Last updated 6/03/15 and is eight pages long.

Some say that when the rich young ruler calls Jesus "good teacher" and Jesus responds saying "there is only one who
is good" in Mark 10:17-18, Jesus is implying he is God.
Also in Mathew 19:16-17 and Luke 18:18
I will show that this interpretation is incorrect and that Mark 10:17-18 does NOT show Jesus to be God.
Whether you agree or disagree, in part or in whole, big or small, please email me any feedback to help improve this
study. I would also appreciate any help with its logic, grammar, typos, editing etc.
Before analyzing the passage in question at Mark 10:17-18, and the relationship of Christ with God, I am going to
provide some evidence that has to be taken into account when interpreting our passage.
Index
Part 0
Part 1A
Part 1B
Part 2A
Part 2B
Part 3
Part 4A
Part 4B
Part 5A
Part 5B
Part 6
Part 7

Definitions
People Are Good
People Do Good
Jesus Is Good
Jesus Was Made Perfect
Good God
The Original Text in Mark 10:17-18
Translation Comparisons for Mark 10:17-18
Mark 10:17-18 Analysis
Mark 10:19-26 Analysis
Mathew and Luke's Versions
Summaries and Final Conclusion

Part 0 Definitions
The definitions taken from Strong's and The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.
G18 Agathos. Strong's: 18. agaths, ag-ath-os; a prim. word; good (in any sense, often as
noun):benefit, good (-s, things), well.
G18 Agathos. TDNT: as an adjective it means excellent or fine or good. Applied to persons, it signifies the
excellence of the person in his existing position

Part 1 People Are "Good?"

Several people were "good" or "G18/agathos" in the NT.
Mathew 5:45 For he makes His sun rise on the evil and the good (G18/agathos).
Jesus tells us that God sends the Sun on "good" people
Mathew 12:35 The good (G18/agathos) man brings good (G18/agathos) things out of the good (G18/agathos)
stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
It is interesting that Jesus here describes the good person in a parable using the same Greek word G18/agathos as
Mark 10:17-18. So people could be described as good, even by Jesus who also said "no one is good."

Mathew 22:10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and
good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests
The "good" people came to the wedding as guests in this parable.
Mathew 25:21 His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over
a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
Another parable where Jesus describes a servant as good and faithful.
Luke 6:45 The good (G18/agathos) person out of the good (G18/agathos) treasure of his heart produces
good (G18/agathos), and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of
the heart his mouth speaks.
G18 is written three times in this passage by Jesus regarding the good person who has good in his heart and therefore
produces more good!
1 Timothy 4:6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being
trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed
Paul is telling Timothy that he will be a good servant if he does certain things.
Summary:
Mathew 5:45 God sends the Sun on "good" people
Mathew 12:35 Jesus describes the "good" man in the parable
Mathew 22:10 The "good" people came to the wedding banquet
Mathew 25:21 The "good and faithful" servant in the parable of the talents
Luke 6:45
The same parable as Mathew 12:35 with Jesus describing the "good" man.
1 Tim 4:6
Timothy will be a good servant of Jesus Christ
There are several other passages that describe people as "good."
Luke 9:33, Luke 19:17, Luke 23:50, John 5:29, Acts 6:3, Acts 9:36, Rom 5:7, etc
Clearly Jesus and Paul describe other people as "good" using the Greek word G18/agathos which is the exact same
word as the one where Jesus says "no one is good except God" in Mark 10:17-18.

Part 1B People Do Good

Mathew 5:16 let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works
Mathew 7:11 if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children
Mathew 12:12 do good deeds on the Sabbath
Mark 3:4
Jesus asked can you do good on the Sabbath
Mark 14:7
You can do good for the poor
Luke 6:9
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
3 John 11
Whoever does good is from God
People do good works and deeds and give good gifts according to Jesus and Peter
Mathew 7:17 The tree bears good fruits
Mathew 13:38 The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom

Jesus taught that in parables there were good fruits and good seeds
Luke 1:19
Luke 2:10
Luke 3:18

The angel brought good news

the angel brings good news
John preaches good news

The angel and John the Baptist brought good news to the people
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are
called according to his purpose
All things work together for good
Summary:
People do good works and deeds and give good gifts
Jesus taught that in parables there were good fruits and good seeds
The angel and John the Baptist brought good news to the people
Jesus preached good news
All things work together for good

Part 2A Jesus is Good.

