What is the significance of Jesus asking, “Why do you call me good?” (Mark 10:18)?

In Mark 10:18, Jesus responds to a young man who addresses Him as “Good Teacher” by asking, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” This exchange captures a weighty moment of spiritual challenge with multiple layers of meaning.

Jesus’ question comes during an encounter between Jesus and a wealthy young ruler who seeks guidance on how to inherit eternal life (see Mark 10:17–31; Matthew 19:16–30; Luke 18:18–30). The man runs up to Jesus, kneels in respect, and asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17, NLT). Jesus’ reply, “Why do you call me good?” has long intrigued Bible readers and scholars, leading to a range of interpretations. Here are a few of those interpretations:

Affirming God’s Unique Goodness

Only God is perfectly good, and every human falls short (Psalm 14:1–3; Isaiah 64:6; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10–12). By redirecting the young man’s attention to God, Jesus highlights the divine standard of goodness and emphasizes that true goodness belongs to God alone.

Christ’s Humility and Role as Teacher

Some interpret Jesus’ response as an expression of His humility, declining to accept praise on human terms and pointing instead to God’s ultimate authority and goodness.

Challenging the Man’s Understanding

Many see Jesus’ question as a test or challenge, pressing the man to consider whom he is addressing. Does he realize the implications of calling Jesus good—namely, that Christ is divine? Jesus is prompting the man to reflect on the overtones of his own words.

Bible scholars agree that Jesus was not denying His deity or His own goodness. Jesus, who sees into the heart of every person (Acts 1:24; John 2:24–25), knew that this young man didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah. So, in asking, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus is saying, “Unless you understand that I am God when you call me good, you have no idea what it means to be good according to My standard.” Jesus is good because He is God incarnate.

All these interpretations contribute to the significance of Christ’s query, yet His spiritual challenge penetrates even deeper. With the question, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus sets the stage for the whole picture to emerge. He knows the young man has a misconception about what makes a person “good” and worthy to inherit eternal life. The man had asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

So, Christ directs his attention to the Ten Commandments (see Mark 10:19). The young ruler quickly affirms his own goodness, saying, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young” (Mark 10:20, NLT). He thinks that by doing these things he will make himself good enough to inherit eternal life, but he is wrong (see John 14:6).

Jesus shines the light of truth on the ruler’s standard of goodness, which was fundamentally different from God’s. The man thought he was good because he had outwardly kept the commandments, but Jesus questioned whether the man understood true goodness at all. This idea challenged the prevalent religious thinking of the time, which taught that keeping God’s law could make one acceptable to God—an error that continues even today among people who believe their good deeds will earn them salvation.

Ultimately, Jesus reveals the ruler’s sinful heart condition by challenging him to give up his possessions and wealth and to “come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). The young man walked away sad “because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22). He loved money more than God. Given the choice between following Jesus and keeping his riches, he chose riches. He claimed to have kept all the commandments, but he couldn’t even keep the first one: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). The young man was not “good” at all.

Jesus’ question, “Why do you call me good?” invites us to consider the only basis of goodness and the nature of our relationship with God. We call Jesus good because He is God and because He is the only source of salvation (Acts 4:12; 16:30–31;1 Timothy 2:5–6). We inherit eternal life not because of any good work that we might do, nor on any human standard of goodness. We are saved because of the goodness and grace of God alone, who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9–10; Ephesians 2:8–9).