One of the themes in Mark is the kingdom of God. In Mark 1, Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God is at hand and calls the people to repent and believe the gospel. In Mark 4, Jesus talks about what the kingdom is like through parables. He teaches that it is like a mustard seed that starts off as the smallest of all seeds, and yet it grows to become a big tree. It starts out growing in hiddenness and even without people realising, continues to grow and grow.
So, what is is the kingdom like? How does one even enter into the kingdom?
This is a question that this passage will answer for us.
(A) Receive the Kingdom like a child (Mark 10:13-16)
The scene is set at the start in Mark 10:13. they, which are people, the crowds that gather to Jesus whenever they want to hear and teach. They are now bringing children to Him for Him to touch them. From Mark 10:16, we see that Jesus took them in His arms, hence these were likely infants. They are small enough for Him to carry and the people wanted Him to bless them.
We read also that the disciples rebuked the people for their actions. There is no explicit reason stated here as to why they rebuked. Perhaps they felt that the children should not be brought to Jesus and it is not worth Jesus’ time. Maybe it is a distraction to His ministry or that they think Jesus will be better off resting, teaching, doing anything else. But we can see that there is really no good reason to hinder them coming to Jesus.
How does Jesus feel about their response? He was indignant, and He said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (Mark 10:14). There was a sense of frustration in His answer. This is not the first time that Jesus actually has a teaching with regards to children. In Mark 9:36-37, He also takes a child in the midst of all his disciples and tells them that whoever receives one side such child in His name receives Him, and whoever receives Him receives not Him, but the one who sent him. There, the disciples were actually arguing about whom was the greatest among them.
Thus in Mark 10, it is not the first time that Jesus has taught His disciples something that they were supposed to take to heart and change the way that they see children. Yet here, the disciples clearly show that they have not really learned that lesson and Jesus has a sense of frustration, a sense of anger righteously that that this should not be the case. There is no reason for children to be hindered to coming to Him. It is just something about the way that the disciples actually view children. Perhaps they view children as small, not worth very much, not worth the time to spend on, but Jesus clearly sees otherwise because He makes a very important statement of saying that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God, like a child shall not enter it. He immediately brings to mind the kingdom of God and what it means to enter it.
What do you think about when you think about children? Children are really well known to be weak. Babies cry when they are hungry, need a diaper change, need some comforting. It really reflects their neediness that at any point of time in their life, they need help to attend to even the most basic and essential of needs. And so, when Jesus says that to such the kingdom of God belongs to such as these, and whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it, is not that adults are disqualified from entering the kingdom, but we have to receive the kingdom of God like a needy child. We must come to the kingdom of God knowing not our self-sufficiency, but our need.
Jesus also reinforces this truth to His disciples. He says truly, and whenever Jesus says truly, he always says that because he wants them to really listen.
So we may not in our day to day life be holding back children, from coming to church, from coming to Jesus but we often want to see ourselves as strong and associate with people who are strong, as people who are strong can help us. We despise weakness when we see it in ourselves, and when we see it in others. How do we relate to one another — to colleagues in the workplace, to those we view of having a weaker faith in the church, to those who we think are offenders of grievous sin? But when we think of them in this way, it actually betrays our own heart state, our own heart posture to think that we we are less needy than the people that we look at and we judge, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Mark 10 teaches that we are supposed to be as needy as children, as infants, when it comes to the kingdom of God and entering it.
(B) Enter the Kingdom without earned merit (Mark 10:17-27)
A man approaches Jesus (Mark 10:17) and he ran up and knelt before Jesus. He approached Jesus with a sense of desperation and also a posture of humility and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17b)”.
How does he view Jesus based on the way he addresses Him and what does he want from Jesus? He recognised that Jesus has done good and is capable, one that he needs to learn from. The man also asks about eternal life. He recognises that Jesus is a teacher with some religious authority and thus, approaches Jesus with this in mind.
