Bible Strands
Luke 18:19
“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a certain ruler who has just approached Him to ask how to inherit eternal life. The exchange occurs immediately after the ruler addresses Jesus as "Good Teacher" and Jesus redirects the inquiry back to the meaning of that title.
The words — The Greek λέγεις (legeis) literally means "you call" or "you say," capturing the ruler's present-tense attribution of goodness to Jesus. Jesus responds with εἶπεν (eipen), "He said," framing His corrective statement as a direct reply to that address.
The thread — Job 15:14 states that no man born of woman can be pure or righteous. James 1:17 declares every good gift comes from the Father, while Hebrews 7:26 describes the high priest as holy, innocent, and set apart from sinners.
Why it lands — The text forces the reader to examine the precise meaning of calling Jesus "good" before accepting His instructions on the commandments. It requires the reader to acknowledge God's exclusive goodness as the standard before pursuing eternal life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Cross-references
- Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
- Job 14:4 Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
- Job 25:4 How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
- 1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- Luke 1:35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
- Luke 11:13 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”