John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die , etc..] The design of this, and the following verse, is to show that Christ's dying for ungodly persons is an instance of kindness that is matchless and unparalleled. By a righteous man, is not meant a truly gracious, holy man; nor one that is made righteous by the obedience of Christ; but one that is so in his own eyes, and in the esteem of others, being outwardly moral and righteous before men; who keeps to the letter of the law, and does, as he imagines, what that externally requires: such were the Pharisees among the Jews, who, though they were had in much outward esteem and veneration among the people, yet were rather feared than loved; and it would have been a difficult thing to have found a person that would cheerfully venture, and lay down his life for any of that complexion and cast: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die . By a good man, is not meant a man made so by the grace of God, and who is indeed truly and properly the only good man; but a liberal and beneficent man, who was very bountiful in his charitable distributions to the poor, and very liberal in contributing towards the charge of sacrifices, repairs of the temple, etc.. and did more this way than what the law obliged to. Now for such a man perhaps there might be some found so daring and hardy, as to venture and lay down their lives, when there was any danger of his, or any necessity for so doing; so great an interest such men had in the affections of the people. And so the Jews distinguish between qydx , a righteous man, and dysj , a good man. They say f72 , there is a righteous man that is good, and there is a righteous man that is not good; but he that is good for heaven, and the creatures, i.e. for God and men, this is bwj qydx , a righteous good man; but he that is good to God, and evil to men, this is bwj wnya qydx , a righteous man that is not good.
The whole body of the people of the Jews were divided into three sorts: take a short sentence out of their Talmud f73 , not to support the justness of the characters, but for the sake of this threefold division of the people: three things are said concerning the paring of the nails, qydx , a righteous man buries them, dysj , a good man burns them, [r , a wicked man casts them away.
Now to this division of the people the apostle alludes; and there is in the words a beautiful gradation, scarcely for one of the yqydx , righteous men, who does just what he is obliged to do by the law, and no more, will any die; perhaps it may be, that for one of ydysj , the good men, who are very liberal to the poor, and towards defraying all the expenses of the temple service, in which they exceed the strict demands of the law, some may be found willing to die; but who will die for the y[r , the wicked and ungodly, the profligate and abandoned part of the people? not one, but Christ died for the ungodly: wherefore if instances could be produced of men's dying either for righteous men, or good men, these would not come up to the instance of Christ's dying for men, who were neither righteous nor good.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-11 - Christ died for sinners; not only such as were useless, but such a were guilty and hateful; such that their everlasting destruction woul be to the glory of God's justice. Christ died to save us, not in ou sins, but from our sins; and we were yet sinners when he died for us Nay, the carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself chap. 8:7; Col 1:21. But God designed to deliver from sin, and to wor a great change. While the sinful state continues, God loathes the sinner, and the sinner loathes God, Zec 11:8. And that for such a these Christ should die, is a mystery; no other such an instance of love is known, so that it may well be the employment of eternity to adore and wonder at it. Again; what idea had the apostle when he supposed the case of some one dying for a righteous man? And yet he only put it as a thing that might be. Was it not the undergoing thi suffering, that the person intended to be benefitted might be release therefrom? But from what are believers in Christ released by his death Not from bodily death; for that they all do and must endure. The evil from which the deliverance could be effected only in this astonishin manner, must be more dreadful than natural death. There is no evil, to which the argument can be applied, except that which the apostl actually affirms, sin, and wrath, the punishment of sin, determined by the unerring justice of God. And if, by Divine grace, they were thu brought to repent, and to believe in Christ, and thus were justified by the price of his bloodshedding, and by faith in that atonement, muc more through Him who died for them and rose again, would they be kep from falling under the power of sin and Satan, or departing finall from him. The living Lord of all, will complete the purpose of his dying love, by saving all true believers to the uttermost. Having suc a pledge of salvation in the love of God through Christ, the apostl declared that believers not only rejoiced in the hope of heaven, an even in their tribulations for Christ's sake, but they gloried in God also, as their unchangeable Friend and all-sufficient Portion, throug Christ only.
Greek Textus Receptus
μολις 3433 ADV γαρ 1063 CONJ υπερ 5228 PREP δικαιου 1342 A-GSM τις 5100 X-NSM αποθανειται 599 5695 V-FDI-3S υπερ 5228 PREP γαρ 1063 CONJ του 3588 T-GSM αγαθου 18 A-GSM ταχα 5029 ADV τις 5100 X-NSM και 2532 CONJ τολμα 5111 5719 V-PAI-3S αποθανειν 599 5629 V-2AAN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
7. Righteous - good (dikaiou - agaqou). The distinction is: dikaiov is simply right or just; doing all that law or justice requires; ajgaqov is benevolent, kind, generous. The righteous man does what he ought, and gives to every one his due. The good man "does as much as ever he can, and proves his moral quality by promoting the wellbeing of him with whom he has to do." 'Agaqov always includes a corresponding beneficent relation of the subject of it to another subject; an establishment of a communion and exchange of life; while dikaiov only expresses a relation to the purely objective dikh right. Bengel says: "dikaiov, indefinitely, implies an innocent man; oJ ajgaqov one perfect in all that piety demands; excellent, honorable, princely, blessed; for example, the father of his country."Therefore, according to Paul, though one would hardly die for the merely upright or strictly just man who commands respect, he might possibly die for the noble, beneficent man, who calls out affection. The article is omitted with righteous, and supplied with good - the good man, pointing to such a case as a rare and special exception.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
5:7 {Scarcely} (molis). Common adverb from molos, toil. See on #Ac 14:18. As between dikaios, righteous, and agaqos, good, Lightfoot notes "all the difference in the world" which he shows by quotations from Plato and Christian writers, a difference of sympathy mainly, the dikaios man being "absolutely without sympathy" while the agaqos man "is beneficent and kind." {Would even dare} (kai tolmai). Present active indicative of tolmaw, to have courage. "Even dares to." Even so in the case of the kindly sympathetic man courage is called for to make the supreme sacrifice. {Perhaps} (tacha). Common adverb (perhaps instrumental case) from tacus (swift). Only here in N.T.
