• Read: Mark 10:1-31
Oddly, this passage begins with an instruction not to separate families - and ends with an instruction to separate! But Jesus is not contradicting himself.
Marriage matters to God. The fact that God’s law permitted divorce did not change anything. God always intended, from the very beginning, that a married couple should remain married. Their relationship was a picture of the relationship between God and his people. So no-one should separate them.
The rich young man was joined to something else: his wealth. His obedience to the commandments was exemplary; but his love of money outweighed his love for God. When he rejected Jesus’ advice to separate himself from his wealth, he was also rejecting his reward in heaven.
Jesus did not mean that the man - or anyone else - could buy a place in heaven. It would be easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle! Only God can make it possible for people to enter heaven. But those people should place God above everything else in their lives. If necessary, they might have to leave their families and possessions for his sake. But God would not disappoint them. All these things are temporary. Their reward in heaven will last forever.
Read at Bible Gateway: Mark 10:1-31 KJV / NIV / ESV / Good News
Read at Blue Letter Bible: Mark 10:1-31 KJV / NIV / ESV
Next part: Imitate - Day 23 - Mark 10:32-52
From the series: Understanding Mark's Gospel
© 2019 K Simons