ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Mark 10

Mark 10:1 And he left there. Jesus sets out on his final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. He returns to the area north of Jericho where his ministry began. He continues to focus his ministry on teaching, as was his custom.

Mark 10:2 Jesus’ Pharisaic opponents hope to expose him as an opponent of the Law of Moses (see note on Matt. 19:3).

Mark 10:4–6 Jesus emphasizes that marriage goes back to God’s purpose at the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:27; 2:24; Ex. 20:14). Moses’ regulations on divorce (Deut. 24:1–4) were not part of God’s original plan but were instituted because of your hardness of heart (see note on Matt. 19:8).

Mark 10:10–11 in the house. Once again, Jesus instructs his disciples in private (see 4:10; 9:33). Whoever divorces his wife and marries another. Here and in Luke 16:18 Jesus does not include the phrase “except for sexual immorality” as in Matt. 5:32 and 19:9. The most likely reason is that everyone agreed that adultery was a legitimate ground for divorce, and Jesus is not addressing that issue here. See notes on Matt. 5:31–32; 19:6; 19:8; 19:9.

Mark 10:12 And if she divorces her husband is the only time in the Gospels where it is assumed that a woman also has a right to initiate a divorce (compare 1 Cor. 7:10–11), as Roman culture allowed.

Mark 10:13–15 rebuked them. The disciples consider children to be an annoying distraction (see 9:36–37, 42). To Jesus, however, children are as important as adults, and equally worthy of love (9:36–37; 10:16). to such belongs the kingdom of God. Children do not belong automatically to the kingdom but must come to Jesus and receive him the same as adults.

Mark 10:17–27 Contrary to childlike trust (vv. 13–16), the rich young man relies on his possessions (v. 22) and his self-righteousness (v. 20) to inherit eternal life.

Mark 10:18 No one is completely good except God alone, therefore it is not proper for the young man to address Jesus as “Good Teacher” until he is ready to acknowledge that Jesus is God. On the deity of Christ, see notes on John 5:21; 5:22; 5:23; 20:28.

Mark 10:19 Do not defraud probably combines the eighth and ninth commandments (“not steal. . . . not bear false witness,” Ex. 20:15–16).

Mark 10:20 all these I have kept. From a human perspective, the young man’s answer is plausible (compare Paul, prior to his conversion; Phil. 3:6). However, once the righteousness of God sheds light on the human condition (see Rom. 3:21–26; Phil. 3:7–11), human righteousness is seen to be no more than a thin cover-up for mankind’s basic hostility toward God (Col. 1:21).

Mark 10:21 You lack one thing. The man has replaced trust in God and its reward (treasure in heaven) with trust in earthly riches. He thus fails the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). This does not mean that every disciple of Christ must sell all that he has; rather, the heart must be focused on God, with every possession available for his use.

Mark 10:22 he went away sorrowful. The man’s true state has been laid bare, but he does not repent.

Mark 10:25 The hyperbole (intentional overstatement) of a large camel having to fit through the small eye of a needle stresses that such a thing is humanly impossible (but see v. 27). For other hyperboles in Jesus’ teaching, see Matt. 7:3–5; 23:24; on the “eye of a needle,” see note on Matt. 19:24.

Mark 10:29–30 The person who leaves house, lands, and family for Jesus’ sake (see 8:35, 38; Matt. 5:11; Luke 12:8–9; 18:29) and for the gospel can expect now in this life to enjoy fellowship with other believers. He will find a welcome in the houses and lands of Christian friends. But in this life these blessings will be mixed with persecutions (see Mark 8:34–38). The future will yield an even better reward: eternal life.

Mark 10:32–45 Each of Jesus’ major predictions of his death and resurrection (8:31; 9:30–31; 10:33–34) is followed by instruction in discipleship (8:33–9:1; 9:33–50; 10:38–45).

Mark 10:32 Jesus is aware that he will soon be put to death (see 8:31; 9:31; Isa. 53:1–12), but he proceeds resolutely toward Jerusalem. He is like the servant of the Lord in Isa. 50:7, who set his face “like a flint” (compare Luke 9:53, “his face was set”).

Mark 10:35–37 James and John belonged to Jesus’ “inner circle” (see 1:29; 5:37). They falsely envisioned special places of honor (one at your right hand and one at your left) when Jesus would rule in Jerusalem on the throne of David. See also note on Matt. 20:20.

Mark 10:38 The cup that Jesus was to drink was the cup of God’s wrath that would be poured out on him, as he bore God’s wrath in the place of sinful mankind (see note on Luke 22:42). His baptism was his suffering and death, which would pour over him like a flood (see note on 1 Pet. 3:21).

Mark 10:39 The disciples understand Jesus’ question (“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” v. 38) to mean that they will need to fight alongside Jesus. They bravely answer, We are able. Jesus, however, teaches them that they too will undergo suffering: you will drink . . . you will be baptized.

Mark 10:40 is not mine to grant. Though Jesus is fully God, there are differences of authority within the Trinity (see note on John 3:35). Throughout Scripture, the Son is always subject to the authority of the Father, who will ultimately determine who receives such positions of honor.

Mark 10:41 The other disciples become indignant at James and John, perhaps on account of their own ambition and jealousy (vv. 42–45).

Mark 10:42 lord it over. Jesus does not deny all human authority (compare Matt. 16:19; 18:18), only its oppressive misuse.

Mark 10:45 The ransom of Christ’s life was paid to God the Father, who accepted it as just payment for the sins of many (all who would be saved). See Isa. 53:8–12; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3; and note on 1 Tim. 2:5–6. Son of Man. See note on Matt. 8:20.

Mark 10:46–52 Both 8:22–26 and this passage tell of the healing of a blind man. The disciples were themselves blind regarding the true mission of Jesus, but between these two accounts of healing, Jesus has taught them and has discussed his death and resurrection. As he taught them, he was healing their spiritual blindness as well.

Mark 10:46 Jericho. See note on Matt. 20:29.

Mark 10:47 Jesus will later say that the cry of the blind man (Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me) was an expression of faith (v. 52). “Son of David” is a messianic acclamation (see 12:35–37).

Mark 10:52 Your faith has made you well hints at spiritual salvation as well; see note on 5:34. and followed him. Bartimaeus joins Jesus and the other pilgrims on their final journey to Jerusalem; he has become one of Jesus’ disciples.