“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest
thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
-Mark 10:18, KJV
(“So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.’” -Mark 10:18, NKJV)
This statement of Jesus is recorded in three different places by three different authors: Mark 10:18, Matthew 19:17, and Luke 18:19. If any statement of Jesus recorded in the Bible is true (to have been spoken by Him), certainly one recorded from eyewitness testimony in three separate accounts is as valid as it can get. I say this not as a skeptic, but for the skeptic. I also acknowledge that this isn’t in itself proof of validity, but it is supportive. And if we aren’t willing to accept the Bible as at least one source for Jesus’ words, then what source have we?
For the follower of Christ, or for the one who believes the Bible is the Word of God (or at least contains the word of God), there are at least three teachings, two direct and one indirect, that we can learn from this statement. These are teachings that we can either believe or at the very least recognize that Jesus believed. Either has implications for our understanding of Jesus regardless of what we ultimately choose to believe about Jesus.
First (direct): “NO ONE IS GOOD but One, that is God.”
No one is good. People are not inherently good. Our core is corrupted by sin. We are depraved from our beginning. Certainly, we are made in God’s image, as the Bible states, and that aspect of us is good. But from the fall of our race into rebellion against our Creator, we are selfish and wicked by nature. That is why Jesus came to complete His work and provide us a way of redemption and salvation. The common ethos of humanism would have us believe otherwise, but this is not what Jesus taught, nor what the Bible asserts.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
-Romans 3:23, NKJV
“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
-Isaiah 64:6, NKJV
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
-James 2:10, NKJV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
-Jesus (Matthew 5:21-22, NKJV)
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
-Jesus (Matthew 5:27-28, NKJV)
Second (direct): “No one is good BUT ONE, THAT IS GOD.”
God is the only one, the only being, who is good.
Now let’s define the parameters of our discussion here. We must delineate the actors. The context is a conversation between Jesus and His human audience. The beings in discussion are human and divine. Jesus is a Jew speaking (primarily at the time of this discussion) to Jews. The Divine being discussed is to be understood in monotheistic terms; specifically, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the great I AM; YHWH. The comparison to the Divine here being humanity; Jesus’ audience. Other human deities are not relevant here. Angels are also not relative to the conversation here. We know from other Biblical passages that there are angels who serve God (“good” angels), and those who are in rebellion against Him in service to Lucifer (“bad” angels; Lucifer being an angel as well). Angels are not described as being made in God’s image. Regardless, they are not part of the conversation here.
Third (indirect): Jesus is either God or Jesus is not good either.
By direct question, Jesus has asked the individual who initiated the conversation why he referred to Jesus as “good.” By direct statement, Jesus asserted that only God is good. By direct implication, Jesus asserted that He is only good Himself if He is God. This is either a declaration by Jesus of His own deity or a declaration the He, as a person, is not good; no more so than the rest of humanity, which He has already declared is not good.
In summation, in His statement, Jesus has asserted at least two direct points. One is that people are not good. The other is that only God is good. He has also declared either that He is God or that He is not good.
This is the implication we must face. If you choose to believe the former, then your life should be profoundly impacted. If Jesus is God, then you must face the reality of the situation, and His other teachings, or ignore it at your own peril. If you choose to believe that He is not God, then you should recognize that by His own assertion, He did not believe Himself to be good. You may believe He was good, but He did not; unless He believed He was God. If He did and if He wasn’t, then there are other implications you must deal with. I believe the former—that He is God—and there are plenty of other passages in the Bible that support this. But I won’t quote them here; you can look them up if you want.
Either way, if you want to be rationally consistent, you should not assert to be a follower of Christ or a believer in the Bible unless you acknowledge that Jesus either taught that He was God or that He was not good; and then deal with the implications accordingly.
Thanks for reading. Grace and peace to you.
-Mark 10:18, KJV
(“So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.’” -Mark 10:18, NKJV)
This statement of Jesus is recorded in three different places by three different authors: Mark 10:18, Matthew 19:17, and Luke 18:19. If any statement of Jesus recorded in the Bible is true (to have been spoken by Him), certainly one recorded from eyewitness testimony in three separate accounts is as valid as it can get. I say this not as a skeptic, but for the skeptic. I also acknowledge that this isn’t in itself proof of validity, but it is supportive. And if we aren’t willing to accept the Bible as at least one source for Jesus’ words, then what source have we?
For the follower of Christ, or for the one who believes the Bible is the Word of God (or at least contains the word of God), there are at least three teachings, two direct and one indirect, that we can learn from this statement. These are teachings that we can either believe or at the very least recognize that Jesus believed. Either has implications for our understanding of Jesus regardless of what we ultimately choose to believe about Jesus.
First (direct): “NO ONE IS GOOD but One, that is God.”
No one is good. People are not inherently good. Our core is corrupted by sin. We are depraved from our beginning. Certainly, we are made in God’s image, as the Bible states, and that aspect of us is good. But from the fall of our race into rebellion against our Creator, we are selfish and wicked by nature. That is why Jesus came to complete His work and provide us a way of redemption and salvation. The common ethos of humanism would have us believe otherwise, but this is not what Jesus taught, nor what the Bible asserts.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
-Romans 3:23, NKJV
“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
-Isaiah 64:6, NKJV
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
-James 2:10, NKJV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
-Jesus (Matthew 5:21-22, NKJV)
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
-Jesus (Matthew 5:27-28, NKJV)
Second (direct): “No one is good BUT ONE, THAT IS GOD.”
God is the only one, the only being, who is good.
Now let’s define the parameters of our discussion here. We must delineate the actors. The context is a conversation between Jesus and His human audience. The beings in discussion are human and divine. Jesus is a Jew speaking (primarily at the time of this discussion) to Jews. The Divine being discussed is to be understood in monotheistic terms; specifically, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the great I AM; YHWH. The comparison to the Divine here being humanity; Jesus’ audience. Other human deities are not relevant here. Angels are also not relative to the conversation here. We know from other Biblical passages that there are angels who serve God (“good” angels), and those who are in rebellion against Him in service to Lucifer (“bad” angels; Lucifer being an angel as well). Angels are not described as being made in God’s image. Regardless, they are not part of the conversation here.
Third (indirect): Jesus is either God or Jesus is not good either.
By direct question, Jesus has asked the individual who initiated the conversation why he referred to Jesus as “good.” By direct statement, Jesus asserted that only God is good. By direct implication, Jesus asserted that He is only good Himself if He is God. This is either a declaration by Jesus of His own deity or a declaration the He, as a person, is not good; no more so than the rest of humanity, which He has already declared is not good.
In summation, in His statement, Jesus has asserted at least two direct points. One is that people are not good. The other is that only God is good. He has also declared either that He is God or that He is not good.
This is the implication we must face. If you choose to believe the former, then your life should be profoundly impacted. If Jesus is God, then you must face the reality of the situation, and His other teachings, or ignore it at your own peril. If you choose to believe that He is not God, then you should recognize that by His own assertion, He did not believe Himself to be good. You may believe He was good, but He did not; unless He believed He was God. If He did and if He wasn’t, then there are other implications you must deal with. I believe the former—that He is God—and there are plenty of other passages in the Bible that support this. But I won’t quote them here; you can look them up if you want.
Either way, if you want to be rationally consistent, you should not assert to be a follower of Christ or a believer in the Bible unless you acknowledge that Jesus either taught that He was God or that He was not good; and then deal with the implications accordingly.
Thanks for reading. Grace and peace to you.
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