Month: March 2022

10 ¹⁷ As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²² When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 

²³ Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” 

²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” 

Jesus foretells his death and resurrection a third time

³² They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³ saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;
³⁴ they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who approaches Jesus in this incident? How does he address Jesus? What does he ask? How does Jesus respond to the greeting? How does he answer the question? What does the man say about this?What does Jesus tell the man next? How does the man respond to this suggestion? Why did he respond this way? 

2. What does Jesus say about the Kingdom of God? How do the disciples react to this? What does Jesus say to them? What does Peter say next? How does Jesus respond to his statement? What does he promise? Who is included in this promise? How does the future kingdom differ from this world?

3. What does Jesus tell the disciples? How do you think this news affected the disciples? How might you have responded to Jesus’ detailed description of his future?

Get Personal

How does God help you understand the role of “stuff” in your life? How does he help you see what is important in his kingdom?

(Cross-references to Matthew and Luke are given in brackets)

10:17-31. The rich man — Matthew changes the young man’s opening to: Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’ reply is almost the same as in Mark. The rest of the dialogue is very close to Mark’s version, except Jesus’ answer to Peter: Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first, [Matt 19:16-30]. 
Luke’s version begins the same as Mark’s, except it is a “certain ruler,” not a “rich man.” Jesus’ reply is very similar to Mark’s version. His response to Peter is also closer to Mark: Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, who will not get back much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life, [Luke 18:17-30]. Only Mark includes “with persecutions.”

10:18. What must I do? — the question includes the error of thinking salvation is based on what we do, not what God is going to do through Christ.
10:19. Commandments — Jesus mentions the five commandments that deal with observable behavior between people.
10:23. How hard it will be — Jesus’ statement completely reverses the common belief – now as well as in his time – that wealth is a mark of God’s blessing.
10:30. With persecutions — after listing the rewards of following him, Jesus reminds the disciples there will also be costs to following him.
In this age — our life in the kingdom – with the costs as well as rewards – begins when we trust Jesus and follow him; it does not wait until we die.
10:32-34. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection a third time — Matthew records the third prediction in almost the identical words of Mark, but without the reference to the disciples being afraid, [Matt 20:17-19]. Luke does not report a third prediction. Jesus’ third prediction is the most specific: the chief priests and scribes will condemn him, and the Gentiles (Romans) will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him, [check Mark 15, Luke 23, and Matt 26-27].