There is None Good Except God | Mark 10:18–19


And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.  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.’ ”

One of the primary uses of God’s law is to stress the gulf between the His holiness and man.  In other words, as we read God’s Word, reveals how unholy we are, and how much we need God’s grace.  Yet, the rich young ruler failed to see his need for forgiveness and mercy.

We can’t see others as good.  Some have taken Jesus’s words here to mean He denies being good (and that He couldn’t therefore be God), but He doesn’t say that.  As the parallel text records, Jesus asked, “Why are you asking Me about what is good?” (Mt 19:17).  In other words, Jesus forces the man to ponder the weight of the word “good,” to not use it superficially or flippantly.

We can’t see ourselves as good.  This man uses “good” lightly of others and himself, so Jesus takes him to the Ten Commandments.  As Jesus recites the list, it seems that He tailors them, for He says, “Do not defraud” instead of, “Do not covet.”  This rich man, coveting more, might have commit fraud by hiring a poor person who can’t defend himself and then paying him less (cf. Dt 24:14).  If he inherited his initial wealth from his parents, then he would be dishonoring them in doing so, which may be why Jesus stated that command last.  Jesus knows exactly what is in our hearts and how we sin every day.

Since there’s no one good, Jesus can’t simply a teacher of righteous standing.  Jesus affirms that only God is “good,” so the only way in which this can be true is if this man identifies Jesus with God.  However, there’s no evidence that this man venerated Jesus as God in flesh—and as such, will sadly not find the good salvation he needs.

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