First, you have to define "good" and "evil" in terms of scripture. G&E in and of themselves are "states" rather than "conditions" and they are relative to the intended purpose and context of the "thing" in question.
Example: Winning the lottery. If a person were to turn their life around and all that- winning the lottery is "good'. If said person bought drugs and dies of an OD- winning would have been "evil".
God created both good and evil and has "repented of the evil' He was going to do on some issues.
This is the baseline of what Jesus meant when he said there is none "good" but the Father.
God created perfection ( a baseline) and pronounced it good (beneficial in that context) and now creation has decayed so "good" is to be measured now in degrees of less failure than against the original baseline ( which is why Jesus specifically said NONE good because the original "perfection" with benefit is gone). In doing so the "concept" of evil was created by default.
Beyond that, our "concepts" of "G&E" are whatever they are and wholly subjective.
No that is not the "baseline " nor what Jesus meant by no one is Good but God ! He did not say the Father either but God.
Mark 10:13-27
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
17 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?"
18 And Jesus said to him, "
Why do you call Me good?
No one is good except God alone. 19 "You know the commandments, '
DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,
DO NOT STEAL,
DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud,
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
20 And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up."
21 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."
22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around ,said to His disciples, "
A How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"
24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus
* answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 “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."
26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, " Then who can be saved?"
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
Jesus point in His questioning of the ruler was rhetorical in nature. Do you know who you are calling good? Only God is good. He was saying to the ruler "Do you know who I Am and who you are speaking too? If you read on it becomes obvious for Jesus turned him away from gaining eternal life. He knew what was in his heart and keeping him away from the kingdom. Only God knows what is in mans heart and can allow a person into His Kingdom. Jesus was clearly claiming to be God in this passage.
No prophet, apostle or teacher has ever talked in this presumptuous way in which Jesus did in the gospels and especially in this passage in the synoptic gospel. The young ruler runs up to Jesus kneels to Him in worship and asks Him how can I obtain eternal life? Jesus answers back and said come "Follow ME!" Do you see what Jesus is claiming? He does not say, these are the teachings that God has given me or follow these rules and you will get into heaven. He did not say to follow God or submit to God. Jesus tells the man to follow Me! Only God has that prerogative.
He was saying indirectly to the ruler, know that whom you are speaking to is God. He was letting the young ruler understand who he was talking to and addressing as good. Look at it this way, Is He saying He is not good, and therefore not God? Or is He saying that He is good, and the reason this man can call Him good is because He is God? I opt for the second statement.
Let’s examine the context of the passage and what is going on when this man approaches Jesus. He says why do you call me good and points out to the man that only God is good. The man is unaware of His identity which Jesus who knew men’s hearts was aware of with the young ruler. This man thought of Jesus as just a mere man and not the Son of God. Jesus response was not one of denying His own sinlessness or deity. The context clearly shows just the opposite to be true. Jesus claims absolute authority over the young ruler by asking him to come and Follow Me. To call Him "good teacher" you better recognize who you are speaking to and this is exactly the point Jesus was getting across to the young ruler. Jesus is eternal life and the man was unaware of this truth which is rather obvious by his questions.
How does one obtain eternal life? Jesus confronted him with His Lordship when He said come and follow Me. Jesus confronted the man's sin of covetousness. It was a sin of indulgence and materialism. He was indifferent to people who were poor and in need. So Jesus gave him the ultimate test, would he obey His Lordship? The antis and non trins get all hung up on who is good and cannot see past the plank in their own eyes to see what one must do to be saved. They're still in an unbelieving state and miss out on eternal life from its very source, Jesus. Rather sad indeed.
If we further examine the context of the question asked by the young ruler in verse 13 we read; people were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. 17 As Jesus started on his way,
a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before Him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 "Why do you call Me good?" Jesus answered. Let’s see what question was asked of Jesus
. How can I get eternal life?" is the question.
"Follow ME!" is the answer that he gets from Jesus. Do you see what He is claiming? He does NOT say, these are the teachings that God has given Me. Follow these rules and you will get to heaven. He did not say, "follow God or submit to God", but
he said "Follow ME!". Jesus is Lord and had the authority to command mankind, Follow Me!
John 1:6-8
John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through Him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
John 5:39-40
39 " You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have
eternal life; it is
these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to
come to Me so that you may have life.
John 8:14
" Even
if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
John 8:18-20
18
I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me."
19 Then they asked Him, "Where is your father?"
"You do not know Me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
Luke 24:27
Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
Luke 24:44-45
44 Now He said to them, " These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Its all about Jesus from beginning to end. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega ! He is the Great I Am. The Good Shepherd indeed !
hope this helps,
