Good Teacher or God

A large number of non-believers point to Mark 10:18, Matthew 19:17 and Luke 18:19 to express that Jesus claimed NOT to be God. All three verse are covering the account of a man addressing Jesus as “good teacher.” In all three account Jesus responds by saying “No one is good except God.”

(17) And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (18) And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (19) You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (Mark 10:17-19 ESV)

I admit verse 18 can be confusing and it did lead me to question the meaning of this verse.

Keep in mind that there are two important points to be made in these verses.

• Jesus did not say “I am NOT God”

• Jesus did not say “I am NOT good.”

He merely went on to answer the man.

There is one of two ways to take Jesus’ statement “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

• Do not call me “good” only God is good.

or

• When you call me “good” you are calling me God.

Note, that Jesus did not correct the man or say he was “not good” nor did the say “I am not God”. So, when Jesus asks “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone,” that is a rhetorical question. By addressing Jesus as “good” the man was referring to Jesus as God, which is the correct reference, because Jesus is God.