JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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There are several texts which the Jehovah's Witnesses resort to because they believe that
these unequivocably prove that Jesus cannot be Almighty God, on equal footing with Jehovah.
● "No one is good—except God alone" (Mk 10:18).
One of the favorite passages used by the Jehovah's Witnesses to prove that Jesus is not
deity, God Almighty, is the account of the Rich Young Ruler. Their point is:
"If Jesus and God the Father are "one," then how come Jesus denied being good?
Jesus' so-called denial of goodness took place in His response to the Rich Young Ruler
who was trying to find out how he could "inherit" eternal life:
"As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before
Him. 'Good Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
'Why do you call Me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good—except God alone.'"
(Mk 10:17-18)
It is crucial that we notice how this young man came to Jesus. He flung himself at Jesus'
feet. Here is a young man who is a rich aristocrat falling at the feet of the penniless prophet
from Nazareth. He addressed Jesus in an unusual manner by calling Him "Good Teacher"—a
term never used for a rabbi. Jesus quickly answered back, "Why do you call Me good? No one is
good—except God alone." This could be regarded as flattery giving a man a higher status than is
His due, for true goodness is the prerogative of God. In essence Jesus was saying:
"No flattery! Don't call Me good! Keep that description for God!"
Jesus' question was designed to test whether the young enthusiast really knew what he
was saying. Jesus' reply, "Why do you call Me good?" was not meant to deny that title to
Himself, but to sober the questioner. The man ran up with a flattering remark to gain Jesus'
approval. Jesus asks him to calmly and carefully think about his remark. Does he really know
what "goodness" is? After all, only one person is perfect goodness. And that person is God.
Religious titles and religious terms are not to be used as ploys to ingratiate the speaker. Jesus was
preparing him at the very outset of their conversation about eternal life—how he could gain it—
to count the cost.
The young man's greeting probably implies that he is thinking with the traditional
conceptions of much of ancient Judaism (which is also prevalent among "Christians") that there
are the "good" and the "bad," the "deserving" and the "undeserving." This young man points later
to his own morality as grounds why he thought he should be accepted by God. Jesus deflates his
moral righteousness by zeroing in on his god: materialism. This is why He told him that he had
to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. For God will not be worshiped and served
among other gods. He demands undivided allegiance and unrivaled devotion. This young man's
attitude is contrary to Jesus' whole standpoint that humans can only be in the position of the