One event, four witnesses
The Rich Young Ruler
A wealthy young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and goes away sorrowful when told to sell all. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record it, with a slight and much-discussed difference in the opening exchange about goodness.
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”Matthew 19:16
“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”Mark 10:17
“And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”Luke 18:18
The event
The event. A rich man, whom Matthew calls young and Luke calls a ruler, runs to Jesus and kneels, asking what good thing he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus first raises the question of goodness itself, then points him to the commandments, naming those of the second table: do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor father and mother. The man replies that he has kept all these from his youth. Mark adds the moving detail that Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Then Jesus names the one thing he lacks: to go, sell all that he has, give to the poor, and come and follow Him, with treasure in heaven. At this word the man's face falls, and he goes away grieved, for he had great possessions. Jesus then remarks how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, harder than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and when the disciples are astonished, asking who then can be saved, He answers that with men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. The story exposes the grip of wealth on a sincere but unyielding heart.
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs. All three agree on the sincere question, the pointing to the commandments, the man's claim to have kept them, the command to sell all and follow, his sorrowful departure because of his riches, and the sayings about the camel, the needle's eye, and God's power to save. The much-discussed difference lies in the opening exchange about goodness. In Matthew the man asks, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do?" and Jesus replies, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Actually Matthew's wording runs, "Why askest thou me concerning that which is good?" while Mark and Luke read, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." This is a real difference in the reported words. It is well explained as the same exchange rendered with slightly different emphasis: the point in every version is to press the man toward the true source of goodness in God. Mark and Luke preserve the sharper form that turns on the title "good," challenging the man to consider whom he is really addressing; Matthew casts the same challenge in terms of what is good. Jesus is not denying His own goodness or deity; He is inviting the ruler to reckon with the fact that goodness belongs to God, and thus with who Jesus is. Mark's unique note that Jesus loved him adds warmth the others omit.
What it shows of Christ
What it shows of Christ. Jesus is the searcher of hearts who loves even as He exposes. Mark's detail that He beheld the man and loved him reveals that the hard command to sell all was an act of love, aimed at the one idol standing between this man and eternal life. The exchange about goodness is not a disclaimer of Jesus' own goodness but a summons: if only God is good, then to call Jesus good is to reckon with His true identity. In every account Christ shows that eternal life cannot be secured by keeping rules while the heart clings to another master; He asks for the surrender of the very thing the man trusts. His words about the camel and the needle, and His declaration that what is impossible with men is possible with God, reveal salvation as God's work, not human achievement. Mark stresses the love, Luke the danger of riches to a ruler, Matthew the young man's earnest but unwilling sincerity. Christ offers Himself as the treasure worth more than all possessions.
Questions people ask
Why does Matthew word the exchange about goodness differently from Mark and Luke?
In Mark and Luke, Jesus says, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Matthew casts the same challenge as, "Why askest thou me concerning that which is good?" It is one exchange rendered with slightly different emphasis, and in every version Jesus presses the man toward God as the source of goodness. He is not denying His own goodness but inviting the ruler to consider who He truly is.
Was Jesus denying that He is good or that He is God?
No. He was pressing the man to reckon with his own words. If goodness belongs to God alone, then to address Jesus as good is to face the question of His identity. Rightly understood, the saying points toward, not away from, who Jesus is, and it exposes whether the man's flattering title carried real faith.