Before we go on, what is eternal life? Is it just living forever or is there anything else that came to mind also? There is an idea of having life everlasting, but it is more than just an eternal existence.
This man humbly recognised that Jesus has something that he did not have.
How does Jesus answer him? Jesus answers, though it may not have been in the way that we might think, He first addresses how the man call his “good”, and points out that no one is good except God alone. When Jesus talks about good, He i's not just talking about it as moral goodness but is speaking about righteousness. No one is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18), because there is none righteous, but God. And when he is talking about eternal life, the way to have eternal life, the way to enter the kingdom, the way to be with God, a holy God, no one can do that unless they are actually righteous. No one can actually do that when they are righteous. Jesus is actually coming to the heart of the question, when He addresses this man's question in this way. It challenges the man to think about how he really views Jesus. Is he just a teacher? Is he something more?
Jesus also points him to the commandments that he knows (Mark 10:19). Jesus references five out of the six commandments that pertain to how people were to relate to one another. The man believed his life measures up to the standards of the commandments (Mark 10:20). But if we read Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:21-30, He raises the standard of righteousness and reveals the true standard of the commandment. By Jesus’ standard, even if we were to break one law, we are sinners and no longer righteous before God's eyes. We have already broken all of it. To be righteous, we have to keep all the law in its entirety.
Thus, it is not likely that the man has really attained that standard of righteousness.
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and replied him (Mark 10:22). He did not dismiss the man and the entire encounter with the young man occurs in love too. This also helps us to see that everything that Jesus says before and after is out of love. Jesus is so patient with the man, even with his own flawed understanding, and the way that he actually thinks he can do things that really he cannot in God's eyes.
Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing, that is, to go and sell all that he has and give to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven, and follow Him (Mark 10:21). It is not that Jesus is actually saying that if he fulfilled this one thing, he is righteous. It is important for us to remember that Jesus says all these out of love for this man!
Yet, the man is disheartened and goes away sorrowful, for he had great possessions (Mark 10:22). If there's at least one thing that this man comes to a real realisation of he realises that he is not as great as he thought he was. He comes to an understanding that he is not really as righteous. In fact, the man knows the stakes of what Jesus is asking for. At that moment, between eternal life and his great possessions, one is more real to him in that present moment as opposed to the other. His possessions felt more real, more precious to him at that moment compared to the eternal life that he was asking Jesus about.
This is sobering for us and we too, often struggle with faithfully holding on to God’s promises. God's promises may feel somewhat intangible, somewhat distant, somewhat unfulfilled. What do we cling on to when we are given so many things that the world has to offer?
This man’s struggle with wealth is also a struggle that we can probably relate to. The Bible also often mentions the deceitfulness of wealth and cautions us against seeking to serve both money and God. We can only serve one master. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 is also a warning for us, highlighting how those who desire to be rich have fallen into temptation and the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have also wandered from the faith. Paul also told Timothy to charge the rich in this present age to not be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God (1 Tim 6:17).
Now, it is not that the Christian cannot have possessions, but these verses in 1 Timothy and Mark set up a tension between our possessions and God. There is a temptation for us to view our material possessions as more real, more precious and more satisfying than what God has to offer.
This is what Jesus seeks to bring out through this interaction with the man. Jesus knows what is in his heart, and engaged him in a way to bring out what is in heart. We may not think of loving someone in this way. We often think that loving someone involves serving them, helping them etc and these are ways to express love, but do you have a category of love in your life that involves you bringing a non-believing friend to understand their own sinfulness and need for a Saviour? Jesus models this for us and we can learn to gently lead those around us too. Certainly, the Spirit needs to work for God to bring a person to repentance and understanding their sinfulness and need for a Saviour, but we can be intentional and gentle in the way we bring God’s truth to those around us.
Mark does not record for us what happened to the man after this. Only God knows. Even in our own sharing with non-believers, we may not know the outcome of our words, but we pray that God will work through our efforts, and entrust the results to God.
