What must I do to inherit eternal life? - Mark 10:17-31
This paragraph makes the same point as the preceding one. Entering the kingdom of God is a gift. The preceding paragraph said it is given to a helpless child. This paragraph says that it cannot be bought by the rich man.
Young ruler - Mark 10:17
Matthew (19:22) called the man a young
man. Luke (18:18) added that he was a
ruler of some kind, probably a ruler in the synagogue. It would have been unusual for a young man to be a ruler. That probably indicates that he had either prominent family connections or extraordinary personal giftedness. The fact that he was looking for something to
do revealed his view of religion. For him it was something people had to do to earn God's blessing.
No one is good - Mark 10:18
Jesus' words
No one is good are the central point of this story. No matter how good this man might have been, he wasn't good enough. In fact, he wasn't really good at all; and neither was anyone else. See
BC 26.
Jesus directed him - Mark 10:19
Jesus directed him to the ten
commandments. See Exod. 20: 12-16.
Jesus loved this man. - Mark 10:21
Jesus
loved this man. There was a special connection between Jesus and this young man who had run to him and knelt down before him (10:17) searching for the way to fill an emptiness in his life. The
one thing the man lacked was a willingness to let go of everything he used to fill up his emptiness and follow Jesus. Neither riches nor keeping the law could ever earn him the kingdom. The demand to
sell whatever he had did not mean that all followers of Jesus must give up all their possessions. It means that loving God above the things we treasure the most is the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37, 38).
Many posessions - Mark 10:22
Mark added that the man had many
possessions.Difficult to be his disciple - Mark 10:23
Jesus again spoke of
how difficult it was to be his disciple. The helpless little child receives the gift of God's kingdom. The wealthy are more likely to trust their wealth.
The disciples did not understand - Mark 10:24
Here, and again in verse 26, Mark emphasized how
astonished the disciples were at Jesus' words. They still did not fully understand the demands that were soon going to fall on them. They still thought that God would more likely use wealth and power than humble emptiness.
Trust completely in Jesus - Mark 10:25
Wealth is often a great obstacle to trusting in Jesus. It is too easy for the wealthy to trust in their riches for all their needs. Jesus demanded that people recognize that they are helpless and trust completely in him.
Greater value - Mark 10:26
The disciples still had much to learn. They still thought that wealth and power were of greater value to God and God's kingdom than humility and weakness.
The kingdom of God is a gift. - Mark 10:27
Jesus put the failure of the rich man to embrace salvation in the context of the little child. The kingdom of God is a gift that is
impossible for human beings to buy with their wealth or earn with their religious obedience.
Left everything behind - Mark 10:28
Peter responded that he and the others had
left everything to follow Jesus. He might have been growing in his understanding. Unlike the rich man Peter had left his family and business to follow Jesus.
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