Read Mark 10:17-31 in your Bible. 

As you are reading, ask the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how as well as any repeated words or phrases. We’ll go through these together. Look for a verse(s) that stand out to you the most. The one that grabs your attention. 

Now let’s go through these questions together.

Who? Who is speaking, who is being mentioned?

Jesus, disciples, and rich ruler

When?

The same timeframe from the previous versus.

Where?

Previously in Judea, they were getting ready to go on a journey to Jerusalem.

What? What is happening in these verses?

A young rich man came to Jesus to ask him what he must do in order to enter into God’s Kingdom. Jesus gives the man an answer. 

Why? Why is this being mentioned? Why is this/will be happening?

This story is telling us what it means to enter into God’s Kingdom.

How does this happen/take place?

Jesus explains that it’s not about what we can do to earn or deserve heaven, but about his love for God.

Repeated words or phrases?

Command(ments) mentioned a total of 3x so far in this chapter. Kingdom of God 2x

Before we continue any further, what verse(s) stood out to you? 

I have two verses this time. Verse 26 and verse 31. As I explain, you’ll see why.

What does this mean?

We have this young rich man who came asking Jesus what he must do to enter into Heaven. You see, this man’s focus was on his own ability, what he can do to earn or deserve heaven. Jesus answers him by asking him if he knew the five of the commandments given by Moses, known as the 10 Commandments. The man replied that he did and that he kept the commandments. This tells us that he probably a good guy. But what is really happening is that Jesus is telling the man about what God’s standards are giving the man the opportunity to evaluate his performance. Then Jesus tells him that he is missing one thing, and that was his love for God versus his love for this earthly possessions. We know that the man loved his stuff more than God because he was unwilling to give it all up to follow Jesus. This man had made this riches his god. Jesus goes on to explain to the disciples that riches/wealth can be an obstacle to enter into Heaven. 

It’s at this point that verse 26 stood out to me. The disciples were shocked that the rich man would not enter into Heaven. We have to understand in those times, wealth and riches was a sign to everyone that you were blessed by God. So the disciples assume that rich people would get into heaven.

So Peter is concerned because he tells Jesus that he and the other disciples have given all that they had to follow Him. They are wondering that if a rich man can’t get into heaven, what does that mean for them. But Jesus assures them that because they gave up everything to follow Him that they would have their reward in Heaven. Their love for Jesus and for God is the reason that they will be able to enter into Heaven. Now we have verse 31 that tells us according to the ESV version that the first will be last and the last will be first. In other words, those who you think that have a first class ticket into heaven have been bumped off the flight altogether, and those who they thought would never make it to gate are the very ones who will enter first. 

What does this mean to me?

This all comes back to the command we were given…Love God. There should be nothing in this world that means more to us than to follow after God. Putting nothing before Him. Even though the rich ruler said he kept the commandments Jesus mention, he didn’t even realize that he was breaking the first commandment, which is “You must not have any other gods but me.” Exodus 20:3. We cannot be so consumed with our worldly things that we lose sight of God. We cannot get into heaven and spend eternity with God if we do not have a relationship with the Father. Just as the disciples will receive their reward for following Jesus, we too can receive ours as long as our focus is on Jesus and nothing else. We are to love Him more than anything this world has to offer.

What verse spoke out to you and what is God trying to show you through it? Write it out in your journal. Then say a prayer and have a conversation with God about it.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for paying the price to die on the cross and making a way for me to be in relationship with the Father. I know I am fallible and will mess up from time to time. Father God, I am grateful for your grace and mercy that is extended to me even though I don’t deserve it. Help me Holy Spirit to not let anything become an idol in my life that could separate me from the Father. Show me, those areas that I need to adjust where I put something above God, and help me to fix it. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.