What does Matthew 19:17 mean?
This verse suffers from a double dose of misinterpretation. Both major statements made here are frequently ripped from their contexts and applied in ways not intended by Scripture.A serious and wealthy young man has approached Jesus with a life-and-death question. He has asked what good deed he must do to have eternal life (Matthew 19:16). The man is clearly a religious person and a faithful follower of Judaism. Since Luke 18:18 describes him as a ruler, some commentators speculate that he was a Pharisee or other religious leader in Israel.
As Jesus so often does, He answers the young man's question with a question of His own. He immediately challenges the assumption the man's question revealed. He asks why the young man asks Him about what is good. Mark's account phrases both the question and Jesus' answer slightly differently. The young man calls Jesus "Good Teacher," and Jesus asks why the man calls Him good (Mark 10:17–18).
Jesus' point seems to be the same in either case. Why does the young man see Jesus as "good" or the source of knowledge about true goodness? Contrary to what some skeptics claim, Jesus is not saying to the young man that He is not good. Rather, Jesus is emphasizing that the point is a pursuit of goodness. Jesus insists there is only One who is good. That One is God. In a roundabout way, Jesus is asking the man, "are you calling me God?" Jesus, as God's Son, is one with Him. It is Jesus' goodness on which we must rely in order to be truly saved (John 3:36).
The significance of this question plays into the rest of this encounter. If Jesus is God, and the standard of goodness, then those who truly seek good will follow His instruction (John 14:15). Christ will demonstrate to this man that he cannot be good enough to have eternal life on his own. He will need to receive Jesus' goodness so he can have eternal life.
Continuing that same lesson, Jesus tells the man to keep the commandments in order to see salvation. Perfect goodness would be required to be saved based on our own efforts. Yet, Jesus is not dismissively telling the man, "just be good." The purpose of this statement is to point out that the man's goodness is imperfect. In the end, the man's response shows that he is not, in fact, truly willing to follow God (Matthew 19:22).
