Mk. 10:26. And they were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves: Who then can be saved?
Mk. 10:27. Jesus, looking upon them, says: with men this is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God. It is not wealth in itself that is evil, but those who hoard it are evil and worthy of condemnation, for one ought not to have it, that is, to keep it for oneself, but to put it to good use. It is called wealth precisely because it is meant for beneficial use, not for hoarding. Therefore it is difficult for those who hoard and lock it away to "enter the Kingdom of God." And the word "difficult" here means the same as impossible. It is indeed exceedingly difficult for a rich man to be saved. This is evident from the example which the Lord adds, saying: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." By the name "camel" understand either the animal itself or a thick rope (cable) used on large ships. Thus, for a man, so long as he is rich, it is impossible to be saved. But with God this is possible. Christ said: "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth" (Lk. 16:9). Do you see how all things become possible when we hear the Word of God? "With men this is impossible," that is, it is impossible when we reason in human terms. But why were the disciples so astonished at these words? After all, they themselves were never rich. I think that in this case they were concerned for all people, since they had already begun to be lovers of mankind. Some are puzzled how Christ said that "all things are possible with God." Can He then also sin? To this we answer that when Christ says "all things," He means all things that have real existence, but sin is not something that has real existence: sin is something insubstantial, inoperative, or in other words, sin belongs not to strength but to weakness, as the Apostle also says: "Christ, when we were still weak... died" (Rom. 5:6), and David says: "Their sorrows shall be multiplied" (Ps. 16:4). Therefore sin, as a weakness, is impossible for God. But can God, they ask, also make what has been as though it had not been? To this we say: God is Truth, and to make what has been as though it had not been is a lie. How then would Truth produce a lie? For this He would first have to change His own Essence. To speak in this way would be to say that God can cease to be God.
Mk. 10:28. And Peter began to say to Him: behold, we have left everything and followed You.
Mk. 10:29. Jesus answered and said: Truly I say to you: there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake and the Gospel's,
Mk. 10:30. And would not receive now, in this present time, a hundredfold more houses, and brothers and sisters, and fathers, and mothers, and children, and lands, amid persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.
Mk. 10:31. Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. Although Peter left little for the sake of Christ, he still calls this little "everything." It is evident that even a little has the bonds of attachment, and therefore even one who leaves little is worthy of being blessed. Peter alone asked Christ, but the Lord gives an answer common to all: everyone who leaves wife or mother. He says this not so that we would leave our parents helpless or separate from our wives, but teaches us to prefer pleasing God above all things of the flesh. Since from the preaching of the Gospel war was to be kindled among people, so that children would have to renounce their fathers, the Lord says: whoever leaves for the sake of the Gospel fleshly kinship and in general all things of the flesh, that one will receive all this a hundredfold in this age, and in the age to come, eternal life. Therefore, will he not also receive a hundred times more wives? Yes — although the accursed Julian mocked this. For tell me, what benefit does a wife bring to her husband's household? In general, she cares for food and clothing for her husband and in this regard fully provides for him. Now look at how it was with the apostles. How many women cared for providing them with clothing and food and served them, so that they themselves had no concern for anything except the word and teaching! Likewise, the apostles had many fathers and mothers, as all those who loved them and cared for them heartily were such to them. Peter left his one house, but later had as his own all the houses of his disciples. Even now he has throughout the whole earth splendid houses — churches in his name. And what is still more important is that the saints inherited all this in exile, that is, while being persecuted for the faith of Christ, and in cruel sufferings, but their sufferings were not a disgrace to them. For those who appeared last in the present age, on account of the sorrows and persecutions they endured, will be first in the age to come for their steadfast hope in God. The Pharisees, who were first, became last, and those who left everything and followed Christ became first.
Mk. 10:32. When they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed, and as they followed Him, they were afraid. And taking the twelve aside, He again began to tell them what would happen to Him:
Mk. 10:33. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles,
Mk. 10:34. And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him; and on the third day He shall rise again. Why does Jesus predict to the disciples what will happen to Him? To strengthen their spirit, so that having heard about it beforehand, they would bear it courageously when it came to pass, and not be struck by its suddenness; and at the same time they were to know that He suffers of His own will. For he who foresaw the sufferings could have avoided them, and if he did not flee, it is clear that he voluntarily gives himself over to suffering. But since it was fitting to reveal His suffering only to the closest disciples, He goes ahead of everyone on the road, wishing to separate the disciples from the crowd. Moreover, by going ahead of everyone and by His haste on the road, the Lord also shows that He hastens toward His suffering and does not flee from death for the sake of our salvation. Everything He says in this instance, though sorrowful, He consoles them for all of it by saying that "on the third day He will rise."
Mk. 10:35. Then the sons of Zebedee, James and John, approached Him and said: Teacher! We desire that You would do for us whatever we ask.
