going on here? Is Jesus telling this young man that He is not God and therefore not "good"? Does He ever say "I am not God therefore I am not "good" "anywhere in the Bible?  If you can find that please let me know...

I was thinking about this last night as I drove up late and tired from work. I was thinking about the fact that I TRY to be "good", whereas Jesus JUST IS "good" (no trying, just is). And for that simple fact, I am grateful.

2 comments:

  1. Jesus IS the only good one. I love this passage as it shows that we are not born spiritually neutral. ALL have sinned.

    There is a comfort in that. Knowing that it is not up to me, I have a wonderful and good Savior and God:)

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  2. So true, Ma. The way I read this passage is that Jesus is asking the young man his reason for calling Jesus "good"... just to patronize Him? Or is it because only God is good therefore He is good.... and Jesus already knows the answer, but I don't think the young man realized what Jesus already knew. I find it interesting that he doesn't answer Jesus question, but he also doesn't call Him good anymore.

    The young man's focus is on himself, not on Jesus. He thinks himself good enough to earn heaven. Jesus shows that he isn't, and only God can make him good enough. Definitely a God is sovereign passage. :-)

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