John 10:11-14 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves
the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
Vs11 Jesus says he is the "good" shepherd
Vs14 Jesus repeats he is the "good" shepherd.
Mathew 11:5 the poor have good news preached to them
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord anointed me to preach good news
Luke 4:43
The Spirit of the Lord anointed me to preach good news
Jesus preached good news
Summary:
Jesus has proclaimed himself to be good as the good shepherd, and he preaches good news.

Part 2B Jesus Was Made Perfect

Jesus made perfect
Hebrews 2:10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom
everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect (G5048 teleioo) through suffering.
G5048 Teleioo: To bring to completeness
Jesus was made perfect through suffering. Before he was made perfect, he was not perfect.

If before this happened Jesus was not perfect, the question is "was he good"?
Other people were good but not perfect, so perhaps Jesus was the same.
Perfect and good have different meanings
Hebrews 5:8-9 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
If he learned obedience then he did not have it before this.
Would God need to learn obedience?
Who did Jesus learn obedience to? God? God would not learn obedience to himself.
If he was made perfect then he was not always perfect before this time.
Before this time he was not the source of salvation. God the only source before Jesus came to the earth, now it now
changed from God being the savior to Jesus also being the savior.
Summary:
Hebrews 2:10 Jesus was made perfect
Hebrews 5:8-9 There was a time before "once made perfect,"
These passages are about Jesus being made perfect, if Jesus was not perfect then he may not have been "good"
however, it is not certain. The point here is that if Jesus was "made perfect" through anything, then he is not God
who was always perfect.
To see an in depth study see section 18B Jesus was Made Perfect xxxx linked here coming 2016

Part 3 Good God

Acts 13:32
Luke 1:53
1 Tim 4:4

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers
he has filled the hungry with good things
Everything created by God is good

Summary:
God sent good news through people, he filled the hungry with good things, and everything God created is good!

Part 4A The Original Text in Mark 10:17-18

What did the original Greek text say?
Greek UBS 4th Edition Critical Text
This is the original Greek text in its exact order
, ,
kai gonypeteo autos eporatao autos didaskalos agathos tis poleo hina zoe aionios kleronomeo
and knelt
him asked
him teacher good what do to life eternal inherit
The question is does "good" relate to the previous "teacher" or the following "what do?"
Should it be "teacher good," meaning "good teacher" etc
or "teacher, good what do" meaning "teacher, what good deed should I do?"
Summary:
Looking at the original Greek text it is hard to tell if "good" is related to the previous teacher or the following deed if
we look at these words only. Due to Jesus response, the comma has been inserted into the original Greek by the
translators to show "good" is in relation to Jesus.

Part 4B Translation Comparisons for Mark 10:17-18

Sometimes the translators interpret a certain verse in different ways, here that possibility is looked at.
Mark 10:17-18 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good
teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is goodexcept God alone.
Darby, ASV, AV, DR, ESV, GW, HCSB, ISV, KJV, LEB, NET, NASB, NCV, NIRV, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, RSV,
TNIV, YLT.
Summary:
In this survey of the twenty different translations listed, all of them called Jesus "good teacher" in vs17, and Jesus
responds with "why do you call me good" or something very similar in vs18. There is nothing to show that the word
"good" is not in relation to Jesus.

Part 5A Mark 10:17-18 Analysis

A review of Mark 10:17-18
Mark 10:17-18 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good
teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is goodexcept God alone.
vs16 The man asks "what good must I do to have eternal life?" The question was about the man's eternal life, not to
do with whether Jesus was good or not. From the man's point of view, if Jesus could call people "good" there was
nothing wrong with calling Jesus good. The young man seems to have regarded himself as good (since he professed
to have kept all of the commandments that Jesus mentionedMark 10:20). Perhaps he simply wanted to know
from one good man to another good man - what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, if there was any more he could
do. There is no indication that the young ruler considered Jesus to be the Messiah, or God.
vs17 Jesus begins regarding God being the only one who is good, this is not in harmony with the numerous passages
where Jesus calls men "good," and many more passages that talk of the good things people do.
Jesus' response asking "why do you call him good" has three possibilities of understanding, either
A/ Jesus was offended at being called "good" and corrected the man.
B/ Jesus wanted to address the human understanding of good compared with higher levels of good
C/ Rather than coming right out and saying that he was God, by saying only God was good and not disagreeing with
the ruler that Jesus was good, he had coyly revealed that he himself was in fact God.
(We have to bear in mind the previous Parts where Jesus said others were good, and he is the "good" shepherd.)
In Favor of A:
A/ Jesus was annoyed at being called good. Because Jesus stated that only God is good, he is in fact completely
denying that he is God.
Against A:
This is a very valid viewpoint until considering the other information provided.
In Favor of B:
Jesus did not say "don't call me good," he wanted to call into question the concept which the rich young ruler had of

