In light of the fact that the Bible claims repeatedly that Jesus was both good and God--
as we have discussed in other videos--
some contend that in Mark 10:18 Jesus said just the opposite.
In an article titled “New Testament Contradictions,”
Paul Carlson listed Mark 10:18 (among other passages)
as being “an embarrassment to the church,”
as it allegedly indicates “Jesus did not consider himself sinless.”
By Jesus saying to the rich young ruler,
“Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God,”
skeptic Dennis McKinsey said that,
“Jesus is not only admitting that he is not perfectly moral but that he is not God.”
Does Jesus actually admit not being “good” and “God” in Mark 10:18?
Did He deny being perfectly moral as well as Divine?
Before answering this question, one must keep in mind that Jesus
often responded to questions in unexpected, masterful ways.
He offered thought-provoking, soul-searching answers--
often in the form of questions--that, unfortunately, many people have misinterpreted.
Do you think the confident, commandment-keeping, rich young ruler
ever thought that Jesus would instruct him to sell whatever he had and give it to the poor--
to leave everything and follow Jesus? Surely not.
Yet, that’s exactly what Jesus said to him:
No doubt, this man was quite shocked by Jesus’ instructions.
Likewise, when the young ruler initially came to Jesus, saying,
he never expected Jesus to say,
The young man seems to have regarded himself as good
since he professed to have kept all of the commandments that Jesus mentioned.
Perhaps the gentleman simply wanted to know
from one good man to another good man --a “good teacher”--
However, rather than immediately answer the young man’s question,
it seems Jesus first wanted to humble him,
by highlighting that the young man was not as good as he considered himself to be,
and also for him to realize who exactly he was questioning.
He wasn’t merely petitioning a good man.
The Bible records various mere human beings who were called good.
Luke recorded that “Barnabas was a good man.”
Paul indicated that Christians are to “do good to all.”
Are Christians who do good, 'good' Christians?
Even Jesus stated previous to His encounter with the rich young ruler that
Thus clearly when Jesus spoke to the wealthy ruler,
He was not using 'good' in the sense of a man being able to be good.
Rather He was using it in the sense of God being absolutely, supremely good.
The kind of goodness to which He was referring belonged only to God.
The only way man can objectively call someone good is if
there is an ultimate standard for goodness-- the supreme, unblemished, good God.
Jesus never said what skeptics and various Bible critics allege He said--
that He was not good or that He was not God.
Instead, Jesus attempted to get the rich young ruler
to see the implications of calling Him 'good teacher.'
Do good, merely human teachers claim to be the Messiah?
Do good men accept worship and honor due only to God?
Do good men claim to have the power to forgive sins as Jesus did?
Absolutely not.
But Jesus had the power to forgive sins.
He actually claimed to be the Messiah and accepted worship.
So what was Jesus implying when He asked the young ruler,
I submit to you that He was implying the exact opposite of what skeptics suggest.
In essence, Jesus was saying, “If you’re calling me good,
then you must come to realize that I’m also God.
Because if not, I’m merely a man--a bad man--
who’s lying about being the heaven-sent, sin-solving Messiah."
I believe more people would have a better understanding of this passage
as it relates to the nature of Christ, if they pondered on it in its totality.
That is, to better understand what Jesus first said
to the covetous, rich young ruler in Mark 10:18,
consider what He said at the end, in verse 21.
Who says that kind of thing? Has anyone ever said this to you?
If someone walked up to me today and said,
“Eric, sell your house and everything you own, follow me, and be willing to suffer for my sake,”
I might ask (among other things):
Friends, no mere man, no good man in his right mind,
would ever say and expect such a thing.
However, God, the Creator of physical life and the Giver of eternal life--
the treasures of heaven-- has every right to command such.
I submit to you that Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler
strongly implies something about His unique nature:
that He was not merely a good man but that He was and is God,
who is innately and supremely Good.
To contend that Mark 10:18 proves that Jesus thought Himself to be
neither morally perfect nor God is 1) to disregard the overall context of the Bible,
2) to twist the Scriptures like untaught and unstable people do “to their own destruction,”
and 3) to take a superficial reading of the text.
Far from denying the deity of Christ, Mark 10, verses 17-22 actually affirm it.
If you would like to learn more about the greatness and Godhood of Jesus,
be sure to visit us at ApologeticsPress.org.