Church Fathers Commentary Luke 18:18-23

"And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, [even] God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. And he said, All these things have I observed from my youth up. And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich." — Luke 18:18-23 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: A certain ruler, having heard our Lord say that only those who would become like little children could enter the kingdom of heaven, asks Him to explain openly, not by a parable, by what works he might merit eternal life.

St. Ambrose of Milan: That ruler, testing Him, said, "Good Master." He should have said, "Good God." For although goodness exists in divinity and divinity in goodness, by adding "Good Master," he uses "good" only in part, not in its whole. For God is good entirely, but man is good only partially.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now he thought he could catch Christ blaming the law of Moses while introducing His own commands. So he went to the Master and, calling Him good, said that he wished to be taught by Him, for he sought to test Him. But He who catches the wise in their craftiness answers him appropriately: Why do you call me good? There is none good, save God alone.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He does not deny that He is good, but points to God. No one is good unless he is full of goodness. But if it strikes anyone that it is said, none is good, let this also strike them: save God. And if the Son is not excluded from being God, surely Christ is not excluded from being good. For how is He not good, who is born from good? A good tree brings forth good fruits.

How is He not good, since the substance of His goodness, which He received from the Father, has not diminished in the Son, just as it did not diminish in the Spirit? As it is said, Your good spirit shall lead me into a land of uprightness. But if the Spirit who received from the Son is good, truly He who gave the Spirit is also good.

Because it was a lawyer who was testing Him, as is plainly shown in another Gospel, He therefore rightly said, None is good, save God, to remind him of what was written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God. A person should instead give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

St. John Chrysostom: Or else, I will not hesitate to call this ruler covetous, for Christ reproaches him with this, but I do not say that he was a tempter.

Titus of Bostra: When he says, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? it is as if he is saying, "You are good; grant me, then, an answer to my question. I am learned in the Old Testament, but I see something far more excellent in you. For you make no earthly promises but preach the kingdom of heaven. Tell me, then, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The Savior, then, considering his meaning, and because faith is the way to good works, passes over the question he asked and leads him to the knowledge of faith. It is as if a person were to ask a physician, "What shall I eat?" and the physician were to show him what must come before his food. And so He sends him to His Father, saying, Why do you call me good?—not because He was not good, for He was the good branch from the good tree, the good Son of the good Father.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It may seem that the account in Matthew is different, where it says, Why do you ask me about what is good? This might apply better to the question he asked: What good shall I do? In this account, he both calls Him good and asks a question about good. It is best, then, to understand that both were said: Why do you call me good? and Why do you ask me about what is good?—although the latter may be implied in the former.

Titus of Bostra: After instructing him in the knowledge of the faith, He adds, You know the commandments. It is as if He said, "Know God first, and then it will be time to seek what you are asking."

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But the ruler expected to hear Christ say, "Forsake the commandments of Moses and listen to Mine." Instead, He sends him back to the law, as it follows: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The law first forbids those things to which we are most prone, such as adultery, the impulse for which is within us and part of our nature, and murder, because rage is a great and savage monster. But theft and bearing false witness are sins that people seldom fall into. Besides, the former are also the more grievous sins, so He places theft and bearing false witness in the second place, as they are both less common and of less weight than the others.

St. Basil the Great: Now, we must not understand "thieves" to mean only those who cut purses or commit robberies in the public baths. It also includes all those who, when appointed as leaders of legions or governors of states or nations, are guilty of secret embezzlement or violent and open extortion.

Titus of Bostra: But you may observe that these commandments consist of not doing certain things: if you have not committed adultery, you are chaste; if you do not steal, you are honest; if you do not bear false witness, you are truthful. We see, then, that virtue is made easy through the goodness of the Lawgiver, for He speaks of avoiding evil, not of practicing good. And ceasing from an action is easier than performing one.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Because sin against parents, although a great crime, happens very rarely, He places it last of all: Honor your father and mother.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Honor is concerned not only with paying respect but also with giving generously, for it is an act of honor to reward what is deserved. Feed your father, feed your mother; and when you have fed them, you have not repaid all the pangs and agony your mother underwent for you. To one you owe all you have; to the other, all you are.

What a condemnation it is if the Church must feed those whom you are able to feed! But it may be said, "What I was going to bestow upon my parents, I prefer to give to the Church." God does not seek a gift that comes from starving your parents. Scripture says that parents are to be fed, just as it says they are to be left for God's sake if they should hinder the love of a devout mind.

It follows, and he said, All these things have I kept from my youth up.

St. Jerome: The young man is speaking falsely. For if he had fulfilled the commandment, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, how is it that when he heard, Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, he went away sorrowful?

The Venerable Bede: Or, we must not think that he lied, but that he professed to have lived honestly—that is, at least outwardly. Otherwise, Mark could never have said, And Jesus, seeing him, loved him.

Titus of Bostra: Our Lord next declares that even if a man has kept the old covenant, he is not perfect, since he still lacks what is needed to follow Christ. You yet lack one thing: Sell all that you have... As if He is saying, "You ask how to possess eternal life? Scatter your goods among the poor, and you will obtain it. What you spend is a little thing; what you receive is a great thing."

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: For when we despise the world, we must not imagine that we have given up anything great, because the whole earth compared to heaven is but a hand's breadth. Therefore, even if those who renounce the world were lords of the whole earth, it would still be worthless in comparison to the kingdom of heaven.

The Venerable Bede: Whoever, then, wishes to be perfect must sell all that he has—not just a part, as Ananias and Sapphira did, but the whole.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Hence, when He says, All that you have, He impresses upon us the need for the most complete poverty. For if anything is left over or remains yours, you are its slave.

St. Basil the Great: He does not tell us to sell our goods because they are evil by nature, for then they would not be God's creatures. He therefore does not command us to cast them away as if they were bad, but to distribute them. Nor is anyone condemned for possessing them, but for misusing them. And so it is that distributing our goods according to God's command both blots out sins and bestows the kingdom.

St. John Chrysostom: God could indeed feed the poor without us taking compassion on them, but He wishes for the givers to be bound by ties of love to the receivers.

St. Basil the Great: When our Lord says, Give to the poor, it is no longer fitting for a person to be careless, but to dispose of all things diligently. This should be done first by himself, if he is able to any degree; if not, then by those who are known to be faithful and prudent in their management. For, cursed is he who does the work of the Lord negligently.

St. John Chrysostom: But it is asked, how does Christ acknowledge that giving all things to the poor is perfection, when Saint Paul declares this very act to be imperfect without charity? Their harmony is shown in the words that follow, And come, follow me, which signifies that it is done from love. For herein shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one toward another.

Theophylact of Ohrid: All the other virtues must exist together with poverty. Therefore He says, Come, follow me, which means, "In all other things be My disciples, always following Me."

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The ruler was not able to contain this new teaching, but, like an old wineskin, he burst with sorrow.

St. Basil the Great: When a merchant goes to the market, he is not reluctant to part with all that he has to obtain what he needs. But you are grieved at giving up mere dust and ashes to gain everlasting bliss.