Mark 10:17–31

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time


A rich man comes to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He comes with a great question but it is loaded with some bad assumptions which Jesus begins to help him see. He first asks why the man calls Him good because only God is good. Does this man recognise Jesus as God—because He needs to? He also needs to understand that because only God is good, no one is able to be good on their own merits. Jesus reveals this by asking him about his obedience to the commandments. Jesus asks him about all the interpersonal commandments except one. The man is very self-righteous and claims that he has obeyed the law since he was young. He hasn’t understood that even a singular failure to keep even one of the laws disqualifies someone from being good according to God’s standard. Jesus helps the man by pointing to the final commandment and telling the man that he lacks one thing and to achieve that he must sell everything he has and give it to the poor because then he can trade his earthly treasures for treasure in heaven; then to come and follow Jesus. The rich man left sad because he had great wealth (that he was not prepared to give up).

Jesus turned to His disciples and explained to them that it is more difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle—i.e. impossible. Riches ensnare us because we become more dependent on our wealth than we do on God. Riches ensnare us because they deceive us into thinking we are under God’s blessing. The disciples rightly point out that if this man who has kept the law and has great riches (assuming blessing from God) can’t be saved, then who can. Jesus answers that it is impossible for any of us to enter God’s kingdom because none of us can be good enough. But with God, it is possible receiving the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3-8; 5:24).

The disciples then point out that they have left everything to follow Jesus and He assures them that their reward will be great. Those who sacrifice things for God will be reward both in this life and in the life to come. Those who seek to be first (living for self in this life) will be last (not be saved or suffer loss of reward in eternity if they are saved) but those who are last (give up their lives for God) will be first (will be greatly rewarded in eternity).
The choice is yours, where do you want your reward, in this life or the next?

One thought on “Mark 10:17–31

  1. Every time I think about or read this passage I wonder whether I would give up everything I own if God asked it of me; because essentially if I will not then I have not surrendered my life completely to God.

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