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Mark 10:1. Departing from there, he comes to the borders of Judea on the Jordan side. Again the people gathered to Him according to His custom, He again taught them. Mark 10:2. The Pharisees came and asked, tempting Him: Is it permissible for a husband to divorce his wife? Mark 10:3. He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” Mark 10:4. They said: Moses allowed the writing of a letter of divorce and divorce. Mark 10:5. Jesus answered and said to them, Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. Mark 10:6. At the beginning of creation, God “created them male and female” (Gen. 1:27). Mark 10:7. Therefore a man will leave his father and mother Mark 10:8. and he shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Mark 10:9. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate. The Lord often left Judea because the Pharisees hated Him. But now he comes again to Judea, because the time of His suffering was approaching. However, He does not go directly to Jerusalem, but first only “to the borders of Judea” in order to benefit the kindly people; while Jerusalem, through the cunning of the Jews, was the center of all evil. And look how, in their malice, they tempt the Lord, not tolerating the people to believe in Him, but each time approaching Him with the intention of putting Him in difficulty and blocking Him with their questions. They offer Him a question that put Him between two abysses: is it permissible, they say, for a man to let his wife go? For whether He said that it was permissible, or whether He said that it was not permissible, in any case, they thought to accuse Him of contradicting the Law of Moses. But Christ, the Self-Existing Wisdom, answers them in such a way that he escapes their snares. He asks them: what did Moses command them? And when they answered that Moses commanded to let his wife go, Christ explained to them the Law itself. Moses, He says, was not so unmerciful that he could give such a Law, but he wrote this because of your hardness of heart. Knowing the inhumanity of the Jews, such that a husband who did not love his wife could easily kill her, Moses allowed the husband to let his unloved wife go. But from the beginning it was not so: God combines two persons in the union of marriage so that they become one, leaving even their parents. Notice that the Lord says: God does not allow polygamy, so that one can let go of one wife and take another, and then again leave this one and marry another. If it had pleased God, He would have created one husband and many wives; But that’s not what happened, but “God created man and woman” to be combined—one husband with one wife. In a figurative sense, this can be understood this way: the word of the Teaching, throwing good seeds into the soul of a believer, has the meaning of a husband for the soul that accepts it. But (the word of teaching) leaves his father, that is, a lofty mind, and his mother, that is, decorated speech, and cleaves to his wife, that is, to the benefit of the soul, adapts to her and often prefers low thoughts and simple speech. And then they both become one flesh, that is, the soul believes that “the Word (of God) became flesh,” and no human thought can separate the soul from such faith. Mark 10:10. At home, His disciples again asked Him the same thing. Mark 10:11. He said to them: whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; Mark 10:12. and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. Since the disciples were also tempted (regarding the divorce of husband and wife), they too come to Him and ask about the same thing. Their way of thinking was not yet completely sound. The Lord answered them: whoever lets his wife go and understands another, becomes an adulterer with this second wife; Likewise, a wife who leaves her husband and marries another becomes an adulteress. Mark 10:13. They brought children to Him so that He could touch them; The disciples did not allow those who brought them. Mark 10:14. Seeing this, Jesus was indignant and said to them: Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them, for of such is the Kingdom of God. Mark 10:15–16. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. And he embraced them, laid his hands on them and blessed them. The faith of the people was great when they accepted the laying on of hands by Christ as a blessing for the children brought to Him, but the disciples did not allow those bringing them, thinking that it was unworthy of Him. What about Christ? Teaching his disciples to be humble and reject worldly arrogance, He accepts and embraces children. By this He shows that He accepts those who are not evil; That’s why he says: “For of such is the Kingdom of God.” Notice that he did not say: these children “are the Kingdom,” but “such children,” that is, those who have acquired the same kindness that children have by nature. For the child does not envy, does not remember evil and, being punished by his mother, does not run away from her, but even if she wore rags, he prefers her to the queen; So a person who lives virtuously prefers his mother, I mean the Church, to everything and is not carried away by worldly pleasures. For this reason, the Lord embraces such people, saying: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28), and blesses them, saying: “Come, ye blessed of My Father” (Matthew 25:34). The Kingdom of God here refers to the preaching of the Gospel and the promise of future blessings. So, whoever accepts the Divine preaching as a child, that is, without hesitation at all and without allowing unbelief in himself, will enter the Kingdom of God and inherit the blessings that he has already acquired through faith. Mark 10:17. When He set out on the road, someone ran up, fell on his knees before Him and asked Him: Good Teacher! What must I do to inherit eternal life? Mark 10:18. Jesus said to him: Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:19. You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not offend, honor your father and mother (Ex. 20:12-17). Mark 10:20. He answered and said to Him: Teacher! I have kept all this from my youth. Mark 10:21. