Mark 10

Jesus teaches on the road toward Jerusalem. He speaks about marriage, about children, and about the danger of riches, and he warns that his own suffering lies ahead. Throughout, he turns the world’s ideas of status upside down. Greatness is service, entering the kingdom is a gift, and the chapter ends with a blind beggar who sees.

Mark 10:1

Jesus moves south into Judea and the lands east of the Jordan, on the way to Jerusalem. Crowds gather again, and he does what he always did: he teaches them. Teaching was not a side task for Jesus but the steady rhythm of his ministry.

Mark 10:2

The Pharisees ask about divorce, but their motive is a trap. Any answer might offend someone, whether the crowd, the law’s defenders, or the ruler who had already taken John the Baptist’s life over marriage. Jesus is never rattled by hostile questions.

BSA: test (“tempt, try”): The question is meant to put Jesus under pressure and catch him out, not to find the truth.

Mark 10:3-4

Jesus sends them back to Scripture: what did Moses command? They answer that Moses allowed a written certificate of divorce. That certificate was meant to give the woman some protection and proof of her status. Notice that they speak of permission, not of an ideal.

See also: Deuteronomy 24:1-4.

Mark 10:5

Jesus says the allowance was a concession to human sin, not God’s design. Moses regulated a hard situation; he did not describe what marriage was meant to be. Hearts that refuse to listen to God break what God made.

BSA: hardness of heart (“stubbornness, unwillingness to listen”): The root problem is a heart that will not yield to God, and the law made allowance for the damage that causes.

Greek: σκληροκαρδίαν (sklērokardian, G4641) — “hard-heartedness.” The word joins ‘hard’ and ‘heart’ into one. It pictures a heart gone stiff and unresponsive, like dried-out clay that will not take a new shape.

Mark 10:6-8

Jesus goes back past Moses to the beginning. God made humanity male and female, and marriage is his idea: a man leaves his parents and is joined to his wife. The two become one flesh, a new and real unity, not just a contract.

BSA: one flesh (“a single, unified entity, physically and spiritually”): Marriage joins two people at every level, body and life together, into a single whole.

See also: Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24.

Mark 10:9

Since God is the one who joins a couple, people should not tear apart what he has united. The verse gives marriage great weight and dignity. It speaks of God’s purpose for marriage, and it leaves no room for treating the bond lightly.

BSA: joined together (“yoked”): Like two oxen under one yoke, husband and wife are fastened together to pull one load.

Greek: συνέζευξεν (synezeuxen, G4801) — “yoked together.” The word comes from the picture of two animals harnessed under a single yoke. It shows marriage as a shared life with a shared burden and direction.

Mark 10:10-12

Back in the house, the disciples ask for more. Jesus says that divorcing and marrying someone else wrongs the first spouse, and he says it of wives as well as husbands. He is lifting the weight of marriage and protecting the one who is left behind. Christians have thought carefully about how to apply this in painful situations.

See also: Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11.

Mark 10:13

Parents bring their little children so that Jesus can touch and bless them. The disciples scold the parents, probably thinking Jesus was too important to be bothered. They had not yet learned how the kingdom measures importance.

Mark 10:14

Jesus is stirred to anger at his own disciples. Children are not a distraction from the kingdom; they are the pattern for those who receive it. They come with empty hands and simple trust, and the kingdom belongs to people like that.

BSA: indignant (“deeply upset, much displeased”): Jesus felt real, strong displeasure when people stood between children and himself.

Greek: ἠγανάκτησεν (ēganaktēsen, G23) — “was indignant, became angry.” This is a strong word for being stirred up with anger. Mark shows Jesus with real feeling here, and the cause is the shutting out of the small and the weak.

Mark 10:15

Entering the kingdom is not earned like a wage. It is received like a gift, and a child knows how to take a gift. Pride, self-reliance, and the need to prove ourselves are the real obstacles.

BSA: receive (“welcome, accept”): The kingdom comes to us as a gift to be welcomed, not as a prize to be won.

See also: Matthew 18:3.

Mark 10:16

After the rebuke, Jesus does exactly what the parents asked, and more. He takes the children into his arms and lays his hands on them. The Lord of the kingdom is tender with the smallest people.

BSA: blessed (“praising and speaking well of”): He spoke good over them and asked God’s care on them, giving each child his full attention.

