Introduction
In our first article, the ruler asked Jesus how he could have eternal life. Jesus told him only God is good and prompted him to consider his own goodness compared to God’s. The ruler’s response showed that money, and not God, had first place in his heart. In our last article, Jesus issued the ruler with a challenge. Sell all your possessions, give to the needy, and follow me. This was too much for the ruler. Jesus showed the ruler was placing his trust in his own efforts and not God. It is impossible for men to enter heaven through works. But for God, nothing is impossible. He made the way for our salvation. The ruler has left Jesus’ presence. But, after reflecting on Jesus’ words, the disciples wonder, “what about us?”.
What about us?
Let’s finish this passage and examine Jesus’ words to his followers.
And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”
Peter is imploring Jesus to see that they are not like the rich ruler. They have given up their possessions and followed as Jesus commanded. The Greek word translated as “see” in this verse is idou (ἰδού); which is often translated as “behold.” Peter wants Jesus to take notice of their sacrifice. This could mean that Peter doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying. Perhaps he’s thinking, “Jesus said we can’t get into heaven unless we give up earthly thing, and we have given up everything. What does that get us?” But, if Peter understands our works do not contribute to salvation, he could wonder if their sacrifices mean anything. This is how Jesus responds:
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Regardless of Peter’s motivation, Jesus is clear. God will bless you and you will receive eternal life if you will sacrifice for his kingdom. What is important is the motivation for your actions. Jesus does not promise riches or material blessing. Seeking only wealth, status, or safety makes you no different from the rich ruler. God wants us to trust him and be faithful to him.
Do not be anxious
This form of trusting goes beyond believing in Jesus for fire insurance; we must trust God for things we need. When we will leave behind earthly possessions and loved ones to follow Jesus, God will provide the things we need. Jesus teaches this principle in the sermon on the mount.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
This passage comes directly after the verses where Jesus says you cannot serve God and money; this is no accident. Jesus knows how hard it is for us to trust God. He wants us to know that God is a good father who cares for his children. We may not have all the riches or power we think we need, but God is faithful to provide what he desires for us. He wants us to trust that he desires good things for us, even though it is difficult sometimes.
It is not impossible for someone with wealth or status to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus told us that nothing is impossible for God. However, God must be first in our lives. We must be willing to give up the things he has blessed us with if he asks us to; this is not trivial. I think most of us would respond like the rich ruler.
Conclusion
Jesus’ encounter with the rich ruler is not simply a story of a man who loves money more than God. Jesus challenges what, and whom, we define as good. Only God is good. We are completely dependent upon him for life and salvation. Our trust in God’s goodness must be more than belief. Our trust in God should lead us to take action. God is good, we are not, and we must trust in him.
In our earlier article, we saw that “good” in the New Testament refers to moral excellence. We began looking at a meeting between Jesus and a rich ruler. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” he asked Jesus. Jesus tells him that only God is truly good. He invites him to think about God’s law. God must be good if his law makes someone good. The ruler responds by saying he has kept all of God’s laws; he misunderstood the point of the law. The point of the law is to show us our sin and need for God’s goodness. This leaves us with the question, “Am I good enough?” This is what Jesus invites us to consider next.
One Thing You Still Lack
In his response to Jesus, the ruler showed he had not reflected on God’s goodness, nor how his own perceived goodness compared. So, Jesus issues the ruler with a challenge.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
The rich ruler became very sad when asked to give up his money. There’s no sign that the rich ruler rose to Jesus’ challenge. Instead, if serving God meant parting with his money, that was a price he was unwilling to pay. Money had first place in his heart, not God. Jesus also taught this in the sermon on the mount.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:19-24 ESV
Earlier Jesus mentions five of the ten commandments which relate to our relationship with other people. With this challenge, Jesus encourages the rich ruler to examine his relationship with God. This is more than a shocking challenge. Jesus shows the rich ruler falls short of the first four commands, which deal with our relationship to God. Look at the first and fourth commandments:
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3 ESV
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,
Exodus 20:5a ESV
Trusting God is difficult for people with material wealth, great intellectual ability, or high status and achievement. We put more faith in our own efforts than trusting God’s goodness.
Impossible or Possible?
The rich ruler’s sadness showed that he was neither loyal too, nor placed his faith in God. Jesus knew his heart and responded this way:
Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus’ analogy of a camel passing through a needle’s eye is intentionally ridiculous. Of course, something so absurd is impossible.
At the time of Jesus, people believed riches were a sign of God’s blessing (Matt. 5:43-45). If you were rich, you were worthy of God’s blessing. So, if a rich person couldn’t enter heaven, then who could? That is exactly what the people asked. Let’s see how Jesus responded.
Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Jesus is clear, humans cannot be good enough to enter heaven. But praise God that nothing is impossible for him! Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross accomplished what was impossible for man. The apostle Paul echoes this in his letter to the Ephesians.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Conclusion
Am I good enough to enter heaven? No. Even if we are a “good person”, following the rules, our hearts will still wander and server other masters. This becomes more difficult when we have wealth, or status. The rich ruler trusted in his own efforts and abilities, not God’s. He thought he was good enough. But, he did not understand genuine goodness, because he did not know God’s goodness. We must trust in God’s goodness and not our own.
You maybe thinking, “I’m not wealthy, I’ve already chosen to trust Jesus and follow him. Good thing I’m not like the rich ruler.” Perhaps you wonder if the sacrifices you made to follow Jesus mean anything, because you cannot be good enough anyway. You are not alone if you think these things. In our next article Jesus’ disciples ask “What about us?”
What is the meaning of “good”? How do we define “bad”? Is our definition different from God’s? Today, we are going to explore what the bible says is good.
The English definition of good
Let’s start by defining what good means in English. Dictionary.com defines good in a myriad of ways. Here are a few of them
- Morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious
- Kind, beneficent, or friendly
- Right; proper; fit
- Honorable or worthy; in good standing
- Attractive; handsome
- Reliable; dependable; responsible
In English, good carries a lot of different meanings. Which definition is closest to what the bible says is good? The definition in the original language helps us understand.
The Greek definition of good
Ancient Greek was the language used to write the New Testament. There are many instances where one English word is translated from multiple Greek words. For example, the English word “love” is used to translate several Greek words; this happens with “good” as well. Let’s look at an example:
So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
In this verse, two different Greek words; agathos (ἀγαθός), and kalos (καλός) are translated into one English word “good”. So, the verse reads like this: “So every agathos tree bears kalos fruit…” These are the two most common Greek words translated as “good” in the New Testament. We’re going to focus on the most common agathos.
The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary defines agathos this way:
Agathos denotes the significance or excellence of a person or a thing, frequently in the moral sense.
Collins, Raymond F. 1992. “Good (NT).” In The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 2:1074. New York: Doubleday.
In the New Testament, “good” frequently means morally excellent. We’ll focus on this definition of good, since it is the most common.
Why do you call me good?
Good means morally excellent. Now, let’s look at what the bible says is good.
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
In these verses, a ruler (we learn later that he is rich and young) asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life. He greets Jesus by calling him “Good Teacher.” Jesus responds by asking the ruler why he called him good. Then, Jesus says that “No one is good except God alone.” Is Jesus telling the man that he is not good by asking this question? No, not at all!
A rabbi is never addressed as “good teacher” in any Jewish writing. Either the ruler uses this greeting as a piece of thoughtless flattery, or he means to say that Jesus is good.
Jesus says, “No one is good except God alone”, so if his greeting is flattery, then the ruler has a shallow, superficial understanding of good. Likewise, if he believes Jesus is good, then he is declaring him to be like God. Jesus is not refuting the ruler’s claim of his goodness but wants him to reflect on its implications.
Regardless of which way the ruler meant, Jesus’ response invites him to think about his definition of good and give heed before attributing it to himself.
You know the commandments
You know the commandments, ‘do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.”
After declaring that only god is good, Jesus continues his response by having the ruler consider his goodness against the ten commandments. The ruler tells Jesus he has kept the commandments ever since he was a child. This claim was not outlandish to make. Some rabbis believed that God’s law could be kept in its entirety. His claim was not shocking, but it was superficial, especially considering Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount, and Paul’s teaching in Romans.
In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches us that God’s law is not about the actions themselves, but about the attitude of our heart. According to God’s standards, being unrighteously angry with someone is equal to murder, and looking at someone lustfully is equal to adultery. Could the ruler say he had never been unrighteously angry or lusted after someone? The ruler appears to have missed the very purpose of the commandments. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains the purpose of God’s law.
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
The ruler did not understand that the law should show him his sin and his need for God’s mercy. If he understood the purpose of the law and measured himself against it, he would have seen he was unworthy of eternal life in the presence of the Almighty and holy God.
The ruler equates his own goodness with his ability to keep God’s law. The law is good, so keeping the law makes someone good. Jesus wants the ruler to understand if the law is good, then the one who gave the law must also be good; God is the source of good. This means that human goodness finds its source in God’s goodness; God is the source of our good.
Well, that’s it then. We know what the bible says is good. God is the source of all goodness. Yes, that is true, but our story with Jesus and the ruler does not end there. Perhaps there is more for us to meditate on. In our next article we will continue looking at this meeting, as we ask “How can I be good enough?”
Conclusion
The definition of good is moral excellence. In the verses from Luke, Jesus tells us that only God is good. Instead of asking, “what does the Bible say is good?”, we ask, “who does the Bible say is good?” God is the only one who is truly good. So, as it says in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…”. Our definition of good comes from the things God does, says, and gives, because God is the source of all good.
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