Hi everyone, welcome back to logical Bible study podcast.
Our goal on this podcast is to help you understand the Gospel
reading from today's mass, from a Catholic perspective, but
really from an academic perspective as well.
So we're trying to do an exegesis of verse-by-verse,
exegesis of the scriptures. Currently at Mass were moving
through the gospel of Mark. So today, it may see you'll hear
from Mark, chapter 10, verses 28 to 31.
So I'll read out the reading from today's mass and then we'll
have a go at pulling it apart a bit.
At that time, Peter began to tell Jesus.
What about us? We have left everything and
followed you. Jesus said, I tell you, solemnly
there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters,
father, children, all land for my sake and for the sake of the
Gospel, who will not be repaid? A hundred times over houses,
brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land Not without
persecutions. Now in this present time and in
the world to come eternal life, many who are first will be last.
And the last first So that's our reading today, it's an
interesting 11. You may not have heard before
let's start by thinking about the context.
So what's happened just before this?
So Jesus has just addressed the Rich Young Ruler and he said to
the Rich Young Ruler how hard it is for the for the rich to enter
the kingdom of God. So that's probably what prompts
Peter now to ask Jesus, what about us?
What about our future? So verse 28 at that time.
So just after Jesus had been speaking to the Rich Young Ruler
Peter. So we're going to see Peter
here, speak up for the apostles. As he does in many other places
Peter speaks with the Apostles showing that he's the leader of
them. He began to tell Jesus what
about us. Now in the original that phrase
is not there, what about us? But it does kind of make sense
of what Peter is about to say. We have left everything and
followed you. So, Peter here is apparently
thinking something like this. Jesus has just said that, it's
very hard for men to be saved, but we, the Apostle's have left
everything to follow. Jesus.
Surely we will be saved. That's probably what he's
worried about. From this verse, we actually
learn a couple of interesting things.
We learned that the apostles were not just occasional or
part-time followers of Jesus, some of his disciples probably
were but it seems the apostles had a literally left their
families. They've left everything their
families and their jobs behind in order to follow Jesus full
time. And on top of that following
Jesus means they live a pretty rough lifestyle where people
constantly rejected them. So, we need to keep in mind the
apostles. I did not live a glamorous life,
they made great sacrifices for God.
And you could say that that contrasts with the rich, man,
because the rich man, apparently was not willing to make
sacrifices in order to enter the kingdom, but the apostles
clearly are and that is going to work in their favor as we're
about to see. Jesus said, I tell you, solemnly
or truly, truly, I say to you. So here we have a promise.
Jesus is about to make a promise to his apostles.
I tell you, solemnly there is no one who has left house,
brothers, sisters, father, children, or lands for my sake
and for the sake of the Gospel. Now, to understand this, we need
to keep in mind that Jesus is thinking primarily of the first
century because he knows that in the first century after he goes
back to Heaven, many Christians would need to go out on
missionary Journeys. So many Christians would leave
their house brother, sister, father children, Etc.
So Jesus here, as he does in many places is telling his
disciples that allegiance to him and the gospel.
The gospel of the Kingdom takes priority over Family Ties.
And that could mean in some situations leaving the family
completely if required, which is pretty radical in that culture,
family ties, were considered to be very important.
So for Jesus to say, I come before family, in fact, you may
have to leave your family entirely.
That's huge. For some Christians, that would
mean leaving their old job behind to go and preach the
gospel. Jesus here says, some of you
will have to leave house or leave land so clearly they're
going to lose money by doing this.
It's referring to those who've left their lives behind to
become full-time disciples. And in particular, Jesus is
thinking of the Apostles though, Jesus does kind of extend it to
everyone here because he does say there is no one who has left
house, okay? So it does apply to everyone
who's willing to give up their life.
To follow him. Now, there's an interesting
implication here in the Greek so the Greek word here for leave as
in no, one who leaves their house, brother, or sister, the
Greek word there is a fehmi and that can also mean release in
this sense of being free from attachment.
So, maybe Jesus also has in mind those who are free from
attachment to their house and their family.
That's an interesting implication verse 30.
There is no one who has left. These things who will not be
repaid. A hundred times over houses.
Brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land.
So Jesus, he says that all of those things will be given back
to the faithful disciple. In fact, a hundred times better
than what they left behind. But Jesus then adds this phrase
not without persecutions. So there is no one who has left
their house and their land in their family.
Who will not be repaid. A hundred times over not without
persecutions, or you can just translate that with
persecutions. So, this is a condition of the
promise. Jesus says, yes, if you leave
everything to follow me, you will be given these things
provided that you're persecuted. Jesus says that if you want the
promises, the disciple has to be willing to be Acute it and we
know from history that many of them were now the wording here
suggests that persecutions will happen if you think about the
way it's phrased. It he says, if you leave
everything to follow me, you will be persecuted.
It's important that Jesus adds this he wants Peter, and the
other Apostles to know that the blessings aren't guaranteed.
Just because they say their followers of Jesus, the
blessings aren't guaranteed unless they're willing to give
everything up and to endure persecution for his sake.
