What is Good?
By Olivia Carlé
What is Good?
A Short Word Study
The Sower and the Soils
Luke 8:4-15 (Also in Mark 4:1-20, Matt 13)
'The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.' As He said these things, He would call out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear ..Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
The question I had was - what is an honest and good heart and why did the translators choose these words in English?
Defining “honest” & “good”
Honest = (Strong’s 18) “agathõs” – BENEVOLENT: Good character in disposition or character of things e.g. of persons, gifts, conduct, a tree, blessed times, profitable, useful.
Good = (Strong’s 2570) “kalõs” – Righteous: good as to quality or character, expresses beauty, good earth, honourable, constitutionally good but not necessarily benefiting others,
Read Luke 8:15 now:
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
My paraphrase::
The seed word that went into good quality ground was received by a person of good quality character who will not let it go, and those who have a benevolent manner will endure and will produce thirty, sixty, hundred fold crop and be profitable to others by producing the fruit/gifts of the Spirit.
This tree is “kalos”
It’s beautiful, strong, seasonal flowering and healthy. A good quality tree.
This tree is also a good “kalos” quality tree with the addition of being “agathos”. It’s given fruit, therefore is also profitable.
The Rich Young Ruler
The conversation that Jesus had with the young ruler was an interesting one.
Mark 10:17-22
“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments, ‘do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet, honour your father and mother.’”* And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”
*Matt 19:19 adds the 2nd greatest commandment: "Love your neighbour as yourself." He points to what our relationship with others should be like.
In the Ten Commandments. Four deal with your personal relationship with God and six with your fellow man.
With God
You shall have no other Gods before me
You shall not make for yourselves an idol
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
With your fellow man
Honour your father and mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not give false testimony
You shall not covet
Jesus, when talking to the young ruler focused on the commandments that were to do with service. He was obviously devout telling the Lord that he had kept close to God's commands from his youth, but Jesus, felt love for him and tried to help him see that there was more required of him. He had to give up what was seemingly a bind to him, his wealth, his lack of caring for his fellow man, but the cost was too great. He would not change from being "kalos" to being "agathos". Prophetically Jesus knew when the young ruler came and knelt at His feet wanting to know how to get eternal life, that it was one thing to acknowledge God as being benevolent but he had to be willing to be likewise.
John’s Message – How to PREPARE the way for the Lord…
We are made good “kalo” when we believe in Christ through our faith and we become good “agathos”, by our good works (Eph 2:10, Jas 2:18). Christ’s giving life shows that God expects the same from us.
Luke 3:10-14 John the Immerser’s message to people was to choose the righteous way of living. He was trying to encourage people to be honest and improve their character. By being honest and good to others and in this way they would keep their hearts soft for the Messiah's coming.
- to the crowd: be caring - share your things, feed the hungry
- to tax collectors: don’t take more money than you should
- to the soldiers: don’t extort money, don’t accuse falsely, be content with your pay.
Comparing Kalõs & Díkaios
“Díkaios is equivalent to kalõs - inherently good” – S. Zodhiates
The slightly different emhasis is virtue (1342 cf 2750): righteous, by implication innocent, just, in the eyes of God.
- Joseph - “a righteous (díkaios) man” (Matt 1:19)
- Simeon - “this man was just (díkaios) and devout” (Luke 2:25)
Read the following Romans 5:6-8 in this light - remembering the word differences:
- Kalõs –good quality, beautiful, honourable
- Díkaiou – righteous, virtuous
- Agathõs – good quality, benevolent, profitable
Rom 5:6-8
“Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous (díkaiou) man; though perhaps for the good (agathõs) man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.
Paraphrase of Romans 5:6-8:
Christ gave Himself for those who were not wanting Him. Someone would hardly die for another who was good in heart, though perhaps for a person devoted to the service of others one would even dare to give their life…
Christ loved us even in our sinful state because He is inherently kalõs/díkaios,
and He has shown to be agathõs by dealing with our separation from God
by being the sacrificial mediator, to give us eternal life!