Mark 10:26-31 - All things are possible with God

10:26,27

The disciples then come to the conclusion that they might as well give up for no one can be saved. Jesus then responds with the very important words “with man this is impossible, but not with God”. First, on a technical point. As mentioned earlier, it has been said that the eye of a needle was a narrow gate in Jerusalem. There is no archaeological evidence for any such gate. Then there is talk that word translated camel could be some sort of rope. Jesus makes it clear that the point is that it is impossible for man to save himself. This would leave us in a state of hopelessness, if it were not true that  “all things are possible with God”. But all things are possible with God, can God can save anyone. That needs to be the basis for our hope, both for ourselves on a personal level, and our hope in terms of the mission of the church.

10:28

It seems that Peter is still stuck on the notion that we can save ourselves. He notes that the young man had been told to sell everything, so Peter pipes up that they (the disciples) had indeed left everything. Surely this qualified them for heaven then seems to be what Peter is thinking.

10:29-31

Jesus doesn’t answer Peter’s implied question directly. The giving up of many things in this life will not be without its reward, both in this life and the next. This does not mean a prosperity gospel type richness, though God may bless us directly in material terms. In the kingdom of the world the emphasis is on looking after number one. In God’s kingdom things work differently. If we have control (stewardship) of goods, then we are to share them with others. Likewise, others who have goods share them with us. So the kingdom is a sharing community. This brings spiritual and material benefits. On the negative side, the breakdown of family life, and the fragmentation of society brings with it enormous costs, economic and social. On the positive side, when a community lives by kingdom principles there are great economic and social benefits.

Jesus closes this section with the words “many who are first will be last, and the last first”. We see a certain pecking order in the world, the “pecking order” in the kingdom is completely different, paying no heed to worldly standards.