Mark 10

Matthew 13:3-9:
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

The story is easy to understand. We can picture a man scattering wheat seeds, and we understand about birds, thorns and sunshine. But Jesus had a spiritual purpose in this story, and the disciples found it puzzling. So they asked Jesus, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” (v. 10).
Jesus told them that it was not yet time for people to understand the “secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (v. 11). He is saying that this parable is actually about the kingdom of God—something we see again in verse 19. Most of the people in the crowd were not spiritually responsive (vs. 13-15), and so Jesus was not giving them more than they could handle. But Jesus taught his disciples the spiritual significance of the story—and they have published it for us. -Michael Morrrison; Grace Communion International

Mark 10:14:
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Our Lord’s welcome to children, pronounced in the days of his flesh, implies their membership, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, … for of such is the kingdom of God.” [Mark 10:14] The “kingdom of God” here evidently means the visible Church; and the Saviour expressly declares that infants belong to the Church, and are numbered with his disciples. When it is said “of such,” &c., it cannot merely mean that persons of a childlike disposition compose the kingdom of God, for this would assign no proper reason why infants should be brought to Christ, nor for our Lord’s being displeased with the disciples for seeking to hinder their approach.
If infants are thus declared by our Lord to belong to his Church, then there is certainly no proper reason why they may not be formally and solemnly declared such by baptism. Besides, it cannot be affirmed that they may not have been baptized on this occasion. Our Lord baptized not, but his disciples; and by laying his hands on them, and blessing them, He as solemnly received them as they could have been by the external rite which denotes the conveyance of spiritual blessings. In his discourse to Nicodemus, our Lord declares that none enter his kingdom but such as are born of water, &c.; and the expression being generally understood to contain an allusion to baptism by water, they are excluded from the kingdom of God. Devoid of membership in the Church here, they are cut off from the hopes of eternal salvation – a conclusion this from which, although avowed by some Baptist writers, the pious mind recoils.
Thomas Houston, A practical treatise on Christian baptism (1853) in Works: doctrinal and practical of the Rev. Thomas Houston, D.D., Knockbracken (4 vols, Edinburgh, 1876), iii, 73-4.

Matthew 10:17-31:
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Jesus does not say it’s impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. But here we have a story of a man who found it difficult to give it all away. He was wealthy. He was a man who had all he needed. He had worked hard for it, and he obeyed all the laws. He was a good man. Yet, giving it all away seemed impossible. I know I can relate to this story. When we work hard for something, it can be difficult to give it away. But sometimes, like he did in this story, Jesus asks us to do just that.
This passage is also about participation levels. Not everyone is called to be a pastor, teacher, evangelist, or front-line worker. No one is called to serve everywhere. Each person has their own God-given gifts and abilities.... And God uses those gifts for particular service. Everyone has a different place to serve, a different ability in service, and a different timeline.
Jesus had a genuine love for this man in Mark 10. He knew this man and how God had created him. He was speaking specifically to this man, accounting for his personality and uniqueness. -Faithword

Mark 10:33-34:
“The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.”

Mark 10:35-45:
“Teacher, we want for you to do whatever we ask from you. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory”.

James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples desired greatness. More than that, they craved fame and status. Then they boldly said to Jesus: “Teacher, we want for you to do whatever we ask from you. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory”
We cannot be great on our terms. It is God Who makes a man great. David in 1 Chronicle 29:10-12 reveals the path to greatness,
“Therefore, David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honour come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all” (I Chronicle 29:10-12 NKJV).

Coming, as it does, at the climax of a series of statements leading up to it and actually demanding it, this verse is secure against all efforts to make a gloss out of it, malignant skepticism having assailed it repeatedly, its authenticity having "been denied on various grounds." See Cranfield for a thorough and most convincing refutation of skeptical fulminations against this text. We need not concern ourselves with denials regarding this verse, since they are not founded upon logical premises nor supported by any true scholarship, being in lack but the natural reflexes of the unbeliever's inherent bias against truth.

And what a truth is here! This is truly one of the most magnificent declarations in holy Scripture. Its teachings include the following:
(1) This verse gives the ground of the principle uttered in Mark 10:43, "Whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister." Secular notions of rank and privilege are forbidden in God's new Israel on the grounds that such rankings are out of harmony with the Saviour's own mission to humanity.

(2) "And to give his life ..." The words thus translated were understood by the Jews as applicable to martyrs, and they indicate the voluntary nature of Christ's atoning death. People did not take his life, except in a limited sense, for Jesus gave his life as a ransom for men (John 10:17,18).

(3) "A ransom ..." The Greek word thus rendered denoted the ransom of a prisoner of war, or of a slave. The Old Testament use of the word in the Septuagint (LXX) meant the money a man paid to redeem his life which was forfeit because his ox had killed someone (Exodus 21:30), the price paid for the redemption of the firstborn (Numbers 18:15), or the money by which the next of kin ransomed an enslaved relative (Leviticus 25:51) Thus, the vicarious nature of our Lord's death is eloquently proclaimed by the use of "ransom" by the Saviour in this verse.

"For many ..." This is the same word Paul used in Romans 5:15, and it refers not to any restricted number but to all the millions of every generation who will receive salvation through Jesus Christ. Cranfield said the word carries the meaning of "all."

(5) In this verse, as McMillan noted, "Jesus established himself as the greatest, not because he was the mastermind of some organization, but because he, in his self-sacrifice, gave the greatest gift."

(6) Cranfield, Sanner, and many others have seen in this verse from the words of Jesus the presentation of himself as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, Jesus' words having a clear connection with Isaiah 53:10,11. Sanner said, "This great passage shows clearly that Jesus knew himself called to fuse in his own destiny the two roles of the Son of man (Daniel 7) and the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 53)." --Coffman's Commentary