The Servant King
And the disciples were amazed at His words. Mark 10:24 · Berean Standard Bible
The disciples were amazed. Jesus said again, 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!' He called them 'children' — tender even in hard moments.
Jesus broadened the point: it's not just hard for the rich. Entering the kingdom is hard for everyone, because we all cling to something. But Jesus is gentle even when the truth is tough.
Jesus responds to their amazement with both truth and tenderness.
The shock on their faces moved Jesus. He softened His tone — 'children' — but not His message. The kingdom requires letting go, and that's hard for everyone.
The disciples' amazement (ethambounto) prompts Jesus to restate the principle more broadly: 'How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God' — applicable to all, not just the wealthy. The affectionate 'children' (tekna) softens the hard teaching.
Some manuscripts add 'for those who trust in riches,' which may be an early scribal softening of Jesus' more radical universal statement.
Jesus addresses the disciples' astonishment with tenderness.
The disciples are stunned, so Jesus both broadens and softens: all face difficulty entering the kingdom — not just the rich. He calls them 'children,' showing pastoral care even while delivering hard truth.
22But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
23Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24And the disciples were amazed at His words.
25It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”
Read all of Mark 10 — Jesus redefines greatness. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give His life as a ransom.
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