Mark 10:17

A man runs up and kneels, which shows his eagerness and respect. He asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, as if life with God could be earned by a deed. Yet the very word ‘inherit’ points to something received, not wages.

BSA: inherit (“receive as a gift, obtain”): An inheritance comes as a gift from a father, which sits oddly with a man who thinks he must do something to get it.

See also: Luke 18:18.

Mark 10:18

Jesus does not deny that he is good. He asks the man to think about what he is saying. True goodness belongs to God alone, so the man should not suppose that human goodness can claim eternal life. It is a gentle question that exposes his assumptions.

See also: Psalm 14:1-3.

Mark 10:19-20

Jesus names commandments that deal with how we treat other people. The man answers honestly that he has kept them since he was young. He is sincere and respectable, and Jesus never says otherwise. Still, something is missing.

Mark 10:21

Jesus looks at him with love, and then tells him the one thing he lacks. He is to give away his wealth, which is his security, and follow Jesus. The command is not meant to take something from the man, but to free him to have treasure in heaven and a place at Jesus’ side.

BSA: loved (“with a deep affection and concern”): The hard word comes from real care, not from harshness. treasure (“a store of precious riches”): Jesus offers a lasting store of wealth in heaven in place of what the man would give up.

Greek: ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen, G25) — “loved.” This is the self-giving kind of love the New Testament uses of God’s love. Jesus looks at a man who is about to refuse him and loves him anyway.

Mark 10:22

The man’s face falls, and he leaves grieving. He had asked a question but would not accept the answer. His money held him tighter than he held it. The verse shows the cost of turning away from Jesus, and it is a sad ending.

BSA: saddened (“became gloomy, his countenance fell”): His disappointment showed openly on his face as he turned away.

Mark 10:23-24

Jesus looks around and tells his disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter. The disciples are astonished, since they thought wealth was a sign of God’s favor. Jesus answers tenderly, calling them ‘children’, and widens the point: entering is hard for anyone who clings to what they have.

Greek: τέκνα (tekna, G5043) — “children, little ones.” This is a warm word of a teacher to those dear to him. After the earlier scene with the children, it reminds the disciples that they too must come as little ones.

Mark 10:25

Jesus uses a deliberately absurd picture: a camel, the largest animal in that land, going through the tiny hole of a sewing needle. He means that it cannot be done by human effort. Riches can make a person feel self-sufficient and so unwilling to depend on God.

Greek: τρυμαλιᾶς (trymalias, G5168) — “a hole, an opening.” The word means a small hole bored through something. It heightens the humor and the impossibility of the picture.

Mark 10:26-27

The disciples are stunned and ask who can be saved. Jesus looks at them directly and gives the answer: people cannot save themselves, but God can. Salvation is God’s work from start to finish, and nothing is beyond his power.

BSA: saved (“delivered, rescued from sin, healed, protected”): Salvation means being rescued and made whole, which no person can accomplish for himself.

See also: Genesis 18:14; Ephesians 2:8-9.

Mark 10:28-30

Peter points out that the disciples have given up everything. Jesus assures him that no one who gives up something for him and the gospel will lose out. They will gain a new family and new homes in this age, with persecutions alongside, and eternal life in the age to come. The honest mention of persecution keeps the promise realistic.

BSA: persecutions (“suffering, trials”): The rewards of following Jesus come along with real hardship, and Jesus says so openly.

Mark 10:31

Jesus ends the lesson with a saying that overturns ordinary ranking. Those who seem to be first, because of wealth or position, may find themselves last, and those who seem unimportant may be honored. God’s measure is not the world’s.

Mark 10:32

Jesus walks ahead on the road to Jerusalem, knowing what waits there. His followers are amazed and afraid, sensing that something heavy is coming. He then takes the Twelve aside to tell them plainly what will happen.

Greek: ἐθαμβοῦντο (ethambounto, G2284) — “were amazed, awestruck.” The word describes a stunned wonder mixed with fear. Mark uses it for people overwhelmed by something beyond them, and it fits Jesus’ resolute walk toward Jerusalem.

Mark 10:33-34

This is the third time Jesus foretells his death. He gives details: he will be handed to the chief priests and scribes, condemned, and given over to the Gentiles, who will mock, spit, flog, and kill him. Yet he adds that after three days he will rise. He goes forward knowing, not by accident.

BSA: delivered (“surrendered, betrayed”): He is handed over from one set of hands to another, first by betrayal and then by his own people to the Gentiles.

