Did Jesus Say He’s Not Good?

According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus encountered a man we refer to as “the rich young ruler.” In each account, the man came up to Jesus and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life (Matt. 19:16-30; Mk. 10:17-31; Lk. 18:18-25). He receives an answer from Jesus, but it’s not what he was looking for. The conversation went something like this:

“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:17-23, NIV)

This passage has been used by some Christians to argue against the deity of Christ. According to their logic, by asking, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus was correcting the man and telling him he wasn’t good. The reason Jesus said he wasn’t good is that there is only one who is good and that is God. Therefore, Jesus is not God since, according to his own words, Jesus is not good.

Others use it to argue that Jesus is God: They say Jesus asked the man “Why do you call me good?” so he would consider who Jesus really is—God. Do you think Jesus is good or not? They’ll ask. If you say yes, you just admitted that Jesus is God since only God is good.

I once adhered to one of these interpretations, but now I reject both since neither makes any sense. I’ll explain why later, with Scripture, but first, let’s answer the essential question, “Did Jesus say he’s not good?”

Let’s jump in.

In order to answer this question, let’s examine Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, and Luke 18:19. Rather than following what you’ve been taught, study these verses carefully. Read them to yourself, meditate on them, and pray over them. Then ask yourself, did Jesus really say he’s not good?

Well, did he?

What baffles me is not the ease with which we can interpret something based on our own cultural background, understanding, or preconceptions, but the fact that we can so confidently add what isn’t there, and remove what is clearly written to make our case.

In no way did Yeshua say that he wasn’t good, nor did he say not to call him good. In fact, he calls himself the “good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11-18), and he always does the Father’s will (Jn. 8:29). What is he if he’s not good? Bad? Evil?

Also, he doesn’t claim that only God is good; but he even calls men good, as does the Hebrew Bible (Matt. 12:35; Matt. 25:21; Lk. 6:45; Acts 11:24; Prov. 12:2; Prov. 13:22; Prov. 2:20; Rom. 5:7). 

Yes, people can be good. We were made in God’s image, and are meant to live accordingly, so this isn’t far-fetched or impossible. In my opinion, those who claim otherwise do so out of humility, but it’s not according to truth.

So, to conclude, Jesus never said he wasn’t good and his conversation with the rich young ruler neither confirms nor disproves Christ’s divinity. It has nothing to do with either.

Then what might the Lord have meant? 

In an upcoming post, we’ll examine our key passages in detail and discuss what Jesus may have meant in his conversation with the “rich young ruler.”