Money should not be your God?

Mark 10:14

Note on Mark 10:14

Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). So, we can see that being displeased with a situation or a person’s actions is not sin.

Mark 10:15

Note on Mark 10:15

I believe Jesus was referring to the simplicity of a child’s faith. Adults tend to be tainted by past hurts and become skeptical. But children just naturally trust. They aren’t sophisticated and hardened yet.

Mark 10:16

Note on Mark 10:16

Jesus was Almighty God, yet look at the tenderness and love He showed toward these children. What an awesome God we serve.

Mark 10:17

Note on Mark 10:17

This man came running to Jesus and publicly kneeled down in front of Him. That looked pretty good. He would have been welcomed into just about any church with displays like that. But Jesus was God, and He looked beyond this man’s actions to his heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He knew this man wasn’t willing to elevate Him to His rightful place as God. Therefore, Jesus used this rich, young ruler’s love for money to reveal his unbelief.
Not only was this rich, young ruler’s heart wrong, his question was wrong. It’s not what we do for God that produces eternal life but what He has done for us. This man was trying to earn his way to God. That won’t work. We have to simply humble ourselves and receive what Jesus did for us as a gift by faith.

Mark 10:18

Note on Mark 10:18

This rich young ruler recognized Jesus as a good man but not as God. Jesus was seeking to bring him to a place of putting his total faith in Him. He needed to acknowledge Jesus as God. Mark 10:20 shows he didn’t do it.

Mark 10:19

Note on Mark 10:19

Jesus answered this man’s question according to how he asked it. He didn’t ask how he could receive eternal life. He wanted to know what he had to do to earn eternal life. If we trust in our performances, then we have to keep all the commandments perfectly. Of course, we can’t do that, and that is precisely the reason God gave us the Law. It was to show us that we can’t earn salvation, and to drive us to faith (Galatians 3:23).
So, if this rich young ruler wanted to know what he had to do to earn salvation, Jesus told him he had to be perfect by keeping the law. Not because that was God’s plan of salvation, but Jesus was presenting a standard so far out of this man’s reach that hopefully, it would make him despair of self-salvation and receive it as a gift.

Mark 10:20

Note on Mark 10:20

Jesus told this man to either call Him God or quit calling Him good (Mark 10:18). In this verse, he dropped the good and just referred to Jesus as Master, which was a term of respect like we would use the word “teacher” or “mister” today. This clearly indicates he was not willing to worship Jesus as God.
Why would a person who was not willing to accept Jesus as God come to Him for instruction? It’s the same reason why people come to God for help but won’t commit their lives to Him. This man recognized his need for more but was unwilling to abandon himself to Jesus alone. He wanted Jesus just to give a little boost to all the good he already had going for him. That’s not the way it is. Jesus plus nothing equals everything, but Jesus plus anything equals nothing.
This man answered that he had kept all the commandments since he was a child. That wasn’t true. No one has kept all of God’s commandments. They are impossible to keep. He may have done better than others, but who wants to be the best sinner who ever went to hell? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Jesus proved to this young man that he hadn’t kept all the commands in Mark 10:21.

Life For Today Study Bible Notes

Note 4 at Mark 10:20: This young ruler said he had kept all of these commandments from his youth, but that was not the truth. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” This young man may have sincerely believed that he had not broken any of God’s commands, but he was sincerely wrong.
This was the reason that Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), and also the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). This man’s money had become his god, as can be seen by the fact that he chose to reject Jesus’ instructions if it was going to cost him his possessions.
Jesus didn’t demand that Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) or other rich people sell all of their possessions before they could become His disciples. Indeed, one of the Lord’s blessings that He gave to godly people was riches (Abraham - Genesis 13:2 and 24:35; Isaac - Genesis 26:12-16; Jacob - Genesis 36:7; Joseph - Genesis 49:26; David - 1 Chronicles 22:14-16; and Solomon - 1 Kings 3:13, 2 Chronicles 1:12, and 9:27). Jesus told this man to sell all his goods and give to the poor, because he trusted in his riches (Mark 10:24).

Mark 10:21

Note on Mark 10:21

Jesus said some hard things to this young man, but it must be noted that Jesus loved him. True love will tell a person the truth. Jesus told this rich young ruler the truth, not to turn him away, but to turn him unto Jesus for true salvation.
This young man was under the deception that he had kept the Law. Therefore, Jesus told him to give away everything he had and follow Him. This was to show the young man that he had broken the first and tenth commandments of Exodus 20, which are “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) and “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). He had not only broken the first and last commandments, but he probably had broken all of them.
This man’s money was his god as proven by his actions of leaving without obeying Jesus.

Life For Today Study Bible Notes

Note 5 at Mark 10:21: Notice that this scripture makes special mention of the fact that Jesus loved this rich young ruler. This was stated after this young man had said he had kept all of God’s commands, which was not the truth (see note 4 at Mark 10:20). Jesus’ tough answer of “sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor” was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man’s money had become his god, and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become his Lord.
Note 6 at Mark 10:21: The one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus as his Savior. As explained in note 2 at Matthew 19:17, this young ruler was trusting in his goodness and not in the salvation that Jesus offered as a gift. Many millions of people are making the same mistake today. They trust in themselves instead of God (Luke 18:9, see note 5 at Luke 18:10). One person may be better than another person, but all people have sinned and come short of God’s perfect standard (Romans 3:23). Paul said it was not wise for people to measure themselves by themselves or compare themselves among themselves (2 Corinthians 10:12). Who wants to be the best sinner that ever went to hell?