Jesus now turns to His disciples in Mark 10:23-27. He mentions how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. Is Jesus saying that a rich person cannot enter into the kingdom of God? Why is He bringing up this topic of wealth? Why are his disciples amazed at His words and exceedingly astonished?
In Mark 10:26, the disciples asked, ”Who then can be saved?? In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, we see how God lays out for the people how obedience leads to the promise of blessing. With a superficial understanding of what Deuteronomy is talking about and what God promises, some may think that it is closely tied to material wealth in this present age. Some may equate being blessed by the Lord and having His favour with material wealth. Perhaps this is what the disciples thought and would have expected a wealthy person to be one of the first to enter the kingdom. Yet, Jesus says that it is difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23). They would not have thought that this person would not be able to enter. Nit Jesus makes it clear, and even employed hyperbole, stating that 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).
Jesus goes on to teach them that with man, it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27). Jesus is teaching that there is nothing that a person can do of their own merit, of their own works, that could possibly enable them to enter into the kingdom apart from God, apart from what God has done.
Look back at Mark 10:17. Mark writes that Jesus was “setting out on his journey”. In Mark 11, we see that Jesus reaches Jerusalem. Jesus is on the road to the cross. Thus, He is teaching the people and His disciples to understand the impossibility of men entering into the kingdom on their own accord without God, while being on His journey to make it all possible through Him. At the end of this gospel of Mark, entry into the kingdom became truly possible for all who place their faith in Christ.
What this means for us is that there is no need for us to live righteously for the sake of attaining eternal life based on our own actions. Even if we go about our day to day life, trying to be good, trying to be moral or trying to sacrifice, or holding loosely to our possessions and seeking to do good, it cannot earn our salvation. It is only when we truly realise how wretched we are, how poor we are in spirit, and can only be saved not through our works but in and through the finished work of Christ, only then, God’s grace and His love and His mercy truly shines.
If you are a Christian, it would mean that at some point in your life, that reality became truly real for you. You chose to renounce your sins and turn away from it, and turned to Christ, choosing to accept the love and work of your Saviour. It is only in Christ that you have entered the kingdom.
If you are not a Christian, consider how this loving Saviour can meet us at our level. At every step in this conversation with the young man, Jesus stoops to his level of understanding of the law, engages him there, and broadens his perspective and understanding of what he cannot achieve by his own merit. Turn to this Saviour today.
(C) Leave everything for the Kingdom (Mark 10:28-31)
Peter told Jesus that the disciples have left everything and followed Jesus (Mark 10:28). After hearing Jesus’ words, perhaps he wondered if what they did counted for nothing.
Jesus responded with words of assurance in Mark 10:29-31. Jesus assures him that they will not go unrewarded. He promises a hundredfold in this time and more in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30). The disciples’ obedience will not count for nothing!
Just as He immediately went to the heart of the matter with the young man, Jesus comes to the heart of the matter also in His response to Peter. Firstly, He qualifies it by recognising what the disciples did for His sake and for the gospel. What they did for His sake and for the sake of the gospel will not be in vain, but will be fruitful. It will multiply.
These are also not words that promise prosperity in this life. He promises not just houses and lands, but also a new family. He also speaks realistically of the reality of persecutions. This is a picture of kingdom living and the abundant life we have in Christ. We leave behind things of the world, but it will be worth it. Jesus is worth it.
This is an upside down kingdom that does not quite work the way we think it should work or want it to work.
And just like the disciples, our perceptions need changing too. The kingdom cannot be earned and worked for. We cannot buy it with possessions but it has to be received like a child that knows his own neediness. Only God can make a way for us, and He has done so through His own son, Jesus Christ. Upon receiving the kingdom, everything else pales in comparison in light of that glory of the kingdom to come, the kingdom that Jesus has ushered in with His death and resurrection.
How would this encourage your faith today? Let us ask God for help to live in the midst of struggle in light of His glorious kingdom.