weight they carry. However, I have decided to summarize them below in the interest of completeness. All three of his arguments are based on Biblical passages.Berkouwer?s first argument centres on Christ words ?Why do you call me good? None is good but God alone? (Luke 18:19, Mark 10:18 and a similar reference in Matthew 19:17). According to Berkouwer, this statement brings the peccability of Christ into question because ?people have inferred that Christ himself did not proceed from his absolute sinlessness or holiness but rather places himself in the rank of sinful human beings. ? However, to read this passage in this manner is clearly a case of poor interpretation. The Jerome Biblical Commentary tells us that the phrase ?good teacher? is ?a rarely used epithet for a rabbi ? and that Jesus? answer ?implies that the epithet ?good? being proper to God, should not be used indiscriminately and casually .? Berkouwer, on the other hand, suggests that this is a different type of misinterpretation. He argues that in the early church and at the time these three Gospels were written, there was no question of the sinlessness of Christ. The sinlessness of Christ is a theological concept which developed later in history: ?an explicit attestation to [Jesus?] sense of sinlessness we do not find until we encounter them, as the fruit of the Logos-theology, in the pronouncements of the Johannine Christ .?While I am not personally convinced with Berkouwer?s interpretation and prefer to base the rejection of this argument for Jesus? peccability on the correct interpretation of the passage, I will grant that Berkouwer presents a logical and plausible argument given what we know about the development of the New Testament writings.The second argument Berkouwer presents is based on the story of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. In Matthew?s account of this incident, John the Baptist recognizes the holiness of Christ and tries to avoid baptising Him. H...
