Luke 18:19

18:19 Why do you call me good? The man was calling Jesus “good” as a general compliment, but only God is truly good. Jesus was challenging the man’s understanding of goodness—true goodness requires moral perfection.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER AND DISCOURSE THEREON. (Luk 18:18-30)

Why, &c.--Did our Lord mean then to teach that God only ought to be called "good?" Impossible, for that had been to contradict all Scripture teaching, and His own, too (Psa 112:5; Mat 25:21; Tit 1:8). Unless therefore we are to ascribe captiousness to our Lord, He could have had but one object--to raise the youth's ideas of Himself, as not to be classed merely with other "good masters," and declining to receive this title apart from the "One" who is essentially and only "good." This indeed is but distantly hinted; but unless this is seen in the background of our Lord's words, nothing worthy of Him can be made out of them. (Hence, Socinianism, instead of having any support here, is only baffled by it).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(19) Why callest thou me good?—The agreement with St. Mark is again closer than with St. Matthew.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. Why callest thou me good?] According to St Matthew the question also ran, ‘Why askest thou me about the good?’ The emphasis is not on the me (for the form used in the original is the enclitic με not ἐμὲ on good. Why do you give me this strange title which from your point of view is unwarrantable? Comp. Plato Phaed. 27, “to be a good man is impossible...God alone could have this honour.”

none is good, save one, that is, God] 1Jn_3:5.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus said unto him,.... In answer to his question, beginning with the character he gave him:

why callest thou me good? it being unusual to address men, even their Rabbins, under such a title:

none is good, save one, that is, God: or "but God alone"; as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it; or, "but the one God", as read the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; See Gill on Mat 19:17.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Ver. 19. See Mat 19:16-17.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. The title "good" was a singular one for the young ruler to have used. It was never used to the most famous rabbis by their pupils. It implied an intense reverence, but nothing more. The young man distinctly did not then believe the Master was Divine, else he had never made the great refusal recorded directly afterwards. "To be a good man is impossible... God alone could have this honour" (Plate, "Phaed.," 27). "You are looking at me," said the Master, "as a man: why give me this strange, lofty title? You are looking on me only as an earthly Teacher." The great Heart-reader was reading the young man"s thoughts, thoughts which soon crystallized, as we shall see, into the refused to do what he, whom he chose to style "good," directed him to carry out.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our Saviour here reproves this person for calling him good, when he did not own him to be God; saying, There is none good, that is essentially and originally good, absolutely and immutably good, but God only; nor any derivatively good, but he that receives his goodness from God also.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; According to St Matthew the question also ran, ‘Why askest thou me about the good?’ The emphasis is not on the me (for the form used is the enclitic με not ἐμὲ) but on good. Why do you give me this strange title which from your point of view is unwarrantable? Comp. Plato Phaed. 27, “to be a good man is impossible … God alone could have this honour.”

εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός. 1Jn 3:5.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; So also in Mk. In none of the three is there any emphasis on “Me,” which is an enclitic. There is no instance in the whole Talmud of a Rabbi being addressed as “Good Master”: the title was absolutely unknown among the Jews. This, therefore, was an extraordinary address, and perhaps a fulsome compliment The Talmud says, “There is nothing else that is good but the Law.” The explanation of some ancient and modern commentators, that Jesus is here speaking merely from the young man’s standpoint, is not satisfactory. “You suppose Me to be a mere man, and you ought not to call any human being good. That title I cannot accept, unless I am recognized as God.”1 The young ruler could not understand this; and the reply must have had some meaning for him. His defect was that he trusted too much in himself, too little in God. Jesus reminds him that there is only one source of goodness whether in action (Mt.) or in character (Mk. Lk.), viz. God. He Himself is no exception. His goodness is the goodness of God working in Him. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing. … For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself … I can of Myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is righteous, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (Joh 5:19-30). Non se magistrum non esse, sed magistrum absque Deo nullum bonum esse testatur (Bede). There is no need to add to this the thought that the goodness of Jesus was the goodness of perfect development (see on 2:52), whereas the goodness of God is that of absolute perfection (Weiss on Mar 10:18).

οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἶς ὁ Θεός. So also Mk. Here the article is wanting in א B. The saying appears in a variety of forms in quotations. Justin has two: οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὰ πάντα (Apol. i. 16), and εἶς ἐστὶν ἀγαθός, ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὒπανοῖς (Try. ci.). Marcion scams to have read εἶς ἐστὶν ἀγαθός, ὁ Θεὸς ὁ πατήρ. In Hippol. Philosoph. v. 1 εἶς ἑστὶν ἀγαθός, ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς and a similar reading appears four times in Clem. Hom. See Zeller, Apostelg.; pp. 32 ff., Eng. tr. pp. 105-119, and WH. 2. App. pp. 14, 15.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.