The Gospel of Mark 10:13-31 - The Kingdom Belongs to the Least
Previously Jesus warned of the dangers of causing a child to stumble in sin. He then reminded us of the danger of sin and that physical harm is better than what awaits us in judgement if we stray from Him. Lastly He spoke about marriage and divorce and how important marriage is to the kingdom. Continuing on with the theme of children, Jesus blesses children and instructs the Disciples not to try to keep them from Him. He further states that if we want to enter the kingdom, we must receive the kingdom like a child. In other words, we are to see what we lack, not what we have to offer. We see a story of a rich man who comes to Jesus, yet Jesus informs him that he must give up everything in order to follow Him.
Discussion:
“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.”
Mark 10:13 (ESV)
Bless the children
The Greek word here used for the children has a very wide range, from an eight day old to a twelve year old (Stein 2008, 462). However, the parallel verse in Luke 18:15–17 uses Greek words that usually describe nursing infants (Stein 2008, 462). It seems likely that at least most of the children being brought to Jesus were babies and toddlers. The parents desired that Jesus bless their children. How refreshing this must have been! Jesus, usually dealing with rejection from His own, public shame from the Pharisees, challenges from the scribes and leaders of Israel, and demonic powers and influences, now comes to a place where they want simply a blessing for their baby. It must have been nice to hold a baby and hear them coo instead of people demanding healing and crying out in need! When the Disciples tried to turn away the people Jesus became indignant.
“But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10:14 (ESV)
He was indignant
My mother is a saint, a very good mother! However, as every parent knows, there are times of frustration and anger when the children have gone too far. When I was a kid we learned to spot when my mother had had enough, her voice would get tense and she would grit her teeth! We knew then we had done something very wrong and that we should hear and obey quickly! Here we see Jesus get upset with the Disciples, and rightfully so! It is interesting that this is the only place that Jesus is described as being indignant or angry. His rebuke comes out sharp and clear, even his speech pattern sounds like he is upset “Let the children approach me; do not prevent them” (Lane 1974, 359–360). However, Jesus rebuke is not without instruction, He goes on to explain why they shouldn’t turn the children away.
Such belongs the Kingdom of God
The statement of Jesus here that “such belongs the Kingdom” is possessive, that is, the Kingdom of God belongs to children (Evans 2001, 93–94)! This is incredible! Remember that to the ancients children were the very least in society. They loved them, they took care of them, but they had no status, and thus, they could not imagine a kingdom belonging to them. Today we might think of Jesus comparing children to little princes and princesses, this is almost how it would have sounded to them. We must take this to heart when we think of ministry. Often, children’s ministry is relegated to those who are not as trained, think of a pastor vs an associate pastor. Yet Jesus said that the very kingdom belongs to them!
Furthermore, the parallel verse in Luke 18:15 uses the Greek word for infants. Full Calvinists claim that a child that dies without “salvation” will burn in Hell. My question is this, how can a child, even an infant, that the Kingdom of God belongs to burn in Hell? But Jesus says even more than this, He says that we must be like a little child!
“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
Mark 10:15–16 (ESV)
Receive the kingdom like a child
What is stunning here is that the children are not blessed for what they are, or what they have, they are blessed for what they lack (Edwards 2002, 307)! They are without status, importance, honor, wealth, or power. Instead, they are in complete reliance. It is this state that we are commanded to come to God. We are to come to Him with complete need, not looking at what we can offer, but at what He can offer. We are not to see our status or success but only Him.
The story moves on from here. The Disciples have been told that they must approach the kingdom of God as a child, and next we see one who is far from such need.
“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?”
Mark 10:17 (ESV)
What must I do…
A rich young ruler approaches Jesus, bowing down and showing Him respect. He asks Jesus an interesting question, asking what he had to do to inherit eternal life. The question of inheriting eternal life is an eschatological question, more about entry into the coming Eden than about living forever (Collins and Attridge 2007, 476). We should think of “inheriting eternal life” in this story as the restoration of Eden in Revelation. If this is true, the question is more “what must I do to enter the kingdom?” Jesus answers first with deflection, why do you call Me good?
“And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
Mark 10:18 (ESV)
Why do you call me good?
But why did Jesus deflect? In their culture, often a compliment was expected to be returned (Witherington III 2001, 281–282). It is possible that Jesus saw this here, and so He deflected with a question. Why point at only God being good? Because he’s trying to make a point. Man can’t keep the law perfectly, no one is good but God. Thus, the man, knowing that he is lacking as we will see, knows that even though he keeps the law, he is still lacking something. Thus, the deflection points to the next statement and the meaning behind it (Witherington III 2001, 281–282).
