Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 51
M AR K 10
page 907
ciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter
the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them.
But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very
hard* to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, 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!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who
in the world can be saved?” they asked.
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not
with God. Everything is possible with God.”
28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given
up everything to follow you,” he said.
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that
everyone who has given up house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or
property, for my sake and for the Good News,
30 will receive now in return a hundred times
as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person
will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the
greatest now will be least important then, and
those who seem least important now will be
the greatest then.*”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
32 They were now on the way up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The
disciples were filled with awe, and the people
following behind were overwhelmed with fear.
Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once
more began to describe everything that was
about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said,
“we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of
Man* will be betrayed to the leading priests and
the teachers of religious law. They will sentence
him to die and hand him over to the Romans.*
34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with
a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will
rise again.”
Jesus Teaches about Serving Others
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they
said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
36 “What is your request?” he asked.
37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor
next to you, one on your right and the other on
your left.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know
what you are asking! Are you able to drink from
the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?
Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of
suffering I must be baptized with?”
39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
10:24 Some manuscripts read very hard for those who trust in
riches. 10:31 Greek But many who are first will be last; and
the last, first. 10:33a “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for
himself. 10:33b Greek the Gentiles.
Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed
drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with
my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right
to say who will sit on my right or my left. God
has prepared those places for the ones he has
chosen.”
41 When the ten other disciples heard what
James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that the rulers in this world lord
it over their people, and officials flaunt their
authority over those under them. 43 But among
you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a
leader among you must be your servant, 44 and
• Worship
MAR K 1 0 :17-27
In this remarkable confrontation with
the ancient equivalent of an upwardly
mobile young urban professional, Jesus
is not demanding that all of his followers
take a vow of poverty. Rather, Jesus
challenges this particular young man to
move beyond defining his own spiritual
life as adherence to the law. By calling
him to sell his possessions and give the
proceeds to the poor, Jesus is forcing
him to face the truth about what he
worships. Jesus accurately discerned
that the young man’s possessions had
come to own him. God will challenge us
regarding anything we value more than
our relationship with him.
• Selfishness
MAR K 1 0 :35-45
In this remarkable interchange we learn
that even following Jesus can be twisted
out of shape by selfish ambition. James
and John seem to have been consumed
with the desire to be Jesus’ greatest disciples. Perhaps this ambition began as a
sincere longing to please their Lord, but
it became a selfish and petty competition as power and authority over others
became their goal. Notice that their
selfish ambition led them to invert their
relationship to Jesus; they began making
demands on him rather than asking him
what he would have them do. Jesus’
response is devastatingly simple. Our
ambition should not be to attain position
or power but to serve one another. Only
then will we truly find greatness in God’s
Kingdom.