Mark 10:22

Note on Mark 10:22

Jesus loved this man, as shown in Mark 10:21. Jesus didn’t want him to go away without salvation, but He didn’t chase after him or lower the standard. There is no other method of salvation (Acts 4:12). Regardless of how much God loves us, we have to come to Him through total faith in Jesus Christ.

Mark 10:23

Note on Mark 10:23

This is a hard statement. The reaction of Jesus’ disciples shows how shocked they were by it. Jesus clarifies it somewhat in the next verse. If Mark 10:24 didn’t exist, this would be a hard pill to swallow, but Mark 10:24 reveals that it is our trust in money, not money itself, that is the problem.

Mark 10:24

Note on Mark 10:24

This verse clarifies Jesus’ shocking statement in the previous verse that it is the trust in money that is the problem, not money itself.
How do we trust in money? It’s not the currency itself that we trust in, but there is a temptation to rely on the power and influence of money instead of trusting in God. For instance, those who don’t tithe do so because they don’t trust God’s promise of provision to the tither. They trust their money, not God.

Mark 10:25

Note on Mark 10:25

This is an amazing statement. It is so astounding that many people have tried to get around the obvious truth. They say this isn’t talking about a huge camel going through the eye of a sewing needle, but rather a camel going through a small gate called the Eye of the Needle. That is not true. No gate by that name exists.
Even if someone believes a small gate called the Eye of the Needle exists, that can’t be what Jesus was talking about. A camel going through a small gate might be difficult but not impossible. Yet Jesus says in Mark 10:27 that a camel going through the eye of the needle is impossible with men. He didn’t say it was just difficult. It was impossible.
Jesus is saying that those who trust in money will find it harder to enter the kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle. It will be impossible without divine intervention.

Life For Today Study Bible Notes

Note 7 at Mark 10:25: The Greek word for “needle,” used in Matthew 19:24 and here, is “RHAPHIS” and literally means “a needle” (Strong’s Concordance).
The idea of applying “the eye of a needle” to a small door in a gate in the wall of Jerusalem seems to be a modern idea with no justification from the Hebrew or tradition. The reason for the Lord’s statement about a camel going through the eye of a needle was to express the impossibility of those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. The disciples were overwhelmed with Jesus’ statement and said, “Who then can be saved?” They understood Him to be talking of something that was impossible and not just difficult. Jesus’ reply implied that the hearts of those who trust in riches could not be changed by man, but with God all things are possible.

Mark 10:26

Note on Mark 10:26

Jesus’ disciples had been astonished at His first statement, but this last one astonished them out of measure. They were totally overwhelmed. Why? Because they had money and knew lots of other people who did too. There were scriptural examples where some of the godliest men of the O.T. were very rich. How could this be?
As explained in Mark 10:24, it’s the trusting in money that is the problem, not money itself. Some of the godliest examples in Scripture were men that had great wealth. We can have money as long as money doesn’t have us.

Mark 10:27

Note on Mark 10:27

What a statement! Selah (think on that)!

Mark 10:28

Note on Mark 10:28

This was not a separate thought. Jesus had just said that those who trusted in riches couldn’t enter into the kingdom of heaven. Peter was making it clear that they had left everything to follow Jesus.

Mark 10:29

Note on Mark 10:29

This isn’t a promise to everyone who has ever suffered loss that they will receive everything back with interest. This is a promise specifically to those who did all these things for Jesus’ sake and the Gospel.

Mark 10:30

Note on Mark 10:30

Notice that the hundredfold return on wives was omitted from this list. Notice also that this hundredfold return comes in this life, not just in the one to come. And there will be persecutions to go along with God’s blessing. The persecutions aren’t from God, but they are inevitable.
This is the same thing David said in Psalms 41:1-2.
The persecution spoken of here isn’t just general persecution, although that, too, will come. But this is speaking of persecution that comes specifically because of God’s abundant hundredfold blessing. When we see these blessings manifest in our lives, people will persecute us. There is a prejudice against Christians, especially ministers, being this blessed. Many believe that Christians, and specifically ministers, should be poor. If this persecution makes us ashamed or embarrassed about God’s blessings on our lives, it limits how much the Lord can bless us.
Those who are reluctant or hesitant to speak of God’s blessings on their lives because they fear how others will perceive it are operating in the fear of man, and that is the snare of the devil (Proverbs 29:25). We aren’t to boast in ourselves, but we should boast in the Lord and what He has done for us (Psalms 34:2 and 44:8). Doing that will bring persecution from those who are offended with prosperity. Jesse Duplantis said, “God is looking for someone to take the persecution of being blessed–to get beyond what people think and start caring about what He thinks!” My response is, “Lord, look no further. Here am I. Let it be me.”

Life For Today Study Bible Notes

Note 8 at Mark 10:30: The Greek word used for “hundredfold” in Matthew 19:29, here, and Luke 8:8 is “HEKATONTAPLASION.” Its literal meaning is “a hundred times” (Strong’s Concordance). Jesus’ use of the word “verily” (Mark 10:29) introduces a statement of solemn assurance that “every one” (Matthew 19:29) who voluntarily forsakes home, relatives, or property for the sake of Him and the Gospel will receive a hundred times more in this life and in the world to come, eternal life.
This scripture has been misapplied by many to justify covetousness. That certainly was not the intent of Jesus, as can be seen by His ministry to this rich young ruler. Our motives should never be selfish. However, regardless of anyone’s abuse of this scripture, Jesus did promise a hundredfold return “in this present time” (Luke 18:30), meaning here on earth (see note 36 at Matthew 6:19).

Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.