10:17 Now 6 as Jesus 7 was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 8 10:18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? 9 No one is good except God alone. 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 10 10:20 The man 11 said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed 12 all these laws 13 since my youth.” 14 10:21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money 15 to the poor, and you will have treasure 16 in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 10:22 But at this statement, the man 17 looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich. 18
10:23 Then 19 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, 20 “Children, how hard it is 21 to enter the kingdom of God! 10:25 It is easier for a camel 22 to go through the eye of a needle 23 than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 10:26 They were even more astonished and said 24 to one another, “Then 25 who can be saved?” 26 10:27 Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, 27 but not for God; all things are possible for God.”
10:28 Peter began to speak to him, “Look, 28 we have left everything to follow you!” 29 10:29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, 30 there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 10:30 who will not receive in this age 31 a hundred times as much – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions 32 – and in the age to come, eternal life. 33 10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
10:32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. 34 Jesus was going ahead of them, and they were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 10:33 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law. 35 They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles. 10:34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog 36 him severely, and kill him. Yet 37 after three days, 38 he will rise again.”
10:35 Then 39 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 10:36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 10:37 They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” 10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?” 40 10:39 They said to him, “We are able.” 41 Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, 10:40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 42
10:41 Now 43 when the other ten 44 heard this, 45 they became angry with James and John. 10:42 Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 10:43 But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 10:44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave 46 of all. 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom 47 for many.”
10:46 They came to Jericho. 48 As Jesus 49 and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, 50 “Jesus, Son of David, 51 have mercy 52 on me!” 10:48 Many scolded 53 him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So 54 they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” 10:50 He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 10:51 Then 55 Jesus said to him, 56 “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, 57 let me see again.” 58 10:52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained 59 his sight and followed him on the road.
1 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
2 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
3 sn On receive see John 1:12.
4 sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.
5 tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (10:15).
9 sn Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the young man to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.
10 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20, except for do not defraud, which is an allusion to Deut 24:14.
11 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man who asked the question in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
13 tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 sn Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.
15 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
16 sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man who asked the question in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “he had many possessions.” This term (κτῆμα, kthma) is often used for land as a possession.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
20 tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
21 tc Most
22 tc A few witnesses (Ë13 28 579 pc) read κάμιλον (kamilon, “rope”) for κάμηλον (kamhlon, “camel”), either through accidental misreading of the text or intentionally so as to soften Jesus’ words.
23 sn The referent of the eye of a needle is a sewing needle. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus was speaking rhetorically to point out that apart from God’s intervention, salvation is impossible (v. 27).
24 tn Grk “But they were even more astonished, saying.” The participle λέγονες (legontes) has been translated here as a finite verb to emphasize the sequence of events: The disciples were astonished, then they spoke.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.
26 sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?
27 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…all things are possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.
28 sn Peter wants reassurance that the disciples’ response and sacrifice has been noticed.
29 tn Grk “We have left everything and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.
30 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
31 tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.
32 tn Grk “with persecutions.” The “all” has been supplied to clarify that the prepositional phrase belongs not just to the “fields.”
33 sn Note that Mark (see also Matt 19:29; Luke 10:25, 18:30) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).
34 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
35 tn Or “chief priests and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
36 tn Traditionally, “scourge him” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “The ‘verberatio’ is denoted in the passion predictions and explicitly as action by non-Israelites Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33”; the verberatio was the beating given to those condemned to death in the Roman judicial system. Here the term μαστιγόω (mastigow) has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.
37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
38 tc Most
39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
40 tn Grk “baptism I am baptized with.” This same change has been made in v. 39.
41 sn No more naïve words have ever been spoken as those found here coming from James and John, “We are able.” They said it with such confidence and ease, yet they had little clue as to what they were affirming. In the next sentence Jesus confirms that they will indeed suffer for his name.
42 sn After the first passion prediction in 8:31 Jesus rebuked Peter as having been used by Satan. After the second passion prediction in 9:31 the disciples were concerned about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. After the third passion prediction in 10:33 James and John asked for positions of honor and rulership in the kingdom, revealing their complete misunderstanding of the nature of the kingdom and exposing their inadequacy as true disciples of Jesus. Jesus replied that such positions were for those for whom it has been prepared.
43 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
44 tn Grk “the ten.”
45 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
46 tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
47 sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Matt 20:28 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that was deserved for sin.
48 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
49 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50 tn Grk “to shout and to say.” The infinitive λέγειν (legein) is redundant here and has not been translated.
51 sn Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).
52 sn Have mercy on me is a request for healing. It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.
53 tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.
54 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
55 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
56 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς is redundant and has not been translated.
57 tn Or “Master”; Grk ῥαββουνί (rabbouni).
58 tn Grk “that I may see [again].” The phrase can be rendered as an imperative of request, “Please, give me sight.” Since the man is not noted as having been blind from birth (as the man in John 9 was) it is likely the request is to receive back the sight he once had.
59 tn Or “received” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in v. 51).