I am a Jesus pusher!!! “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “Good” is a translation of the Greek word “kalos.” Since God is the source of the “works,” they must be “kalos.” This word does not so much emphasize quality, as it does attractiveness, beautiful appearance. There is only one other place in Matthew where he uses “good works.” Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, the leper. A woman with an alabaster flask of costly fragrant oil, valued as a year’s wages, poured it on Jesus’ head as He sat at the table. The disciples were indignant, considering it a waste. Jesus rebuked them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me” (Matthew 26:10). The New International Version translates this verse: Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to Me.” Jesus used the Greek word “ergon” twice, translated “work,” used in the verb form, which says, “she has done,” meaning “she worked.”
Also, Jesus used “ergon” as a noun describing the object of the action, a direct object, as a “work.” “Good” (kalos) is an adjective describing the direct object, “work.” Jesus was not expressing her generosity in terms of money. It was not the gracefulness seen in this physical activity. It had to do with the attractiveness, the beauty, of her intent and love. He went on to explain, “For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial” (Matthew 26:12). Jesus saw this fragrant oil as the burial preparation for His coming death! It was a beautiful act of a loving heart expressed in sacrificial giving. Our “good works” are an expression of the attractive, loving Jesus. We are Jesus pushers!!!