And Jesus said to him,
“Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”
--Luke
18:19
I believe it is clear from
Scripture that Jesus was worshiped by those around Him. However, as I stated
previously, if Jesus is not God, then those who worshiped Him would be sinning,
and Jesus would have chastised them for it. However, we see from the Gospels
that Jesus willingly received their worship.
But now let us turn to the claims
of Jesus Christ Himself. Did Jesus ever claim to be God? The answer is yes. Of
course, we are all familiar with John 8:58, in which Jesus said, “Truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” We are also familiar with the moment
during the Last Supper in which Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it
is enough for us.” In dismay, Jesus responds by saying, “Have I been with you
so long, and you still do not know me Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the
Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8-9). This is very
closely associated with John 10:30, in which Jesus states, “I and the Father
are one.”
But today’s focal verse is found in
Luke 18 and come from Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler. Now, we
are all familiar with this story. The rich young ruler comes to Jesus, asking,
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by reminding him of
the Ten Commandments. The young man, seeking to justify himself, states that he
has always done his best to keep the Commandments. And then Jesus gets to the
heart of the matter, telling him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you
have and distribute to the poor, and you will find treasure in heaven” (Luke
18:22).
When addressing this passage, this
is what most preachers focus on as they preach against the love of money. And
rightfully so. I do believe this is the main point of the passage. However, in
the midst of it, there is a commonly overlooked verse in which Jesus makes a
statement, the point of which we dare not miss.
When the rich young ruler first
approaches Jesus, he says. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?” (v. 18). Then, before actually addressing the question put to Him, Jesus
asks a question of His own—“Why do you call Me good?” He then drives the point
home by saying, “No one is good except God alone.”
Interestingly enough, Jesus does
not wait for an answer, and this aspect of the conversation quickly ends. But
allow me to expound for a moment on what Christ is saying. He says, “Only God
is good. And yet you call Me ‘Good Teacher.’ Do you realize what you are
saying? By calling Me ‘Good Teacher’, you are saying that I am God. Are you
ready to make such a statement? Are you willing to acknowledge My deity? Do you
or don’t you believe that I am God? Because if I am not God, then you had
better not call Me ‘Good Teacher’!”
Now, if Jesus were merely a
righteous man, a respected religious teacher, but not God (as many allege),
then His statement would have been radically different. Rather than simply
asking, “Why do you call Me good?”, Jesus would have made the emphatic
statement, “Do not call Me good. Only God is good. And I am not God.”
But Jesus does not say this. He
asks the question, “Why do you call Me good.” And then He does not wait for an
answer. He simply goes on to address the question asked Him. The fact that He
does not wait for an answer indicates to me that He wants the young man to
answer the question for himself, within the privacy of his own heart. At the
same time, He is establishing His own right and authority to answer the
question. for indeed, who but God can truly tell a man how to receive eternal
life?
Got a question about the Bible or Christian Theology? Having trouble finding the answer? Get your question answered at www.gotquestions.org.
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