Mark 10:18. What is Jesus saying?

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.

What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

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He didn't deny being God. The problem was that he discerned this man wasn't yet sufficiently convicted of sin to receive the gospel of grace, so presented the righteousness of the law, as Paul also did in the beginning of Romans. The purpose? "no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Rom 3:20 He brought up the topic of "good" to speak to the fact that "There is none who does good, no, not one." Rom 3:12

HE was asking if the rich young ruler was open to HIM being God.

"You call me good.
Only God is good.
Are you saying I am God?"

bcbsr said:

. The problem was that he discerned this man wasn't yet sufficiently convicted of sin to receive the gospel of grace, so presented the righteousness of the law,

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Since that was what was available at the time.

Dave-W said:

Since that was what was available at the time.

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If you mean to say that only justification by the law was available when Jesus spoke to the man, granted that the New Covenant wasn't in full effect until Acts 2, where it incorporated the receiving of the Holy Spirit, yet justification by faith was always available. Not Romans 4 Paul speaks of Abraham and David both being examples of men justified by faith apart from works. Yet both lived long before the New Covenant was in effect. Furthermore if there was a time when justification was only by one's compliance to a law, then, as Paul wrote, no one had been justified.

"if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." Gal 3:21,22

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.

What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

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Before Jesus came to earth as a man, He was the Word. In other words, He was God, as much as the Father and Holy Spirit are God.

Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that He emptied Himself. In the passage here you are asking about, Jesus is pointing us to God. Even though we know now Jesus was God, He was no longer equal with God. Jesus couldn't do anything of Himself, only what the Father now told Him to do. The Father was now Greater having all power and glory. But that was only temporary while on earth. Jesus wasn't glorified yet, because He was still in the middle of His ministry to save the world and die for it. But after His ministry was completed, and He was about to die for our sins, He asked the Father to restore His glory that He had from the beginning with Him. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father and all His former glory was restored.

So you may ask, if He emptied Himself, how was it that He never sinned, even as a human being? I had wondered the same thing based on my human experience. I know I had no freedom from sin until I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, and all desire to sin left me immediately. And we know that Jesus wasn't baptized with the Holy Spirit until He was baptized in water by John the Baptist and the Spirit came upon Him. That was in order for Him to do the signs and wonders that followed His ministry.

The answer is the Seed. Jesus was conceived with the Seed of God, and had power over sin from that very moment in the womb. We are not God, but the same seed is planted in all of us who have been born again of the Spirit. And that is why this controversial verse is true, as those who have the Spirit in them, can bear witness.

1 John 3:9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Unfortunately, there are many in the Church that have never turned from their sin in order to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and been literally born again with a new nature. They are merely still in the process of being drawn by the Holy Spirit, but have never taken the step of full surrender. Knowing about Jesus, is not knowing Him, or He KNOWING us. Don't let Jesus say to those who say "Lord, Lord"....And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ But if you are reading this, there is still time, you're not dead yet.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.

What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

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If you can envision Jesus answering in a somewhat condescending manner it becomes clear that he is at least hinting at his divinity without actually proclaiming it.

Jesus was saying that apart from the father he could do nothing. All goodness comes from above.

There is nothing good in man. That doesn't mean that everything about man is evil, for man was made in GOD's image, and he called his creation very good. It just means that man of himself apart from the spirit of GOD cannot work righteousness.

I think Jesus might have been testing the perception the rich man had of Him for the man's benefit. I don't think Jesus was claiming or disclaiming anything. He had a way of communicating that made people think and solidify their faith or see the weakness of their faith.

I believe that when God asks a question, it is not because He doesn't know the answer, but because He wants us to think about it and to draw out confessions or proclamations of faith.

συνείδησις said:

Jesus was saying that apart from the father he could do nothing. All goodness comes from above.

I am not able to do anything of myself. As I hear I judge; and my judgment is just because I do not seek my will, but the will of the father sending me forth. John 5:30

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. James 1:17
​

There is nothing good in man. That doesn't mean that everything about man is evil, for man was made in GOD's image, and he called his creation very good. It just means that man of himself apart from the spirit of GOD cannot work righteousness.

O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:23​

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Do you know why this statement or yours is true: "Jesus was saying that apart from the father he could do nothing." Wasn't Jesus God?

Jesus came to do God's will.Luke 22:42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

No one but God can do good because no one is perfect as He is.
Earthly good is not the same as Godly good , Jesus is our best example of that.

We do not even like to be told we are bad if we think we are good.

Luke 18: (KJV)19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
When we start believing we are good , we stop striving to be as Jesus and any punishment is unjust...

God's standard of good is not what we have made it. While on earth in these earthly bodies , if Jesus could not call Himself good , we should not either. God is working out the bad in us till we die, but we are never good. satan was very clever in the Garden and is now with words...

Drought of the Heart said:

Jesus came to do God's will.Luke 22:42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

No one but God can do good because no one is perfect as He is.
Earthly good is not the same as Godly good , Jesus is our best example of that.

We do not even like to be told we are bad if we think we are good.

Luke 18: (KJV)19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
When we start believing we are good , we stop striving to be as Jesus and any punishment is unjust...

God's standard of good is not what we have made it. While on earth in these earthly bodies , if Jesus could not call Himself good , we should not either. God is working out the bad in us till we die, but we are never good. satan was very clever in the Garden and is now with words...

