Mar 10:18 Why do you call me good?...
Mar 10:18 Why do you call me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God.
Alternative: Why call me good? Nothing [is] good except one, God.
One of the basic principles of this site is that Christ was speaking to all of us for all time. There is nothing ambiguous in the Greek here. While there is a little play on words in the question Christ is asked, "Good treacher can you tell me what good I can do to have eternal life." Christ rejects this term when applied to himself and directs that it should only be applied only to God.
Here, Christ seems to recognize that people would want to focus on him and worship him as apart from God. This applies both to good works and good things. All good comes from God, even when it comes through other people. The Greek word for good here is the one that Christ uses to describe the good tree that bears good fruit, but it is not the term most commonly translated as "good" in Christ's words, kalos, whose meaning is closer to "beautiful."
"What" is from tis (tis) which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what."
"Do you call" is from legô (lego) means literally "pick up," but it used to mean "recount," "tell over," "say," "speak," "teach," and "command."
"Good" is from agathos (agathos) which "good" and, when applied to people, "well-born," "gentle," "brave," and "capable." When applied to things, it means "serviceable," "morally good," and "beneficial." Agathos is not the usual term translated as "good," in the Gospels, which is kalos, meaning "beautiful."
"None" is from oudeis, (oudeis) which means "no one," "not one," "nothing," "naught," "good for naught," and "no matter."
"One" is from heis (heis), which means "one," "single," and "one and the same." This adjective is irregular, having a number of forms depending on sex, number, and case: heis, henos, heni, hen, hena, mia, mias, miai, mian; hen, henos, hen. The form here is mia, feminine singular.