See also: Isaiah 53:3-5; Mark 8:31.

Mark 10:35-37

Right after hearing about the cross, James and John ask for the best seats beside Jesus in his glory. They are thinking of a throne when he is speaking of a cross. Yet they do believe that he will have glory, and they want to be close to him.

See also: Matthew 20:20-21.

Mark 10:38-39

Jesus tells them they do not know what they are asking. He asks if they can drink his cup and share his baptism, which are pictures of suffering and being overwhelmed. They say they can, and he tells them that they will indeed share in his sufferings. The road to glory runs through the cross.

BSA: baptized (“immersed, overwhelmed”): Jesus pictures suffering as being plunged under waves, completely covered by it.

Greek: βαπτισθῆναι (baptisthēnai, G907) — “to be immersed.” The word means to dip or plunge under. Jesus uses it as a picture of being submerged in suffering, not of a washing ceremony.

See also: Isaiah 51:17.

Mark 10:40

Jesus says that places at his right and left are not his to hand out as favors. They belong to those for whom they have been prepared. He leaves the matter in the Father’s hands and does not use his authority to reward ambition.

Mark 10:41-42

The other ten are angry, probably because they wanted the same places. Jesus calls them together and points to how the Gentile rulers behave: they dominate people and flaunt their power. He sets that up as the pattern to avoid.

BSA: lord it over them (“exercise dominion, master”): It describes rulers who treat people as things to control rather than people to serve.

Mark 10:43-44

Among Jesus’ followers the pattern is reversed. If you want to be great, you must serve, and if you want to be first, you must become everyone’s slave. Greatness in his kingdom is measured by how much you give, not by how much you hold.

BSA: servant (“minister, attendant”): A servant is one who waits on others and meets their needs.

Greek: δοῦλος (doulos, G1401) — “slave.” This is the lowest rung of the household, a person who belongs wholly to another. Jesus uses the strongest word available to make the point.

Mark 10:45

Jesus gives himself as the example. The Son of Man, who deserves to be served, came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This is the heart of the gospel: his death pays the price to set people free.

BSA: ransom (“redemption price, payment for sin”): A ransom is the price paid to set a captive free, and Jesus gives his own life as that price.

Greek: λύτρον (lytron, G3083) — “ransom, price of release.” The word was used for the payment that frees a slave or a prisoner. It shows Jesus’ death as a price paid on behalf of others.

See also: Isaiah 53:10-12; 1 Timothy 2:5-6.

Mark 10:46

At Jericho, on the last stretch toward Jerusalem, a blind beggar sits by the roadside. Mark gives his name, Bartimaeus, which means ‘son of Timaeus’. Having no work and no sight, he depends on the kindness of passers-by.

Mark 10:47-48

When Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing, he cries out to him as Son of David, a title for the promised king. The crowd tells him to be quiet, but he shouts even louder. He knows his need and will not let anyone silence him.

BSA: have mercy (“show compassion, be gracious”): He asks for undeserved kindness, because he has no claim to offer.

Greek: ἐλέησον (eleēson, G1653) — “have mercy.” This is the cry of someone who can only appeal to the other’s kindness. It is a prayer Christians have prayed ever since.

Mark 10:49-50

Jesus stops and tells them to call the man. The same crowd that hushed him now says, ‘Take courage! Get up!’ Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, perhaps his only possession, and springs to Jesus. He does not hold back or look behind.

BSA: Take courage (“be of good cheer, have faith”): The crowd now encourages him, because Jesus has stopped for him. cloak (“outer garment, mantle”): It was his outer covering, and he drops it so nothing slows him on the way to Jesus.

Mark 10:51

Jesus asks him the same question he asked James and John, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ The two brothers wanted glory. The blind man simply asks to see. Jesus lets him say what he needs, and Bartimaeus asks with plain and clear faith.

See also: Mark 10:36.

Mark 10:52

Jesus tells him to go, saying his faith has healed him, and at once he sees. Bartimaeus does not go his own way but follows Jesus along the road, which is heading toward Jerusalem and the cross. The man who received sight uses it to follow.

BSA: healed (“saved, made whole”): The same word can mean saved, so Jesus gives him more than eyesight: a whole and restored life.

Greek: σέσωκέν (sesōken, G4982) — “has saved, has made well.” The same word is used for healing and for salvation. Jesus’ words to Bartimaeus cover both his body and his whole self.