Mk. 10:36. He said to them: What do you want Me to do for you?
Mk. 10:37. They said to Him: Grant us to sit beside You, one on Your right hand, and the other on Your left, in Your glory.
Mk. 10:38. But Jesus said to them: You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? Another Evangelist (Matt. 20:20) relates that their mother (of James and John) approached Jesus. But probably both things happened: these two apostles, being ashamed before the others, sent their mother ahead first, and then they themselves also came separately, as the Evangelist indicates by saying, "they came to Him," that is, they came separately, withdrawing from the rest. What then were they asking? The ascent of Christ to Jerusalem, about which He had been speaking with the disciples, they understood to mean that He was going to receive an earthly kingdom and that only after His enthronement would He endure those sufferings which He had foretold. Thinking in this way, they asked for seats at the right and left side of Christ. Therefore the Lord also rebukes them as not understanding what they are asking: "You do not know," He says, "what you are asking." You think that My Kingdom will be an earthly one, and therefore you ask for an earthly seat; no, it is not so: this is beyond human comprehension, and to sit at My right hand is the greatest thing, surpassing even the angelic ranks. Moreover, you dream of glory, while I am calling you to death. He calls the Cross a Cup and a Baptism — a Cup because the Cross, like a cup of wine, was soon to bring Him to the sleep of death, and He was ready to accept the cup of sufferings as a sweet drink for Himself; and a Baptism because through the Cross He accomplished the cleansing of our sins. But the disciples, not having understood the Lord's words, give their promise on their part, thinking that He was speaking of a literal cup and of the kind of baptism that the Jews practiced, who washed themselves before partaking of food.
Mk. 10:39–40. They answered: we can. And Jesus said to them: the cup that I drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you shall be baptized; but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. You, He says, will enter into the struggle of martyrdom and will die for the truth, "but to grant the seat is not for Me to give." But here two difficulties arise. The first: has this seat been prepared for anyone? The second: can it really be that the universal Master cannot give this seat? We answer: no one will sit either on the right or on the left. And if you hear that Scripture repeatedly speaks of such a seat, understand not a seat (in the literal sense), but the highest dignity. And the words "it is not for Me to give" have this meaning: it is not fitting for Me, the righteous Judge, to give you such dignity solely out of love for you; otherwise I would not be just; but such an honor has been prepared only for those who struggle. This is similar to a case where a just king seated a certain champion above others, and his favorites came and said to him: "Give us crowns"; then the king would certainly reply: "It is not for me to give," but whoever shall struggle and conquer, for him the crown has been prepared. So then, you sons of Zebedee, you can be and will be martyrs for Me; but if someone, together with martyrdom, possesses every other virtue to a greater degree than you, that person will have precedence over you.
Mk. 10:41. And having heard, the ten began to be indignant at James and John.
Mk. 10:42. But Jesus, having called them to Himself, said to them: You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Mk. 10:43. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant;
Mk. 10:44. And whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be slave to all.
Mk. 10:45. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul as a ransom for many. The disciples, still reasoning in a human manner, fell into envy, and therefore they are indignant at the two apostles. However, when? When they saw that the request of the latter was not accepted by the Lord but rejected, then they began to be indignant. As long as the Lord Himself showed preference to James and John, the other disciples, seeing this, endured it; but when those two disciples began to seek honors for themselves, the others could no longer endure it. So imperfect were they still at that time! But later we shall see how each of them yielded precedence to the other. But now Christ heals them, first calming them and drawing them near to Himself — which is what is meant by the word "summoning." Then He shows that seizing honor from others and striving for preeminence is a matter of paganism. For pagan rulers forcibly subject others to their authority; but My disciples, He says, are not so: rather, whoever among them wishes to be great, let him serve all, because this too is a mark of a great soul — to endure from all and to serve all. And there is an example of this close at hand: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul as a ransom for many." And this is more than service. Indeed, not only to serve but also to die for the one whom you serve — what could be higher and more wondrous than this? But such service and humility of the Lord was exaltation and glory both for Himself and for all. For before the Incarnation He was known to Angels alone, but having become man and endured the Crucifixion, He not only has that glory (the heavenly one) but also received another, and reigns over the whole universe.
Mk. 10:46. They come to Jericho. And as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind man, sat by the roadside, begging.
Mk. 10:47. Having heard that it is Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say: Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me.
Mk. 10:48. Many told him to be silent; but he cried out all the more: Son of David! Have mercy on me.
Mk. 10:49. Jesus stopped and commanded him to be called. They call the blind man and say to him: take courage, rise, He is calling you.
Mk. 10:50. He, casting off his outer garment, rose and came to Jesus.
Mk. 10:51. Answering him, Jesus asked: What do you want from Me? The blind man said to Him: Teacher! That I may receive my sight.