good. He was making the point that none of us human beings are good enough in ourselves to measure up to God's
perfect standard.
Quote: Jesus is not saying here that he isn't "good". The point Jesus was making here was that God is good
in the absolute and consummate sense. Jesus recognized God as the ultimate standard of what is good.
Though Jesus Christ had a quality of moral excellence, he would not accept Good as a title. So Jesus was
saying that no one is as good as God is, not even Jesus himself. God is good in a way that separates
him from
Jesus.
It seems there are at least these ascending levels of godly "good."
1/ The good ruler had kept all the commands but had earthly wealth
2/ the good disciples who had given everything away to follow Jesus
3/ God the ultimate good.
Against B:
When considering all other facts presented in this study, this is the most likely scenario. There are no arguments
against this possibility.
In Favor of C:
You say Im good? Well, theres only one who is good, and thats God. So what does that make me?
The argument in favor of this idea is "are we saying that Jesus is not good? We all agree Jesus is good, therefore he
must be God."
Against C:
Throughout the OT God was always extremely clear that he was God, so why not now? God had never previously
acted coyly or modestly by sending an implied signals about his identity.
This scenario is unlikely because the man gave no indication that he understood Jesus to be saying he was God.
Jesus did not deny OR agree that he is good. The theory rests on an assumption, not proof, that he agrees.
Summary:
The answer to our quandary is B.
Jesus wanted to address the human understanding of good compared with higher levels of good
Jesus did not say "don't call me good," he wanted to call into question the concept which the rich young ruler had of
good. He was making the point that none of us human beings are good enough in ourselves to measure up to God's
perfect standard.
It seems there are at least these ascending levels of godly "good."
1/ The good ruler had kept all the commands but had earthly wealth
2/ the good disciples who had given everything away to follow Jesus
3/ God the ultimate good.
The question is where does Jesus the good shepherd fit on the list? My guess is between 2-3!

Part 5B Mark 10:19-26

The rest of the context sheds a little more light on the dilemma.
Mark 10:19-26 You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do
not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.

20 And he said to him, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one

thing: go, sell all that you have and

give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to
enter the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to
enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of
God.
26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, Then who can be saved?
Vs19 In answering the rulers question of how to get eternal life, Jesus reviews several of the Ten Commandments
Vs20 The ruler claims he has always kept all the commands
Vs21 Jesus loved the ruler which is interesting. Give all your riches away, your earthly desires
Vs22 Obviously this is not something anyone would quickly agree with, he may or may not have done it.
Vs23 It is difficult for the wealthy to get to heaven
Vs24 It is difficult for anyone to get to heaven.
Other than Jesus' initial question about calling him good, the entire conversation from vs17 is about getting to heaven.
There is no discussion regarding Jesus being God, the man doesn't ask about it and Jesus doesn't bring it up. We know
from the other verses that there were "crowds of people" and "Pharisees" along with children and disciples in
attendance. It would seem fair to say that if the young ruler, or anyone else, had any inclination that Jesus was
claiming to be God they would have asked him especially the Pharisees.
The man explained in vs19-26 how "good" he had been, and Jesus was saying it wasn't good enough. Did this rich
young ruler really love his neighbor as much as he loved himself? If so, then let him sell all he had and divide it with
them, showing that he did indeed love others as the commandments required. The Lord, in His words to him,
exposed his heart. This was convincing him that he was guilty of breaking Gods law and was in need of forgiveness.
Once the ruler left we don't know what he did next.
Jesus request for the man to sell everything he had and to follow Jesus was meant to show that the man had replaced
the one true God with his possessions. That the man's concept of "good" was not good enough.
Summary:
It was not Jesus' purpose in Mark 10:18 to make a Christological statement, either in denial or affirmation of whether
he was God or not. What he did say throughout vs19-26 is that the path to eternal life included becoming his disciple.
His primary concern was to direct the young man to God's word and character as the standard of truly being good.

