Drift Bible

Question

Why did Jesus say "only One is good" in Matthew 19:17 if he is God?

Studied by claude-opus-5-5 · asked once

Jesus does not say "I am not good." He asks a question that points to the confession that God alone is good, and he leaves the man to work out what that means for the one he is speaking to. Christians mostly read the saying as a challenge that is consistent with Jesus being God. Non-Trinitarian readers take it as Jesus setting himself apart from God. The words alone do not settle the question.

What the text says

The scene. A rich man comes to Jesus and asks how to gain eternal life. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell the story, and their wording differs:

  • Mark 10:17–18 (and nearly word for word Luke 18:18–19): "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" … "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."
  • Matthew 19:16–17, in the oldest manuscripts and most modern translations: "Teacher, what good thing must I do…?" … "Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good." The King James Version follows later manuscripts here, and they make Matthew match Mark: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."

So the sharpest form of the saying is really Mark's and Luke's. Matthew's earliest text is about what is good (which commandment, which deed) and not about who may be called good. Matthew still points to the One who is good, and in a Jewish setting that means God (compare "The LORD is good", Psalm 106:1; Psalm 34:8).

What Jesus does and doesn't say. In every version Jesus asks a question ("Why do you call Me good?"). He does not make a statement about himself. He never says "I am not good" or "I am not God." The second half, "No one is good except God alone," is a basic point of Israel's faith. It echoes the confession that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4; compare James 2:19, Galatians 3:20) and the verdict that among humans "there is no one who does good" (Psalm 14:3, quoted in Romans 3:12).

The context matters. In the next verses Jesus lists the commandments. Then he tells the man to give up his wealth and "come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21). Following Jesus is presented as the thing still lacking. A few verses later, giving things up "for My name's sake" brings eternal life (Matthew 19:29). Mark uses the same phrase, "except God alone" (ei mē heis ho theos), in Mark 2:7, where scribes object that only God can forgive sins. That passage then shows Jesus doing exactly that. Elsewhere the New Testament calls Jesus sinless (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15).

So why say it? The passage itself never explains. Readers have to weigh the saying against the rest of the story and the rest of the New Testament, and the main ways of doing that are set out below. Whatever reading you take, the text honestly allows this much: Jesus turns the man's attention from easy flattery to God's own goodness. He does not deny that he is good, and he does not, in so many words, claim to be God in this verse.

Where readers differ

A challenge to the man: 'Do you realise what you are saying?'

Jesus is testing the man's casual use of 'good' and not correcting it. If only God is good, then calling Jesus good either says too much, or it is true and the man should act on it, which is what Jesus asks of him when he says 'follow Me.' The same 'except God alone' wording in Mark 2:7 comes just before Jesus does what only God does. Elsewhere the New Testament calls Jesus sinless. Many church fathers and most later Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant commentators read it this way.

Mark 10:18Mark 2:7Matthew 19:21Matthew 19:29John 8:46Hebrews 4:15

The incarnate Son pointing to the Father

In his human life Jesus consistently points away from himself to the Father as the source of all goodness, teaching and authority. Here he speaks as the Son who has taken a human nature, and he gives the glory to the Father. That fits sayings like 'the Father is greater than I.' On this view the saying reflects the Son's relationship to the Father and does not deny that he is divine. Holders often pair it with the other view.

Matthew 19:17John 14:28John 5:19John 7:16Philippians 2:6

Jesus distinguishing himself from God

Non-Trinitarian Christians, along with Jewish and Muslim readers of the Gospels, take the plain sense: Jesus refuses a title he reserves for God alone, so he does not count himself as that God. They link it with texts that speak of 'the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent' and 'one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ.' In the fourth century, the followers of Arius cited this verse for that reason.

Mark 10:18Luke 18:19John 17:31 Corinthians 8:6Deuteronomy 6:4

Matthew's rewording shows the saying was already debated

Many historical scholars think Matthew used Mark and reshaped this exchange, moving 'good' from the person to the deed ('what good thing'). They see this as evidence that early Christians felt the force of Mark's wording. Some draw no doctrinal conclusion from this. Others take it as a sign that how Jesus' identity was expressed developed over time. Either way, they note that Matthew keeps 'there is only One who is good.'

Matthew 19:16Mark 10:17

The words it turns on

  • ἀγαθός agathos (ἀγαθός)

    Good in the full, moral sense: upright, beneficial, and worthy of trust. In the Greek Old Testament it translates the Hebrew *tov* that is used of God ('the LORD is good'). Used without qualification, as here, it suggests complete and unborrowed goodness.

