The be good, do what Jesus taught rules: love your neighbor, treat others as you want to be treated, don’t judge unless you know that you too will be judged. These are good, generally agreeable moral and social principles. But they were not the only things he taught.

Let Jesus’ claims sink in: he claimed to have power to raise the dead (John 5:21), authority to judge all humanity (v. 22), power to grant people eternal life (v. 24), and the same self-sustaining life that the Father has (v. 26). The leaders were not misunderstanding him. Jesus was, in fact, claiming equality with God (v. 18)–equality that, he said, the Father had given him. And he claimed that he deserved the same honor that was due to God the Father (v. 23). These claims are breathtaking and unnerving!

Jon Bloom, Daily Strength, September 12th

So love your neighbor, treat others well, don’t be judgmental but when you fail in those things (and you surely will), return to the man who not only taught you them to you but perfectly did them, and find the God who will save you from the guilt of your failure. He will heal your blindness and lead you to walk in greater faithfulness. He’ll relieve you of the burden of finding your goodness in the law by making his goodness yours too. Then you can take up your cross, haltingly follow him with a desire not to be seen as good, but to be with and like someone who loves you and truly is good.