Jesus’ Law of Doing Good

GOLDEN TEXT: “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” —III John 11

MATTHEW 12:1-14

DOING good is undoubtedly a manifestation of one of the divine principles of righteousness. However, there has always been much good done in the world by those who do not profess to be religious; yes, even by many who doubt the existence of God. But even in such cases, doing good is indirectly related to God, for it is the result of the image of God with which our first parents were endowed at the time of creation. If atheists only knew it, the goodness which is in their hearts is one of the greatest proofs of the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator, a God of goodness.

However, the simple fact of doing good does not indicate that one is a Christian, nor that his acts of goodness are Christian well-doing. Our Golden Text, for example, when taken in connection with its context, is rather restricted in its application. It does not mean that everyone who does good of any kind is of God.

The preceding two verses give us the proper setting for our Golden Text. They reveal that there was a professed brother (Diotrephes) in the church who in reality was acting unbrotherly. He refused to permit John to come into the midst of the brethren, and was speaking evil against him. Diotrephes was also opposed to other brethren. His motive is pointed out by John as being a selfish desire “to have the pre-eminence among them.” If he could keep John and others out of the congregation where he apparently was a dictator, he could maintain his pre-eminence.

This was selfish and sinful—“evil.” It failed to display a true brotherly concern for the brethren. It violated the principle of esteeming others better than ourselves. It failed to recognize that Christians should in honor prefer one another. The opposite attitude of this would be a true, unselfish interest in the welfare of the brethren, and a willingness to put oneself entirely in the background, if by so doing the greatest good would be accomplished for the brethren.

It is this, then, that John is speaking about when he admonishes us not to follow that which is evil, but that which is good. It is doing good along this line, laying down one’s life for the brethren, rather than selfishly exploiting them, that proves one to be “of God.” This is a heart-searching test for all who name the name of Christ.

The main part of our lesson is concerned with doing good on the sabbath day. The attitude of the Pharisees toward this matter well illustrates the fact that those in whose hearts there dwells the spirit of envy and bitterness are incapable of recognizing true goodness when they see it. Such are blinded by their selfish determination to prove that everything which is said or done by the one whom they have chosen to be their “enemy” must be wrong.

Jesus’ logic with respect to healing the sick on the sabbath day was unanswerable by the scribes and Pharisees. But they refused to be convinced, or at least to admit that they were convinced. Instead, they began plotting to kill the Master. No amount of misrepresentation could destroy Jesus’ influence among the common people, so the religious leaders of Israel were then willing to destroy him. Such are the lengths to which the depraved human heart will go in “doing evil.”

They displayed the same hypocritical attitude in their approach to the matter of the disciples eating corn as they passed through the field on the sabbath day. As teachers of the Law they should have known that its every item was designed for the good of the people. It was forbidden that any but the priests should eat the showbread in the holy of the tabernacle. This had a lesson in it, and it was important that the requirement be respected. But it was not intended to deprive anyone of necessary nourishment in time of emergency. Jesus pointed this out to the Pharisees, but his logic fell on deaf ears. The bitter of heart are beyond the reach of reason. Their only interest is to find an excuse to give vent to their bitterness, and thereby destroy the object of their hate.

Jesus spoke of himself as the “Lord of the sabbath.” This was a marvelous truth, but it helped to fan the envy of the Pharisees to a hotter flame of bitterness against him. The “sabbath” he referred to was undoubtedly the last thousand-year day—that is, the seventh—in God’s great week of creation. That will be the thousand years of his kingdom, when all mankind will be given rest from the curse of slavish toil, and sweat and tears, and restored to their lost home and dominion here on earth.

QUESTIONS

In what indirect manner is all good “of God”?

Does the mere fact of doing good prove that one is a Christian?

What is particularly referred to as good and evil in our Golden Text?

What did Jesus mean when he said’ that he was the Lord of the Sabbath?

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