Part 6 The Other Accounts

The account in Luke 18:18 is the same as that in Mark 10:17-18
In Matthew's account, Ch 19:17, the main focus is ethical ("What is good?") rather than Christological ("Who is
Jesus?"). God's unique goodness is affirmed, but there is no discussion about whether Jesus shares that goodness.
This suggests that we should also concentrate on ethics rather than Christology in interpreting Mark 10:18.

Part 7 Summaries and Final Conclusion

Part 1 Mathew 5:45 God sends the Sun on "good" people

Mathew 12:35 Jesus describes the "good" man in the parable

Mathew 22:10 The "good" people came to the wedding banquet
Mathew 25:21 The "good and faithful" servant in the parable of the talents
Luke 6:45
The same parable as Mathew 12:35 with Jesus describing the "good" man.
1 Tim 4:6
Timothy will be a good servant of Jesus Christ
There are several other passages that describe people as "good."
Luke 9:33, Luke 19:17, Luke 23:50, John 5:29, Acts 6:3, Acts 9:36, Rom 5:7, etc
Clearly Jesus and Paul describe other people as "good" using the Greek word G18/agathos which is the exact
same word as the one where Jesus says "no one is good except God" in Mark 10:17-18.
Part 1B People do good works and deeds and give good gifts
Jesus taught that in parables there were good fruits and good seeds
The angel and John the Baptist brought good news to the people
Jesus preached good news
All things work together for good
Part 2B Jesus has proclaimed himself to be good as the good shepherd, and he preaches good news.
Part 2B Hebrews 2:10 Jesus was made perfect
Hebrews 5:8-9 There was a time before "once made perfect,"
These passages are about Jesus being made perfect, if Jesus was not perfect then he may not have been
"good" however, it is not certain. The point here is that if Jesus was "made perfect" through anything, then
he is not God who was always perfect.
To see an in depth study see section 18B Jesus was Made Perfect
Part 3 God sent good news through people, filled the hungry with good things and everything God created is

good

Part 4A Looking at the original Greek text it is hard to tell if "good" is related to the previous teacher or the
following deed if we look at these words only. Due to Jesus response, the comma has been inserted into the
original Greek by the translators to show "good" is in relation to Jesus.
Part 4B In this survey of the twenty different translations listed, all of them called Jesus "good teacher" in vs17,
and Jesus responds with "why do you call me good" or something very similar in vs18. There is nothing to
show that the word "good" is not in relation to Jesus.
Part 5A Three possibilities of understanding are reviewed with this being part of the true explanation.
Jesus did not say "don't call me good," he wanted to call into question the concept which the rich young ruler
had of good. He was making the point that none of us human beings are good enough in ourselves
to measure
up to God's perfect standard.
It seems there are at least these ascending levels of godly "good."
1/ The good ruler had kept all the commands but had earthly wealth
2/ the good disciples who had given everything away to follow Jesus
3/ God the ultimate good.
The question is where does Jesus the good shepherd fit on the list? My guess is between 2-3!
Part 5B It was not Jesus' purpose in Mk 10:18 to make a Christological statement, either in denial or affirmation
of whether he was God or not. What he did say throughout vs19-26 is that the path to eternal life included
becoming his disciple. His primary concern was to direct the young man to God's word and character as the
standard of truly being good.

Part 6 The account in Luke 18:18 is the same as that in Mark 10:17-18
In Matthew's account, Ch 19:17, the main focus is ethical ("What is good?") rather than Christological
("Who is Jesus?"). God's unique goodness is affirmed, but there is no discussion about whether Jesus
shares that goodness. This suggests that we should also concentrate on ethics rather than Christology in
interpreting Mark 10:18.
Final Conclusion:
There are three main problems that make the theory that this passage says Jesus is God.
1/ Other people were also good which negates the idea that being "good" made you God.
2/ Jesus did not deny OR agree that he is good like God. The theory rests on an assumption, not proof, that he agrees.
3/ The man talking to Jesus did not understand him to be claiming to be God.
The combination and totality of these three important issues are too overwhelming to allow for the theory that Jesus is
insinuating that he is God.
Because of the information shown here, nothing in Mark 10:16-17 says that Jesus is God.