Mystery IV: The Mystery of Goodness

Don: In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said (Matthew 5:20):

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus was alluding to the accepted definition of righteousness (which is essentially synonymous with goodness) as the keeping of the law. He gave the true definition of righteousness in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler, who was told he had to do much more than abide by the law if he wanted to inherit eternal life: He had to give up all he had and follow Jesus. Keeping the law may be a necessary condition for righteousness but is certainly not sufficient on its own. This may be the revealed truth about the mystery of the goodness of god.

In a long series of illustrations following his provocative statement, Jesus contrasted law-keeping with true righteousness. For example, Matthew 5:21-2:

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court….”

He made similar statements concerning adultery, the making of vows, the retributive “an eye for an eye” justice of the Old Testament. He was seeking to replace the prevalent views of the time with diametrically opposed concepts such as loving one’s enemy, turning the other cheek, and so on. For good measure, he added (Matthew 5:48):

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Jesus’ definition of goodness is deeply rooted in one’s relationship with others. To people of all faiths, goodness is usually defined in terms of personal piety: How much one gives in alms, how much one prays, attends church/synagogue/mosque/temple, and so on. Jesus was saying that not only should you not judge the goodness of others on this basis, you should not judge yourself on it either. Although he did not dismiss personal piety entirely, Jesus clearly relegated it as a definition of goodness. Matthew 6:1-8:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Similarly with fasting: Matthew 6:16:

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Thus, the definition of goodness that emerges from this and the story of the Rich Young Ruler has more to do with following Jesus than with personal piety or staying within the law.

Almost all the characteristics of the “fruit of the spirit” named in Galatians 5:22-23…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

…relate to one’s interaction with others.

In the judgment scene of Matthew 25:35-36, the sole criterion for being judged “good” is one’s relationship with others:

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

Judgment and goodness are centered upon community, not upon the individual.

In Exodus 33:12-13, Moses asked god to reveal some of his mystery. He asked the question we all want to ask:

Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.”

God did not deny the request directly. Verse 14:

And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses then asked the next favor we all want of god: “Make me and my kind your favorite.” Verses 15-16:

Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”

Moses then asks another common request of small-minded Man: “Show me how powerful you are!” Verse 18:

“I pray You, show me Your glory!”

God replied (verses 19-23):

“I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

There are many interesting things in this response. First, there is the anthropomorphism of a god who has hands, a face, and a back. Second, there is the (common through the ages) metaphor of being cradled in the hands of god for protection. Third, and to me most interesting, is that god allowed Moses to see his goodness. Jesus revealed that what we can know about god—the mystery that can be revealed—comes from knowing and seeing goodness.

At almost every tragedy and every disaster, some people will put their lives in danger to help strangers. Is this a revelation of goodness? Is this a revelation of god? Can you and I really represent the hands and the heart of god? Is this not the only way most people can ever get to see god—through you and me? It is possible that sometimes god does intervene in the world in a direct and supernatural way. But his primary modus operandi seems to be to operate and to reveal himself through us.

Candace: I like to think of Jesus’ words (John 14:6)…

“I am the way, the truth, and the life”

…as a set of stepping stones for our spiritual journey. First we need to understand “the way” things are, have been, and should be. From there we can step to “the truth” stone, which will point us toward “the life” stone we need to end up on at the successful conclusion of our journey.

Sociologists and psychologists have developed many theories of human development, some of which might apply to spiritual development as well. People who get stuck on a stepping stone or step backwards need help. I think we tend to offer help—to demonstrate goodness—based partly on our personal view of the world, a view that is inevitably tinted through the lens of our knowledge and experience. I, for example, work with developmentally delayed children, so I am sensitized to certain things in people in a way that another person might not be. This makes me more ready and able to act in cases where I see someone stuck on their stepping stone with a problem that I can understand but others with a background different from mine might not. That then becomes a part of my life, and of “the life” stepping stone to which I aspire.

Pat: Perhaps what Moses saw when he looked at god’s back was the fruit of the Spirit—the goodness that god leaves in his wake, as a sort of trail.

Jesus required the Rich Young Ruler to give up everything he owned. Was that requirement specific to the Rich Young Ruler, or does it apply to all of us? I am genuinely uncertain of this.

Jay: I think it was meant to apply to all. It was meant to show that people needed to move beyond the law as their guide to goodness. After god showed his goodness to Moses, the next thing he did was to write the Ten Commandments for a second time (after Moses broke the first set). To me, this was just another example of god showing his goodness, but we have taken it instead as a “good life” checklist: If we do these ten things then we will be blessed, happy, successful, etc. Instead, I think it was meant to show that by observing them we would also be showing the goodness of god.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus said (Matthew 5:17-20):

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

This appears to be a huge paradigm shift. During his life, Jesus was accused over and over of breaking the law—of working on the Sabbath and so on. But Jesus is saying “Let’s get back to what the law is really about: Displaying god’s goodness. It’s not a checklist of things to do to win favor with god.” The Rich Young Ruler was taking it as the latter.

