Why did Jesus say 'why do you call me good'?

Not to deny his goodness, but to press the rich young ruler toward his identity. Since goodness in the fullest sense belongs to God alone (Mark 10:18), Jesus invites the man to consider whether calling him 'good' is a mere compliment or an admission of who Jesus truly is.

Was Jesus denying he was God in Mark 10:18?

Most readers understand him as doing the opposite: pointing out that if only God is truly good, then to call Jesus good is to say more than the young man realizes. The question is a door toward recognizing Jesus' divine identity, not a denial of it.

A question Jesus asked

“Why Do You Call Me Good?”

Asked to the rich young ruler · Mark 10:18

When a rich young man addressed him as 'Good Master,' Jesus replied, 'Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God' (Mark 10:18). Far from denying his goodness, the question quietly presses the man toward who Jesus really is.

He asked it

“Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Jesus · Mark 10:18

Why he asked

A wealthy, sincere young man runs up and kneels, and calls Jesus 'Good Master,' asking how to inherit eternal life. And Jesus, before answering the question, stops on that one word, good. 'Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.' For centuries readers have puzzled over it. Is Jesus denying that he is good? Denying that he is God?

Read it as a door rather than a denial, and it opens beautifully. Jesus is not rejecting the title; he is asking the young man whether he understands what he just said. You call me good. But you know, as a devout Jew, that goodness in the full sense belongs to God alone. So either you are using the word loosely, as a compliment, or you are saying something far larger than you realize. Which is it? The question invites the man to follow his own words to their conclusion: if I am truly good, and only God is good, then who are you kneeling in front of?

You call me good. But only God is good. So do you know what you just said, and to whom you said it?

And he asks it of youIt is easy to admire Jesus at a comfortable altitude, to call him a good teacher, a great moral example, a wise man, and to mean it as a compliment that keeps him safely human. His question will not let the word stay small. If he really is good, in the deepest sense, then the label 'good teacher' is either far too little or exactly right in a way that changes everything. Why do you call him good? He is asking you to notice who you are actually talking about.

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The question waits for an answer

A question is not a lecture; it waits for you. These were not asked two thousand years ago and closed. The same Jesus is still asking, and Living Bread is a quiet place to sit with the question, read the Gospels, and answer him honestly, at your own pace.

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Frequently asked questions

Why did Jesus say 'why do you call me good'?: Not to deny his goodness, but to press the rich young ruler toward his identity. Since goodness in the fullest sense belongs to God alone (Mark 10:18), Jesus invites the man to consider whether calling him 'good' is a mere compliment or an admission of who Jesus truly is.
Was Jesus denying he was God in Mark 10:18?: Most readers understand him as doing the opposite: pointing out that if only God is truly good, then to call Jesus good is to say more than the young man realizes. The question is a door toward recognizing Jesus' divine identity, not a denial of it.

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