Why does Jesus question being called "good" in Luke 18:19? Text of the Passage “A certain ruler asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call Me good?’ Jesus replied. ‘No one is good except God alone.’ ” (Luke 18:18-19) Immediate Narrative Setting Jesus is approached by a wealthy synagogue leader who assumes eternal life can be earned by exemplary behavior. The Lord’s initial response is not a rejection of the title “good” but a probing question that exposes the man’s shallow understanding of both goodness and God. The dialog proceeds to reveal the ruler’s attachment to wealth, culminating in Jesus’ invitation to follow Him—an invitation equal to acknowledging Christ’s divine authority. Jewish Theological Assumptions about Goodness Second-Temple Judaism routinely confessed, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good” (Psalm 136:1). The Shema (“The LORD is one,” Deuteronomy 6:4) and numerous psalms insist that moral perfection is God’s exclusive domain. Ecclesiastes 7:20 echoes, “Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” By forcing the ruler to grapple with this theological premise, Jesus redirects the conversation from human achievement to divine grace. Christ’s Rhetorical Aim: Clarifying Deity and Exposing Self-Righteousness 1. Jesus obliges the ruler either to recognize Jesus as God incarnate or to refrain from superficial flattery. 2. The question turns the ruler’s gaze from his résumé of commandments kept (v. 21) to the absolute standard of divine holiness (Leviticus 19:2). 3. It sets the stage for demonstrating that the ruler’s confidence in law-keeping is insufficient—he will ultimately walk away “very sorrowful” (v. 23) because idolatry of wealth contradicts the first commandment. No Denial of Christ’s Own Goodness Jesus elsewhere affirms His sinlessness and deity: • “Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46) • “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Rather than disavowing His own goodness, He is testing whether the ruler understands the implication of using that title: calling Jesus “good” is tantamount to confessing Him as God. Harmony with the Synoptic Parallels Matthew 19:17 records, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? … Only One is good.” Mark 10:18 parallels Luke verbatim. All three converge on the same theological thrust: God alone is good, and Jesus is God; therefore discipleship requires surrender to Him. Christological Implication: An Implicit Claim to Deity The pattern of Jesus’ self-revelation (John 4:26; 6:35; 8:58) shows He often discloses His identity through questions. Luke 18:19 continues that methodological consistency. Early church fathers recognized the implication: Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.16.3) cites this verse while affirming Christ’s divinity. Patristic and Historical Witness Origen (Commentary on Matthew 15) and Chrysostom (Hom. 63 on Matthew) interpret the question as Christ eliciting faith in His divinity. Jerome’s Vulgate preserves the same sense (quid me dicis bonum). These early expositions attest that orthodox Christianity has never viewed the verse as a denial of Christ’s perfection. Answering Modern Misreadings • Islamic apologists allege Jesus denies divinity here. The context proves otherwise: He challenges the ruler to recognize that calling Him “good” necessitates affirming His unity with the Father. • Skeptics claim internal inconsistency because Romans 3:12 says “none is good.” Scripture harmonizes by reserving ultimate goodness for God while declaring Jesus to be God incarnate. Concise Summary Jesus’ question, “Why do you call Me good?” is a skillful, corrective probe. It presses the ruler (and every reader) to acknowledge that absolute goodness belongs to God alone and to realize that if Jesus truly is good, then He must be God. Far from denying His own perfection, Christ uses the moment to dismantle self-reliance and direct sinners to the only source of salvation—Himself. |
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