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.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus responds to a man who has just asked what good deed he must do to obtain eternal life. This reply occurs between the man's initial question and Jesus' subsequent listing of specific commandments.

The words — ἐρωτᾷς (erōtas) means "you ask," and περὶ (peri) translates to "about." Jesus uses these terms to shift the man's focus from counting good deeds to recognizing the singular source of goodness.

The thread — The principle that obedience to God's statutes yields life is stated in Leviticus 18:5, while the limitation of law-based righteousness is addressed in Galatians 3:11. Jesus' technique of answering moral inquiries by pointing back to the Law matches his exchange in Luke 10:26.

Why it lands — The text explicitly states that only God is good and that keeping the commandments is the condition for entering life. It requires the reader to abandon self-justifying moral calculations and submit directly to divine instruction.

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 he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Cross-references

Leviticus 18:5 Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Luke 10:26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
Galatians 3:11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
1 Samuel 2:2 There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
Romans 10:5 For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
1 John 4:16 And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Nehemiah 9:29 You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They turned a stubborn shoulder; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.
Ezekiel 20:11 And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.
Ezekiel 20:21 But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.
Psalms 145:7 They will extol the fame of Your abundant goodness and sing joyfully of Your righteousness.