Is Jesus God? One of the verses uses to attack the deity of Jesus Christ is Mark 10:18, contained within the story of the Rich Young Man. The verse is:
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."
Mark 10:18
Taking this verse out of context, one could interpret Jesus as saying that He is neither good nor God. But what does it say within context? The story opens the following:
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Mark 10:17
The rich young man approaches Jesus assuming He is a human teacher or Rabbi. Jesus responds to the rich young man not on the question the man has, but on the identity of who Jesus is:
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."
Mark 10:18
Jesus is asking the man, who do you think I am? To paraphrase, Jesus is saying:
- Are you assuming I am a man?
- If so, why do you call me (or any other man) good?
- Because only God is good
Jesus is not denying his deity. He is questioning the rich young man on what he believes about Jesus’ identity. Jesus teaches by asking questions.
A similar exchange plays out when Jesus is having a discussion with His disciples. He asks them: what do other people say about me?
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Matthew 16:13-14
Jesus then asks the disciples a direct question. The most important question: who do you say I am?
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matthew 16:15
This is the question we all have to answer. Is Jesus God?
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:16
I have my answer: Yes. Jesus is God.