    Drift: The English 'good' has weakened to mean 'nice', 'fine' or 'adequate.' The question in this passage is about perfect goodness and not about being pleasant. 'Good Teacher' was an unusual and weighty way to address someone, and not routine politeness.

  • καλός kalos (καλός)

    Good in the sense of fine, noble or fitting. It is the word in 'I am the good shepherd' (John 10:11).

    Drift: English uses 'good' for both *kalos* and *agathos*. That hides the fact that John 10:11 does not use the same word as Mark 10:18. Readers should not set the two verses directly against each other.

  • εἷς heis (εἷς)

    'One.' In 'except one, God' (Mark 10:18) and 'one is the good' (Matthew 19:17) it echoes the Shema's confession that God is one.

    Drift: The capital 'O' in 'only One' is the translators' choice. Greek manuscripts of the time had no such capitalisation.

  • διδάσκαλος didaskalos (διδάσκαλος)

    'Teacher', the Greek equivalent of 'Rabbi.' In Mark and Luke the man calls Jesus 'good teacher'; in the oldest text of Matthew he says only 'teacher.'

    Drift: The older English 'Master' can sound like 'lord' or 'owner.' The word means teacher.

  • טוֹב tov (טוֹב)

    Hebrew 'good.' It describes God's character ('Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good', Psalm 106:1) and also what is right in his eyes. It forms the background to Jesus' 'God alone is good.'

What the Bible doesn't say

The passage never explains why Jesus asked the question. It neither affirms nor denies that he is God, and any answer has to be built from the wider context and other texts. Readers also need to know that Matthew 19:17 reads differently in different manuscripts. Older translations such as the KJV have "Why callest thou me good?", while most modern ones follow the older manuscripts and have "Why do you ask Me about what is good?" Christian traditions agree that Jesus was without sin. They differ, along with non-Trinitarian groups, over how his sinlessness relates to the claim that God alone is good.

Key verses

  1. Mark 10:18

    “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

    The sharpest form of the saying: "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."

  2. Matthew 19:17

    “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

    Matthew's version, which shifts from who is good to what is good, then points to the One who is good.

  3. Luke 18:19

    “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

    Agrees word for word with Mark, so the saying is attested in more than one Gospel.

  4. Matthew 19:21

    Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

    "Come, follow Me": the call to follow Jesus is what the man still lacks after keeping the commandments.

  5. Mark 2:7

    “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

    The same Greek phrase, "except God alone," used of forgiving sins, which Jesus then does.

  6. Deuteronomy 6:4

    Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.

    The Shema, Israel's confession that God is one, which Jesus' "One" echoes.

  7. Psalm 106:1

    Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

    "The LORD is good": the Old Testament background for goodness belonging to God.

  8. Romans 3:12

    All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

    "There is no one who does good" (quoting Psalm 14:3): the human side of "no one is good."

  9. John 8:46

    Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?

    Jesus challenges anyone to convict him of sin, so he does not admit moral failure.

  10. Hebrews 4:15

    For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

    Describes Jesus as tempted in every way "yet was without sin."

  11. John 17:3

    Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

    "The only true God, and Jesus Christ": cited by those who read the saying as Jesus distinguishing himself from God.

  12. Matthew 19:29

    And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

    Giving things up "for My name's sake" brings eternal life, which links salvation to Jesus himself.

Common points of confusion
Jesus said, "I am not good."
He asks "Why do you call Me good?" or "Why do you ask Me about what is good?" He never says he lacks goodness, and other passages call him sinless (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15).
Matthew 19:17 says "Why do you call me good?" in every Bible.
That wording comes from Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19, and from later manuscripts of Matthew. The oldest manuscripts of Matthew, followed by most modern translations, read "Why do you ask Me about what is good?"
This verse plainly proves that Jesus claimed to be God.
The verse makes no such claim. Christians who see his divinity here reach that conclusion by reading the question alongside the context and other texts, not from the words alone.
This verse plainly proves that Jesus denied being God.
The verse is a question followed by a statement about God. It contains no denial, which is why readers have disagreed about it for centuries.
"I am the good shepherd" contradicts "no one is good but God."
John 10:11 uses a different Greek word (kalos, meaning fine or noble), while Mark 10:18 uses agathos. Both come into English as "good," but they are different words.

Sources: Greek New Testament (Nestle-Aland 28th edition) and the Byzantine Majority Text, Matthew 19:16-17 and Mark 10:17-18 · Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, on Matthew 19:17 · Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (G18, G2570, G1520, G1320, H2896) · BDAG Greek-English Lexicon, entries ἀγαθός and καλός · Ambrose of Milan, On the Christian Faith, Book 2 (discussion of 'None is good but God' against Arian use) · Berean Standard Bible (verse quotations)

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