“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.’”
Mark 10:19 (ESV)
You know the commandments
As a prophet, and as Yahweh in the flesh, Jesus understood and knew things about people without them saying anything. We can see that Jesus knew here that the man was Torah-observant, which we can see with “you know the commandments.” The statement is an assumption, that the Jewish man would know the Torah (Evans 2001, 96). The man then responds, he has kept the commandments.
“And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 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.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Mark 10:20–22 (ESV)
Looking at him
Jesus looks at the man and then immediately knows what is lacking in his life (Marcus 2009, 722). We should not be surprised, as Scripture says that He knew what was in the heart of those around Him.
“But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”
John 2:24–25 (ESV)
Furthermore, we must remember that He is the divine Son of Man! Yes He was a prophet, but He was also so much more. As Yahweh in the Flesh He had full access to the power of the Holy Spirit. Having seen His heart though, Jesus loved the man.
Loved him
Jesus has constantly been around those who are sinners or those who claim to be righteous but are worse than sinners. Here at last it seems that He has found someone who claimed to do something that he did! Jesus did not contradict him when he claimed to keep the torah. However, He did see one area in his life that he had to change. Yet even with the man’s failure it says that Jesus loved him. This word in Greek is often used to describe the love of a father for a son (Marcus 2009, 722). It seems to be a common theme in the Bible to refer to your Disciples as “little children,” (John 13:33, Galatians 4:19, 1 John 2:1, 2:12, 2:28, 3:7, 3:18, 4:4, 5:21). Thus, Jesus loved Him like a son (as God does for us as well)! Yet this sonship comes with correction.
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Hebrews 12:6 (ESV)
And so Jesus told him the thing he lacked.
You lack one thing
What does a rich man lack? Only one thing, need. He lacks need. Perhaps he is also covetous, we don’t knwo. Jesus sees this lack of lack, so to speak. Remember, that we must come as a child, as one who lacks, as one who doesn’t have. This man cannot do that, because he has everything he needs. Perhaps it is a type of idol, perhaps it controls his life, or won’t let him step away and follow the Messiah. We don’t know, but what we do see is that Jesus won’t have it. He doesn’t allow this man to have his wealth and follow Him. Instead He demands that he sell everything he has and give it away to the poor. Only after that is he allowed to come follow Jesus.
This would have been utterly shocking to the man, the Disciples, and everyone around them. The command was to sell everything, which would include what their culture considered most precious, the family home and land (Malina and Rohrbaugh 2003, 191)! Thus, in order to do this the man would have to harm those who depend on him and also his future children! The sacrifice is extreme.
Not only this, but the man would now be poor, as he would have given everything away. Thus, Jesus is asking him to change status! This would be like Jesus asking a rich politician, go, resign, give away all their money, even their house and car, and come be homeless with Him.
There is another element to this, for remember that the question was “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus responds by instructing him to get rid of his earthly inheritance! Thus, Jesus presents him a choice, choose to inherit from this world, or choose to inherit from above.
Yet the offer was there, if you do give up this earthly inheritance, come follow Me. Yet the man couldn’t bear to part with this world’s goods and walked away. How sad is this story!
There is an important point here that we need to make. The command of Jesus to this man to sell everything and come follow him was only a command to that man (Stein 2008, 470). We must be careful not to assume that we must be only poor to follow Jesus, or that it is a sin to have wealth. It was a very rich man that buried Jesus (Matthew 27:57), and many rich women supported Paul in his ministry. I believe that money is a tool. Yet here the tool had perhaps corrupted the man. And so Jesus called him to give it all up.
Do we need to keep the law for salvation?
We must take this story with the end in mind. The end result was an offering of Jesus to come and follow Him. What precedes this offer then are the requirements of Jesus for this man to be a Disciple. Many Jewish rulers during that time were less concerned with different aspects of the Torah, like eating clean, and more concerned with their place among the powers of Rome (Jeffers 1999, 14). It could be that this suspicion was there about this man. If my suggestion is correct, the response of Jesus in regards to keeping the Torah makes sense! Jesus was a torah observant Jew and would have no room among His disciples for anyone who was not. His mission was to the Jews, and as such, He only recruited disciples who were Jewish and Torah keepers. Thus, the first requirement for this man was that He keep the Torah. The man responded with the affirmative, perhaps understanding that his peers did not always keep the law fully, he however, did so. The man then progressed to the next level. Jesus saw something in him, perhaps greed. Thus, to follow Jesus He required him to sell all he had and then he would be allowed to come follow Him. The man of course turned this down. We can see then that the answer to “what must I do to inherit eternal life” is “come and follow Me.”