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I don't believe the logic that when Jesus asked "Why call Me good; there is none good but God," He was somehow admitting He was bad. He was being an example of the time in which He spoke. The Old Covenant. Even though they had the LAW, the law made no one righteous. They were still sacrificing animals for their sins, but the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin - only cover the sin while it remained.

And I don't agree with this statement of yours:

"While on earth in these earthly bodies, if Jesus could not call Himself good, we should not either. God is working out the bad in us till we die, but we are never good."

Don't you know that is the opposite of what Jesus accomplished? Don't you know that is a slap in His face? And what is terrible is, these same beliefs run rampant in Christ's Church!

Jesus made us SAINTS, not SINNERS. How? HIS SPIRIT in us. Those under the Old Covenant never had the indwelling Spirit - only those anointed, like Prophets and Kings, but us regular folks - no. We had the law, which made none righteous, because our sin remained.

The New Covenant makes us:
DEAD TO SIN
NOT IN THE FLESH, BUT IN THE SPIRIT.
RIGHTEOUS
SANCTIFIED
SAINTS
BORN OF GOD

Is this really news to you???

1 John 3:5-9
5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Romans 3:19-23


The Pharisee thought they where right and good , Paul explains compared to God we are rags , most great Scripture Prophets understood this. We are taught from prek on to be good and we can be by earthly standards but we can never compare our good to Gods. The Book and life of Job tells us that. Job thought he has done nothing but good and should not be going through what he was and wanted to reason with God. It was not till chapter 40 Job started getting it . God described Job to satan as Job 1 : 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Yet went through all he did for Job to finally say , Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.


Dangerous place to go where Job went or the change up the words of Jesus that none are good...

Drought of the Heart said:

Dangerous place to go where Job went or the change up the words of Jesus that none are good...

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When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, we inherited the sin nature. No one since then was good or righteous, because of the sin in them.

Don't you know that Jesus was the "second" Adam, and through Him giving us His own Spirit, we are no longer cursed with that inherited sin nature, we are born again.

You'll need to read a whole lot further in Romans than the third chapter to find what Jesus actually did for us. Read chapters 6, 7 and 8.

1stcenturylady said:

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, we inherited the sin nature. No one since then was good or righteous, because of the sin in them.

Don't you know that Jesus was the "second" Adam, and through Him giving us His own Spirit, we are no longer cursed with that inherited sin nature, we are born again.

You'll need to read a whole lot further in Romans than the third chapter to find what Jesus actually did for us. Read chapters 6, 7 and 8.

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Until we die we are a work in progress and Jesus showed us this here John 20:17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.



In these earthly tents we are just a mess , the Cross did many things and one is reminds us we are not worthy of what we are given...

Drought of the Heart said:

Until we die we are a work in progress and Jesus showed us this here John 20:17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.



In these earthly tents we are just a mess , the Cross did many things and one is reminds us we are not worthy of what we are given...

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Wow, talk about a mess in theology! That's not the gospel at all.

The gospel means "good news" What about your "mess" theology is good news? What victory over the works of Satan are we enjoying?

Could you do me a favor. Could you name any denomination who teaches what you just stated? You are now "Non-Denominational" which I applaud, but not at the cost of truth.

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.

What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

Click to expand...

He is pointing out that "teachers" are generally not a source of righteousness.
Jesus expects to be recognized for his character, rather than his actions as a teacher.

As a perfect teacher, he would spend unlimited time with every student.
That was not his role.

SkyWriting said:

He is pointing out that "teachers" are generally not a source of righteousness.
Jesus expects to be recognized for his character, rather than his actions as a teacher.

As a perfect teacher, he would spend unlimited time with every student.
That was not his role.

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Check out my response #6 as it is what I would respond to your post.

Jesus meant exactly what He Said.

Jesus never meant He is not Elohim (Mighty Self-existing Eternal Creator echad (one) with Yahweh),
and Jesus never meant He is not good (obviously).

As Jesus Says, His Words are not man's words, His Ways are far far far above man's ways, and most men never understand Him nor become alive in Him.

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."
If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.
What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

Click to expand...

David_AB said:

The Rich Young Man
17And 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?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In verse 18 Jesus asks "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

If I said that I would mean that I am not good and I'm also not God.

What is the explanation of what Jesus means when he says this?

Click to expand...

Grammatically Jesus' words may be interpreted in more than one way. If you believe that other parts of the Bible unambiguously teach the deity of Jesus, then that will guide you how to interpret Mark 10:18.

I don't think Jesus was denying that he is good because elsewhere he claimed he was sinless and that he always pleased his Father. I agree with JAM2b in post #9 above when he said that Jesus often spoke in ways designed to provoke his listeners to reconsider their faulty presuppositions. He didn't just spoon-feed people with abstract theology but sought to challenge them to think about the implications of the truth and stir them into action.

The context of Mark 10:18 is that the man asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life and Jesus essentially replied "Follow me" (verse 21). Jesus did not say: "These are the rules God has given me. You will get eternal life if you obey these commands." Neither did he say: "Follow God and submit to his commands." But he said: "Follow me." The man would only be willing to sell all his possessions and follow Jesus if he believed Jesus was much more than a good teacher. So Jesus needed to challenge the man's definition of true goodness (it's not merely an outward observance of God's laws) and to challenge the man's understanding of who Jesus is so that he would be prepared to renounce everything to follow him.