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me, taking up the cross. Mark 10:22. He, embarrassed by this word, went away sad, because he had great property. Some falsely represent this young man as a cunning and treacherous tempter. This is not so: he was only a covetous man, and not a tempter. For listen to what the evangelist notes: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” And why did Christ answer him like this: “No one is good”? Because he approached Christ as a simple man and as one of many teachers. Christ seems to say this: “If you consider Me good, as a simple teacher, then in comparison with God not a single person is good; If you recognize Me as good as God, then why do you call Me only a teacher? With such words, Christ wants to convey the highest thought about Himself, so that he knows Him as God. In addition, to correct the young man, the Lord gives him another lesson: if he wants to talk with someone, then he must speak without flattery, and the root and source of goodness is to know one thing - God and give due honor to Him. However, I am surprised at this young man in the fact that when everyone else came to Christ for healing from illnesses, he himself asks for the inheritance of eternal life - if only he were not possessed by the even stronger passion of the love of money. For this passion, having heard the words of the Lord: “Go, sell... and give to the poor,” he “went away with sadness.” Note at the same time that the Lord did not say: sell in parts what you have and distribute, but sell at a time and distribute, but only to the poor, and not to caresses and not to debauchees; then: “follow me,” that is, learn every other virtue, for there are many who, although not acquisitive, are not humble, or humble, but not sober, or have some other vice. Therefore, the Lord does not only say: “sell and give to the poor,” but: “and come, follow Me, taking up the cross,” which means to be ready to die for His sake. “He was troubled by this word and went away sad, because he had great property.” It is not in vain that he had a lot: for owning little is both bad and dangerous, and the bonds of many acquisitions are completely insoluble. But the one who is young in spirit, frivolous, inattentive in thought, not organized in mind, let him sell his property in the same way as anger and lust, with all that vegetates from them, and give it up, throw it to the demons, who are poor, deprived of all good and wealth, because they have fallen from the goodness of God, and then let him follow Christ, for only he can follow Christ who will reject the wealth of sins, which is the property of demons. “Turn away,” it is said, “from evil”: this means throwing sinful wealth to the poor, that is, to the forces of demons; “and do good”: what does it mean to follow Christ and take His Cross (Ps. 33:15). Mark 10:23. And, looking around, Jesus said to His disciples: how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! Mark 10:24. The disciples were horrified at His words. But Jesus answers them again: children! How difficult it is for those who hope for wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! Mark 10:25. 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. Mark 10:26. They were extremely amazed and said to each other: who can be saved? Mark 10:27. Jesus, looking at them, says: This is impossible with men, but not with God, for all things are possible with God. It is not wealth that in itself is evil, but those who cherish it are evil and worthy of condemnation, for they should not have it, that is, keep it, but use it for good. This is why it is called wealth because it is intended for useful use, and not for savings. Therefore, it is difficult for those who guard and lock it to “enter the Kingdom of God.” And the word “difficult” here means the same thing as impossible. It is indeed too difficult for a rich man to be saved. This can be seen from the example that the Lord adds when he says: “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 we mean either the animal itself, or the thick rope (rope) used on large ships. So, it is impossible for a person to be saved while he is rich. But from God it is possible. Christ said: “Make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth” (Luke 16:9). You see how everything becomes possible when we hear the Word of God! “This is impossible for humans,” that is, it is impossible when we reason like humans. But why were the disciples so amazed at these words? After all, they themselves were never rich? I think that in this case they cared about all the people, since they were already beginning to be humane. Some people wonder how Christ said that “all things are possible with God.” Can He really sin? To this we answer that when Christ says: “all things,” he means everything essential, but sin is not anything essential: sin is something inessential, inactive, or, in other words, sin is not a property of strength, but of weakness, just as the Apostle says: “While we were still weak... died” (Rom. 5:6), and David says: “Their sorrows are multiplied” (Ps. 15:4). This means that sin, like weakness, is impossible for God. But can God, they say, make things that were