It is important to understand that these same requirements are not on all disciples. All wealthy Christians are not required to sell all their possessions, or not burry their dead fathers (Luke 9:59), or keep the law of Moses perfectly (we cannot do this today, since we lack a temple). Instead, as I stated earlier, this requirement was for a specific person at a specific moment in time. So Jesus statement does not mean that we can be saved by the law.
“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!” 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!”
Mark 10:23–24 (ESV)
How difficult… to enter
To a Jew, it was unthinkable that it would be a problem to be rich, since being rich allowed you to be generous to those in need (Lane 1974, 369). Yet here Jesus sees it as a real threat to those who are trying to enter the kingdom. The difficulty is not in the money or wealth itself, but in what it can do to you. Money and power have a tendency to change people. It is difficult to come to God in need when you have all you need! Jesus then takes it even further by using an allegory to explain how hard it is to enter into the kingdom.
“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.”
Mark 10:25 (ESV)
Camel through the eye of a needle
The saying of a camel going through the eye of a needle is comparable to the rabbinic saying of an elephant going through the eye of a needle (France 2002, 404-405). Man, in his own strength, with his own nature, cannot enter the kingdom without need. The point of the phrase to pass through the eye of a needle is that it is not possible, and thus, only God can perform a miracle to make it happen. Yet when the Disciples despaired, Jesus did comfort them and explain that God is able to do this.
“And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Mark 10:26–27 (ESV)
Who can be saved?
In a culture where the rich were considered blessed of God, and did many good works (if they were devout, as this man was), it was assumed that they would be righteous. Although, we must remember that they often suspected the rich, surely, one who was as strictly observant as this would not have had this suspicion about him. And so the disciples are shocked when Jesus makes this requirement. If this obedient man who is blessed cannot get in, who can?!
All things are possible
Jesus responds that it is not through our own power, or our own obedience that we will enter. No one can enter on their own merit. Instead, it is the power of God that brings us into the Kingdom of God. It is through His goodness, His great gift of salvation that we find entry.
“Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 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, 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. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Mark 10:28-31 (ESV)
First will be last
The first and last statement here refers to the reversal of honor and shame (Malina and Rohrbaugh 2003, 192). Those who think themselves due honor in the kingdom, may find that they have no honor and those who are humble will be shocked to find that they are great! That is why the kingdom is called an “upside-down kingdom,” because what we would consider great is not great to God. Those who appear to be least here will be great in the kingdom of heaven!
Life Application and Questions to Consider:
So how can we apply this to our life? First, we must come to God as a child, not with our status, our rank, our wealth, or anything else. Are you great at your job, set that aside. Do you have a lot of money, it doesn’t matter. Come to Him in recognition that you are in need, a spiritual beggar asking for what only He can offer.
Secondly, we must not look to ourselves and what we have to offer and assume that it is enough to enter the kingdom. We have nothing that God needs! Our riches and anything great don’t matter to Him. Not only this, but our law keeping is not enough. No matter how good we are, it won’t be enough to “purchase” entry into the kingdom. Only the blood of Christ allows us to enter the kingdom.
Lastly, we must be willing to “sell” everything in our mind, and consider all we have as not ours. Set that aside, and say to God, this is yours!
Connections
Matthew 19:13–30
Luke 18:15–30
Outline
Jesus blesses children and says that you must receive the kingdom of God like a little child.
A rich man asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus tells him to keep the commandments but the man responds that he has done this since his youth.
Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor and the man turns away.
References-
Robert H. Stein, Mark, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 462.
Ibid
William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 359–360.
Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27–16:20, vol. 34B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2001), 93–94.
James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 307.
Adela Yarbro Collins and Harold W. Attridge, Mark: A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), 476.
Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 281–282.
Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27–16:20, vol. 34B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2001), 96.
Joel Marcus, Mark 8–16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 27A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2009), 722.
Ibid
Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 191.
Robert H. Stein, Mark, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 470.
“He dresses in Hellenistic clothing, possesses Roman citizenship and claims to worship the God of the Jews, but he does not follow Jewish dietary regulations very closely. In fact, the dinner he serves you seems more like a banquet in Athens or Rome than the meal of a devout Jew. The dinner table groans with various delicacies, some of which do not fit what you know of Jewish dietary regulations. The gleam of silver is everywhere, fine wine flows freely, and slaves bustle around you, each with his or her unique task.”
James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 14.
William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 369.
R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 404–405.
Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 192.
