And as he went forth into the way, a person ran up to [him], and kneeling to him asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
A man runs down the road, drops to his knees, and asks Jesus the biggest question a person can ask. Everything about him looks right, until you weigh the words he chose.
Mark records the man's approach in close detail. The way he came says as much as what he said.
The Lord went on His way, the disciples with Him. Then one came running to Him, and fell on his knees before Him (17). His eagerness in running, and his kneeling before the Lord, are just the details an eyewitness would likely record. In that posture he put the question the young ruler — as Luke tells us he was — seemed so eager to have answered.
The question itself set him apart.
He had asked the question so many people forget altogether. They pass through the world as though they were on the same level with the animals that die. They think nothing of the life beyond the grave. But here was a man who had thought about the life that is true and eternal. He had come to the right person to learn.
The word "inherit" is not loose language. It means coming into possession of something held in store.
"Inherit life eternal." Inherit stands for "take possession of," as in Matthew 25:34 (Dalman). The same is true in Luke 18:18. The Synoptic Gospels treat it as held in reserve, and so do Paul's letters. Luke 18:22 tells us that the young man was to have treasure in heaven. Some have supposed that there is a difference between "life" and "life eternal," but this is a mistake.
The title the man used sounded respectful, and it was sincere. But it fit a teacher, not the One standing in front of him.
His respectful greeting to Jesus proved that he did not know who Jesus was. So he knew the truth neither about God nor about man. If the young ruler had believed Him to be the Son of the living God, he would not have called Him "Good Teacher." That title suits a respected and honoured teacher. But it is both unnecessary and improper for One who was equal with God and was God.
Christ's counter-question does not deny His own goodness. It presses a claim in the sharpest form.
He was earnest and reverent, and recognised in Him a great Rabbi who could direct men to eternal life. He took for granted that a man gains this life by his own doing, according to the law. Clearly he had no idea of the Deity of Jesus, and so we have the Lord's words in verse 18. He rejected any goodness apart from His being God, saying in effect, "If I am not God, I am not good."
His question assumes he can earn what he wants. Jesus does not correct that at once. He takes the man on the ground he chose.
The young man neither knew himself, nor the state man was really in before God. He was under the law. So Jesus sets out the law first as the rule of life. God gave it as the measure of righteousness for the sons of Adam. The young man does not ask how he may be saved, but how he may inherit eternal life. The Lord does not speak of eternal life. He takes up the young man at the point where he places himself. The law said, "Do these things, and you shall live."
He was not the only one who assumed this.
All His enquirers seemed to be of one mind. They supposed eternal life was the reward of human effort. The earnest young ruler of Mark 10 and the argumentative lawyer of Luke 10 both put their question the same way: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" It was natural that they should speak like this. Among men you only get a desirable thing by money or work. Yet if they had seen man's true condition before God, and their own, they would have spoken differently. Has not the Spirit of God described men as "dead in the trespasses and sins"? (Ephesians 2:1). What can the dead do?
The question exposes a poverty that money could not touch.
God's providence gives great possessions. Instead of leading the heart to thank Him, they can form a great barrier. That barrier keeps the soul from getting the true riches of divine favour... He seems to have had every present possession a man could wish for. Yet he knew he did not have eternal life, and he plainly thought that having it would complete his happiness.
- Right run. He ran, knelt and asked about eternal life. Most people never ask at all.
- Wrong word. "Good Teacher" was a compliment, not a confession. He did not know he was speaking to One who was equal with God.
- Wrong verb. "What must I do" assumes ability. Christ takes him on that ground rather than correcting it at once.
- Wrong ledger. "Inherit" means taking possession of what God holds in reserve — treasure in heaven, not wages earned on earth.
- Wrong riches. He owned everything a man could wish for, yet lacked the true riches of divine favour — the one thing his wealth could not buy.
But Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? no one is good but one, [that is] God.
A man runs up, kneels in the road, and calls Jesus "Good Teacher." The Lord does not take the compliment. He turns it into a question about who He is. Everything hangs on the answer. Is Jesus only the finest man this ruler has met, or is He God?
The Lord does not deny that He is good. He refuses a compliment offered on the wrong ground.
So our Blessed Lord refuses honour that ignored the only right basis for it. He is jealous for the truth as well as for God's glory. And that is the only real love to man. If not God, Christ was not good; if good, He is God.
The way the man greeted Him already gave him away.
The very greeting of honour he gave Jesus proved that he did not know His Person. So he did not know the truth about God or about man either. If the young ruler had believed Him to be the Son of the living God, he would not have addressed Him as "Good Teacher." That title suits a respected and honoured teacher well enough. But it is both needless and wrong when speaking to One who was equal with God and was God.
The counter-question was not only a rebuke. It gave the man a chance to confess who Jesus is.
But Jesus listened to the young man's question and answered it in His own way: "Why do you call Me good?" The word was true. But the question gave the ruler the chance to use his faith in the Lord and to confess His name. He was looking at One who was a "Man of sorrows." Yet that humble Man was the Man God had anointed, God's own equal, the Son of God here below. Jesus was good because He was God. If the young ruler had only believed on Him, his words would have been completely true and right.
One writer puts into words the reply the ruler never made.
I think the Lord gave him the chance to say, "But You are God." If he had truly known and seen who Jesus was, he would have said at once, "You are God." But I take it he saw no more in Christ than a teacher of religion. So when the Lord presses His claims on him, he does not rise to them. He could not, so he turned away sorrowfully.
"No one is good except God alone" is not a passing remark. It settles what man is.
The Lord will not admit that man is good. Not one righteous man can be found among men — no, not one… Here the young man comes to Him as to a human teacher, a rabbi, and the Lord answers him in the same way as he asks. But He lays down this important principle: no one among the sons of fallen Adam is good. It is a humiliating truth, but one of immense weight. We cannot now find a man who is good by nature… What God created good, and declared to be good, the Fall has corrupted. Man goes after his own pleasures and his own interests, not after God and His glory.
The man had asked what he must do. The Lord's answer, followed through, shuts that door.
That ought to have struck his conscience at once: if only One is good, I am not that One, and so I cannot do any "good thing."… Do you think you can do any good thing? I sometimes hear men talk about being better. I have even heard them talk about "doing their best." What folly!
The words have a second side. In refusing the title, Jesus lived out the lesson He taught about giving up self.
Jesus renounces Himself. "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." He was good, but He would not look at His own goodness. This was self-renouncing. What He gives up speaks of His personal and moral glory. What we have to give up shows our shame and corruption. Yet He practises the lesson He teaches, and goes ahead of us as our Pattern.
- Good means God. The Lord does not disown goodness; He ties it to His Person. If He is not God, He is not good — and if He is good, He is God.
- Good tests faith. The question was an open door: the ruler could have answered, "You are God." He saw only a religious teacher, and could not rise to the claim.
- Good excludes man. "No one is good except God alone" is a verdict on all people. The Fall corrupted what God made good, and man now seeks himself rather than God.
- Good ends doing. If only One is good, no one else can do a good thing — so the question "What shall I do?" has no answer on that ground.
- Good is lived. Only He could claim goodness, yet He would not look at His own. He taught self-giving by walking it first.