as if they were not? To this we say: God is Truth, and to make what has happened as if it had not happened is a lie. How can Truth make a lie? To do this, He would first have to change His Being. To say this would be to say that God may not be God. Mark 10:28. And Peter began to say to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You. Mark 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 land, for My sake and the gospel’s sake. Mark 10:30. and now, in this time, in the midst of persecution, I would not have received a hundred times more houses, and brothers and sisters, and fathers, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:31. But many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first. Although Peter left a little for the sake of Christ, he still calls this little “all.” Apparently, few people have bonds of partiality; and therefore the one who leaves a little is worthy of satisfaction. Peter alone asked Christ, but the Lord gives a common answer for everyone: anyone who leaves his wife or mother. He says this not so that we leave our parents helpless or separate from our wives, but teaches us to prefer pleasing God to everything carnal. Since the preaching of the Gospel caused strife to flare up between people, so that children had to renounce their fathers, the Lord says: whoever forsakes carnal kinship and everything carnal in general for the sake of the Gospel will receive all this in this age a hundredfold more, and in the future - eternal life. Therefore, will he not get a hundred times more wives? Yes, although the damned Julian scoffed at it. For, tell me, what benefit does a wife bring to her husband’s household? In general, she takes care of food and clothing for her husband and in this regard completely provides for her husband. Look how it was with the apostles. How many wives took care of bringing them clothes 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 were all those who loved them and cared for them heartily. Peter left one house, and subsequently had (as his own) all the houses of his disciples. He still has bright houses all over the earth - churches in his name. And what is even more important is that the saints inherited all this in exile, that is, being persecuted for the faith of Christ, and in cruel suffering, but their suffering was not disgrace for them. For they, who seemed last in the present age because of the tribulations and persecutions they endured, will be first in the next age because of their strong trust in God. The Pharisees who were first became last, and those who left everything and followed Christ became first. Mark 10:32. When they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus walked ahead of them, and they were terrified and, following Him, were in fear. Calling the twelve, He again began to tell them about what would happen to Him: Mark 10:33. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the Gentiles, Mark 10:34. and they will mock Him, and beat Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him; and on the third day he will rise again. Why does Jesus predict to his disciples what will happen to Him? To strengthen their spirit, so that they, having previously heard about this, bravely endure when it comes true, and are not struck by the suddenness; and at the same time they should have known that He suffered according to His will. For whoever foresaw suffering could avoid it, and if he did not run, it is clear that he willingly surrendered himself to suffering. But since only his closest disciples should have revealed His suffering, He precedes everyone on the path, wanting to separate the disciples from the people. By forestalling everyone and by His haste on the path, the Lord also shows that He hastens to suffering and does not run away from death for the sake of our salvation. Everything that He expresses in this case, although regrettable, for all this he consoles us with the fact that “on the third day he will rise again.” Mark 10:35. Then the sons of Zebedee, James and John, came up to Him and said: Teacher! We want You to do for us whatever we ask. Mark 10:36. He said to them: what do you want me to do to you? Mark 10:37. They said to Him: Let us sit by You, one on your right hand and the other on your left, in Your glory. Mark 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 (Matthew 20:20) says that their mother (James and John) approached Jesus. But, probably, it was both: these two apostles, ashamed of others, sent their mother ahead, and then they themselves approached separately, as the evangelist means, saying: “they came up to Him,” that is, they approached separately, moving away from the others. What did they ask for? They understood the ascension of Christ to Jerusalem, about which He talked with the disciples, that He was coming to embrace the sensual kingdom and, upon His accession, would undergo the suffering that He had predicted. Thinking in this way, they ask to sit on the right and left sides of Christ. That is why the Lord reproaches them as those who do not understand what they are asking: “You do not know,” he says, “what you are asking.” You think that My Kingdom will be sensual, and therefore you ask for sensual seating; no, this is not so: this is beyond the concept of man, and to sit at My right hand is the greatest thing, exceeding even the ranks of angels. Moreover, you dream of glory, but I call you to death. He calls the Cross the Cup and Baptism - the Cup because the Cross, like a cup of wine, was soon to lead Him to the sleep of death - and He was ready to accept the cup of suffering as a sweet drink for Himself; and by Baptism - because through the Cross He accomplished the cleansing of our sins. But the disciples, not understanding the words of the Lord, make a promise for their part, thinking that He is talking about the sensual cup and about the baptism that the Jews had, who washed themselves before eating food. Mark 10:39–40. They answered: we can. Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized.” but to let you sit on My right side and on My left does not depend on Me, but on whom it is prepared. “You,” he says, “will enter into the feat of martyrdom and die for the truth, “but it is not up to Me to be allowed to sit down.” But there are two perplexities here. First: is this seat destined for anyone? Second: can the universal Lord really not give this seat? We answer: no one will sit either on the right hand or on the left. And if you hear that Scripture speaks repeatedly about such sitting, then understand not sitting (in the proper sense), but the highest dignity. And the words: “it does not depend on Me” have the following meaning: It is not in my nature, the righteous Judge, to give you such dignity out of love for you alone; otherwise I would not be just; but such an honor is reserved only for those who strive. This is the same as if a just king placed some ascetic above others, and his favorites, coming, said to him: “Give us crowns”; then the king, of course, would answer: “It’s not up to me,” but whoever struggles and wins will have a crown prepared for him. - So, you sons of Zebedee can and will be martyrs for Me; but if anyone, along with martyrdom, has any other virtue greater than you, he will have an advantage over you. Mark 10:41. And when the ten heard it, they began to be angry with James and John. Mark 10:42. Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are considered princes of the nations rule over them, and their nobles rule over them. Mark 10:43. But let it not be like this among you: but whoever wants to be greater among you must be your servant; Mark 10:44. and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. Mark 10:45. For 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, while still reasoning humanly, fell into envy, which is why they are indignant at the two apostles. However, when? When they saw that the latter’s request was not accepted by the Lord, but was rejected, then they began to be indignant. While the Lord Himself showed preference to James and John, the other disciples, seeing this, endured; but when those two disciples began to ask for honors for themselves, the others could no longer stand it. They were still so imperfect at that time! But later we will see how each of them gave way to the other. Now Christ heals them, first pacifying them, and for this purpose bringing them closer to Him - which is what is meant by the word “calling”. Then he shows that to admire the honor of others and to seek primacy is a matter of paganism. For pagan rulers forcefully subjugate others to their power; but My disciples, he says, are not like that: but whoever of them wants to be great, let him serve everyone, because this is also a sign of a great soul - to endure from everyone and serve everyone. There is an example of this nearby: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” And this is more than service. In fact, not only to serve, but also to die for the one you serve - what could be higher and more wonderful than this? But such service and humility of the Lord was height and glory both for Himself and for everyone. For before He became man, He was known only to the Angels, and having become a man and undergoing the Crucifixion, He not only has that glory (heavenly), but also accepted another, and reigns over the entire universe. Mark 10:46. They arrive in Jericho. And when He left Jericho with His disciples and a multitude of people, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat blind by the road, begging for alms. Mark 10:47. Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say: Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me. Mark 10:48. Many people forced him to remain silent; but he began to shout even more: Son of David! have mercy on me. Mark 10:49. Jesus stopped and told him to call him. They call the blind man and tell him: don’t be afraid, get up, he’s calling you. Mark 10:50. He took off his outer garment, stood up and came to Jesus. Mark 10:51. Answering him, Jesus asked: What do you want from Me? The blind man said to Him: Teacher! so that I can see the light. Mark 10:52. Jesus said to him: Go, your faith has saved you. And he immediately received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Matthew speaks of two blind men: and perhaps two were healed; but, probably, one of them attracted more attention, the one that Mark now mentions. But look how the people honor Jesus: they even forbid a blind man to shout as if some king were passing by. And Jesus asks the blind man so that they will not say that He is not giving what the blind man wanted. And the soul of the blind man was prudent, for after being healed he did not leave Jesus, but followed Him. And (allegorically) it can be understood this way: Jericho means a low-lying place (world); the blind man sitting here is an image of human nature, which was once adopted to God, above all earthly honor; it cried out to Christ passing through Jericho, that is, this world. But Christ had mercy on it and saved it by faith when it put off the old garment of sin. After receiving salvation, it followed Him (Christ), fulfilling the commandments on its way, that is, in this life. For only in this life can one follow Christ, and after it the doors (of salvation) are already closed and there will be no more time to fulfill the commandments of God.