And Jesus now adds this interesting phrase now in this
present time. So Jesus says that those
promises is just been talking about to have mother sister and
land given back to you. Jesus says you'll get that in
this life in this present time. So in what sense do the apostles
and The Disciples of Jesus receive a hundredfold houses
brothers and sisters? We know from history that most
of the disciples were poor when they left everything to follow
Jesus. And to preach the gospel, they
didn't get these things. They don't literally get new
houses. New biological Brothers, Etc.
So what does it mean? When Jesus says, you will get
these things in your present life, most likely Jesus, here is
referring to the church that's going to be their new family.
Those who give up everything for Jesus will not be left.
Lonely and isolated, they're going to experience the warmth
and Hospitality in which fellow Believers and even unbelievers
will welcome them into their homes and we see that in the
book of Acts and in some of Paul's letters as well.
Those who Oh, Jesus full-time. Do kind of receive a new family
and that's what Jesus is talking about here.
Apparently, interestingly notice who's not in this list.
Jesus says, you'll be given back houses.
Brothers sisters, mothers children and land father is not
on that list, which is interesting.
So here as, in other places, Jesus, never promises that
you'll be given a new father. The idea is that God himself is
already, the father of the family of Jesus.
God himself is the father and There is no other father in that
family. It's really interesting when you
noticed that and then Jesus says, you'll be given these
things in the present time and in the world to come or you can
translate that in the age to come.
That's a Jewish way of describing the final
manifestation of the kingdom of God.
And as Christians, that's pretty much equivalent to what we would
call the new heavens and the new Earth.
So, Jesus says these promises will be given to you also in the
new heavens and the new Earth in the future in the resurrection.
In the time of Jesus, the Jews believe that God had divided the
world into two great ages, sometimes called the old age in
the New Age. So when Jesus, he is says here
as in other places in the age to come, he's thinking of this
Jewish way of thinking about one day, when the kingdom of God
comes in its fullness, it will be the age to come.
Now Matthews version of this same story.
It actually reads slightly differently, it says when the
Regeneration happens or in the new world.
So all of these are Decent translations of this idea that
Jesus is trying to get across of the new age that age to come.
The kingdom of God, there's all sorts of different words that
are used for it and in the Book of Revelation it's called the
new heavens and the new Earth. But before that the Jews had
lots of different ideas and titles for this coming age.
And Jesus says, in the age to come, you'll be given eternal
life. That's a phrase.
He uses your eternal life. Jesus promises that the faith
will persecute a disciple will Receive eternal life and will
enter the final kingdom of God provided that they stay
faithful. This is Jesus teaching all
throughout the gospel. This is an example of how it is
possible for people to be saved with God's grace.
Remember earlier, when the Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus.
And says, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?
Well, now, Jesus, finally, kind of answers that he says, if you
follow me and you're persecuted for my sake in the kingdom of
God, you will receive eternal life.
So it clarifies. The question of who, then Can be
saved. It's those who give up
everything and follow Jesus, in this context.
Matthews version at this point adds that the apostles, there's
another promise given to the apostles.
Here, the apostles will be set on 12 Thrones to judge the 12
tribes of Israel. That's actually what Jesus says
to them here. He gives them that promise, but
Mark doesn't include that possibly because he knows that
hit many of his readers won't be as familiar with this kind of
Jewish language of twelve Thrones and twelve tribes.
Verse 31, Jesus has this enigmatic phrase, many who are
first will be last, and the last first.
Now, Jesus uses this phrase, a lot in his ministry, but it
seems to mean different things in different contexts.
Here it means that many people who have high on it in this life
will not have in the next life and those who are persecuted and
have low status in this life, will be the most elevated in the
next life. That's sort of what Jesus means
here. In terms of those who Who have
rough lives following him in a persecuted.
They will be the ones that are given a high place in the next
life. Whereas those perhaps like the
Pharisees and the other leaders of the world in Jesus time, they
will not be elevated in the next life.
Let's now turn to the catechism. There's one really interesting
reference here. Paragraph 1618, which is about
virginity for the sake of the Kingdom.
Christ is the center of all Christian Life.
The bond with him, takes precedence over all other bonds
familial or social from the very beginning of the church.
There, have been men and women who have renounced the great
good of marriage to follow the lamb, wherever he goes to be
intent on the things of the Lord, to seek to, please him,
and to go out to meet the bridegroom.
Right, groom, who is coming. And the paragraph goes on from
there. So here, the catechism talks
about virginity, for the sake of the kingdom.
And one of the links that makes here is that even in the
gospels, and even in the first century, Christians were willing
to leave their homes to follow Jesus.
Now, in the list, we have here in Mark chapter 10, Jesus,
doesn't mention leaving your husband or wife, but he does
mention leaving children. So, it's implied, that many of
the disciples would have had to have had to leave their husband
or wife in certain circumstances.
So in this sense, there are good example of spiritual version
virgins for the sake of the Kingdom.
I hope you've learned something new today.
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Thanks, and we'll continue in Mark in the coming days.