Mark 10:23, commentary and pictures

Jesus spoke looking round upon His disciples just after the young man who claimed to have kept the commandments was loved, told to sell all and give to the poor for treasure in heaven and to take up the cross and follow, and went away grieved because he had great possessions. To enter hardly means to enter with great hardness and difficulty, and the hardness is trusting in riches. Riches shut men out when they become an idol that draws the heart from following Christ, so that men cling to earthly treasure and trust in it instead of God, while absorption in gain makes them worshipers of Mammon whom no man can serve together with God. Wealth gives no claim to heaven, for salvation is impossible by human power but possible with God, so rich and poor alike enter only through His free grace. Those who belong to God hold possessions as talents entrusted to be wisely used as He directs, especially to help the poor and suffering and to save the lost, which requires the heart's full consecration in following Christ rather than unwilling sacrifice.

Context and Meaning

Jesus looked round about to His disciples and spoke this warning immediately after the encounter with the young man who sought eternal life. That man came running and kneeled asking how to inherit eternal life, claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth, and was loved even as he was told to sell all he had and give to the poor to have treasure in heaven and to take up the cross and follow. He went away sad and grieved because he had great possessions, and it was to His disciples in that moment that Jesus spoke of how hardly the rich enter the kingdom of God.

The event belongs with the teaching that prepared Jesus to set forth the right principles of God's free grace. The phrase about how hardly they enter means entry with great hardness and difficulty. That hardness is trusting in riches, as the words that follow make clear. Christ spoke the warning with the certainty of one who knew, having visited places where love of gain ruled men.

Why Riches Hinder Entry

Riches hinder entry into the kingdom of God when possessions become an idol that draws the heart away from following Christ. People cling to earthly treasure and put their trust in it instead of trusting God and His promises. The danger lies especially in this trusting in riches, which makes entrance difficult.

Being absorbed in gaining worldly riches occupies the thoughts and energies and makes men worshipers at the shrine of Mammon. No one can serve two masters, and no one can serve both God and Mammon. This warning reaches even to the use of God-given abilities, when they are employed to gain advantage over others rather than faithfully developed and used.

Love of wealth can overpower the mind, fostering selfishness and hoarding. The more people acquire, the more they may fear future need and desire still more, and those who put their trust in riches are poor toward God. The same warning exposes a grasping, mercenary longing for wealth and power even among the disciples, who were not wholly free from that spirit.

Wealth can also tempt toward indulgence and habits that ruin both soul and body. Those who possess riches may trust in them and fail to recognize their spiritual danger.

Grace and Faithful Stewardship

Wealth gives no claim to heaven, for God's favor and the righteous reward cannot be earned by works, and the encounter with the rich young ruler prepared the way to teach the right principles of free grace. Salvation is impossible by human power but possible with God, so rich and poor alike enter only through Christ's unearned grace. Though a heart bound to wealth cannot free itself, God can change it through the love of Christ so that the rich become servants of others. The riches that endure to eternal life are not houses or land, and Christ became poor so that people might receive these lasting riches.

When people recognize that they belong to God, they hold possessions and other abilities as talents entrusted by Him to be wisely used as He directs. That stewardship is especially to help the distressed, poor, and suffering, to save the lost and relieve suffering, and faithful use helps reshape and uplift those in need. The danger is not merely possessing wealth but trusting in it and relying on one's own ideas and choices. Wealthy people may give to God's cause yet still fail to surrender control of how their means are used, whereas wealth should be invested where God's blessing can make it fruitful.

The rich young ruler chose earthly possessions over heavenly treasure, showing that discipleship requires the heart's full consecration and obedience in following Christ and using gifts for God's glory, not unwilling sacrifice. The warning represents some now whom the Lord is calling to engage in His service. It presses the superiority of eternal things over present life, calling men to let the interests of eternity shape how they think and work now. The deceitfulness of riches can lead people to forget they are stewards who must answer to God, so the warning applies to Christians in every occupation whose resources and abilities bring responsibility to support God's work. Ministers who abandon their work and businesspeople who withhold effort or means from advancing God's cause misuse their gifts, while all believers share responsibility to work with Christ. Because of this peril, the rich need the gospel and earnest help to understand temperance and their responsibility to use resources well, since wealth can tempt toward indulgence and habits that ruin soul and body.