Chris: Having said “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The law says (for example): “Thou shalt not commit murder.” In that sentence about surpassing the Pharisees, Jesus was saying “Hey, there’s more to it than that! You need to expand your definition of murder to include, for instance, character assassination. Murder is more than the taking of mortal life.” In other words, there was a (higher) layer of principle above the basic laws that has been lost or ignored.

David: I wonder if there are three layers of goodness/righteousness? 1. The Impossible: Give up everything—EVERYTHING!!! (as the RYR was told)—and become godlike. 2. The Extremely Difficult: Turn the other cheek, love your enemy, and so on, and be blessed. 3. The Big Easy: Obey the Ten Commandments, and stay out of trouble with the law. The Extremely Difficult, then, is the best we can aspire to, since we obviously cannot aspire to The Impossible. The powerful thing about the apparently ridiculous injunctions handed down by Jesus is that everybody, of faith or of no faith, instinctively knows that they are true, enforceable if there is a Day of Judgment, and above all doable—albeit with great difficulty. The Big Easy needs no elaboration.

Kiran: The key is how can god be good if nobody reflects or projects his goodness? We can only show god—by way of his goodness—by caring for our neighbor, even if that person has just slapped us on the cheek. Never mind praising god at the altar; if your brother needs help, run from the altar to help your brother and show your true love of god and his true love of everyone.

The RYR was an individualist, pious man, like so many of us. But the early Christians were much more communal. I think Jesus was telling the RYR to become a communist!

Robin: Robin: Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell the RYR was that you cannot earn your redemption, your salvation. With conversion, the things delineated in law become just part of your spirit. our faith makes you whole. People like the woman with the bleeding disease, or the man with the dying child, had come to the point (without realizing it) that it was only their faith in Jesus, their readiness to fall on his mercy, that helped them.

Pat: I still don’t hear an answer to my question: Is the requirement imposed on the RYR imposed on all of us?

David: I think not. Even the RYR—though required—was not expected to conform with what was an impossible step for him. As I interpret it, the requirement only applies if one wants to be god.

Chris: I can’t attain the Kingdom of Heaven on my own. Neither could the RYR. He did not realize that what is required is god’s grace. God knew the RYR could not give up everything.

Jay: I think such verses as “If you hand offends you, cut it off. If your eye offends you, pluck it out” are there precisely to illustrate the impossibility of being godlike. Jesus said “if you want to be my disciple, you have to hate your father and your mother, you have to give up your family. The glory of god’s grace is that it absolves us of these requirements. He was telling the RYR: “There’s nothing you can do to enter the kingdom of heaven. You need my help—god’s grace—and you need to be willing to share it with others.”

Robin: Another lesson in the story of the RYR is what he did when Jesus gave him the bad news. The woman who had the bleeding disease had faith enough to believe that she only needed to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment to be cured. The with the sick child believed that Jesus would cure his child without even visiting him. But the RYR went away sorrowful. He did not say, as they did: “I know, I cannot earn salvation through my own efforts. But you can help me. I throw myself on your grace and mercy.” He just slunk away, disappointed.

Ephesians 1:9-10 talks about the mystery of god’s goodness:

…he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

It would have been beyond our capacity to bring this unity. Then in 1 Timothy 3:16:

By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.

So it is a mystery that god would become human.

Going back to Exodus 33: I wonder if it is not only a physical happening with god but that there is also a layer below it—we cannot know what happened before god, we cannot know what he will do. But we can see, as Pat said, his trail of mercy, patience, love, grace, and compassion.

Don: Continuing in Matthew 19 following the RYR story, Jesus said (verses 23-26):

“Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

This is as David, Jason, and Chris have said: It is, for all practical purposes, impossible for the RYR or us to do what it takes to be good enough for the kingdom of heaven. Even the disciples were “astonished” by this. The saving grace is that “with God all things are possible.”

The purpose of the story is to show that while we really can’t meet the requirements for entry to the kingdom of heaven, god’s grace will get us through the door.

Kiran: There are three explanations to the mystery of goodness. If one reads only verse 16, then the mystery is Jesus becoming flesh to show us goodness. The second explanation is that the verse does not stand alone, it goes together with Paul’s teaching about the church, so it becomes salvation through Jesus and the church. The third (Adventist) explanation is that only Jesus can save.

Pat: I am still as confused about this issue as I have been since I was young. It seems to me there are indeed people—hundreds of thousands of them—who have given everything they have for their fellow Man. Think of nuns. Think of young people with backpacks who go off to the Third World to help the poor and sick.

Don: To me, the point Jesus was making is that this is not the criterion for salvation.

Pat: Absolutely. Once cannot earn salvation.