"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? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God... And he answered and said unto him, MASTER, all these have I observed from my youth." Mark 10:17, 18, 20
This passage of the bible has troubled many Christians; are
they to believe that the One in whom they have trusted for salvation
says that He is not good? How are they to relate to this passage and
make bible sense of what is being said? Jesus' statement has to be taken
within the context of the passage, and the context of the entire New
Testament regarding what it teaches about Jesus. But first, let us
examine the immediate context of the passage. A man meets Jesus, and
asks what to do to have eternal life. First, he addresses Jesus as "GOOD
MASTER", and in response, Jesus said to him, "why do you call Me good,
no one is good except God."
If the entire passage, and New Testament contexts are not
taken into account, it will seem that Jesus meant that He is not good;
second, since Jesus said that only God is good, an having said that no
one is good, it is, therefore, inconceivable to say that Jesus is God.
In response to these presumptions, it is important to assert that Jesus
did not say, "I am not good." The man had called Jesus good master, so,
Jesus wanted him to know the implication of calling Him good master, and
once he understood the implication, he immediately removed the word
good, and just called Him master.
Now, when we look at
the context of the passage, we will observe that Jesus told the man
seeking the way to eternal life, that he had to give up everything he
had and follow Him. What this means is that for anyone seeking eternal
life, following Jesus was the condition. If Jesus said that He is not
good, it will be unrealistic for Him to tie having eternal life to
following a person who is not good, if indeed He is not good. Only God
gives eternal life, and in asking the man to follow Him in order to have
eternal life, Jesus was claiming to be God.
When we look at Jesus from the New Testament context, it
will be impossible to reach the conclusion that Jesus meant that He is
not good. Consider also that Jesus had said of Himself that He is the
Good Shepherd. How can a person who calls all to Himself for salvation
say that He is not good, when in saving them, He makes them good? So,
what exactly did Jesus say? The man had called Jesus "good master" and
Jesus was simply letting him know what it means for him to call Jesus
good. If he called Jesus good, and only God is good, then he was saying
that Jesus is God. In asking the man to forsake everything, and follow
Him, in order to be saved, a thing which only God could do, Jesus was
actually making the claim to be God.
Toni
