Lukas 18:18-19

The Wealthy Ruler

18:18 Now ¹  a certain ruler ²  asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ³  18:19 Jesus ⁴  said to him, “Why do you call me good? ⁵  No one is good except God alone.

[18:18]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[18:18]  ² sn Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.

[18:18]  ³ sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.

[18:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:19]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the ruler to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.