Words of Grace – July 30, 2015

The rich young ruler came to Jesus with a question. “Good Master,” he asked, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Jesus had a question for him. He wanted to know why the young man called him “Good Master.” He then told him that “there is none good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17).

Yes, only God is good, and because Jesus is God, Jesus is good. When he was here on the earth, he “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He always did what was good because he is God.

The young man wanted to know if there was some “good thing” he could do to earn a trip to heaven. He would have been delighted to hear the Good Master say that he was good and had done enough good to merit eternal life.

What he did hear was, “there is none good,” including himself. Jesus is good, which qualified him to be our substitute, as Cecil Alexander wrote. “He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, That we might go at last to heaven, Saved by His precious blood. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin; He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.