Mark 10 26

Mark 10:26 kjv

And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

Mark 10:26 nkjv

And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"

Mark 10:26 niv

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"

Mark 10:26 esv

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?"

Mark 10:26 nlt

The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked.

Mark 10 verses

Mark 10 26 Meaning

This verse describes the disciples' profound shock and consternation immediately after Jesus' declaration about the immense difficulty for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. Their question, "Then who can be saved?", stems from their worldview, which often linked material prosperity to divine blessing and righteousness. They perceived wealth as an advantage in seeking God's favor. Therefore, if someone seemingly so blessed faced an insurmountable obstacle, they couldn't conceive of how anyone could attain salvation or eternal life. It reveals their understanding of salvation as something achieved by human effort and external standing, bringing them to a point of utter bewilderment and despair regarding human ability to enter God's Kingdom.

Mark 10 26 Context

Mark 10:26 is part of the narrative of Jesus' encounter with a wealthy young man, often called the "Rich Young Ruler" (Mark 10:17-31). This man approached Jesus seeking guidance on inheriting eternal life. Jesus initially listed several commandments, which the man claimed to have kept. Jesus then issued the radical challenge to sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him. The man, due to his great wealth, walked away sorrowful.

Jesus then turned to His disciples and commented on how "hard" it is for those with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God. The disciples were already amazed at this. Jesus further intensified His teaching by stating it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter. It is this hyperbolic statement that elicits the extreme reaction described in Mark 10:26.

Historically and culturally, wealth in ancient Judaism was often viewed as a sign of God's blessing and favor, even implying a higher degree of righteousness (e.g., Abraham, Job). This verse captures the disciples' deep confusion and intellectual crisis when Jesus directly challenged this prevailing notion, effectively dismantling their understanding of who God accepts and how one obtains eternal life. The immediate answer from Jesus in Mark 10:27 pivots the discussion to God's omnipotence and role in salvation, thereby emphasizing the impossibility from a human perspective and the necessity of divine intervention.

Mark 10 26 Word analysis

• And they were exceedingly astonished: The Greek word here is `ἐξεπλήσσοντο` (exeplēssonto), the imperfect indicative of `ekplēssō`. The prefix `ek-` intensifies the meaning, implying they were "struck out of their senses" or "astounded to the point of being dumbfounded." This is not just mild surprise, but a profound and unsettling shock that challenged their deeply held theological assumptions. It indicates a powerful emotional and intellectual response to Jesus' radical teaching, showing their bewilderment.
• saying among themselves: The Greek `πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες` (pros heautous legontes) indicates that their discussion was internal and collective, born out of shared consternation. It highlights that the weight of Jesus' words was felt by all of them, leading to a desperate communal wrestling with the implications. It also suggests that their initial reaction was not a direct challenge to Jesus, but rather an attempt to process the shocking statement amongst themselves.
• "Then who can be saved?": The Greek `Καὶ τίς δύναται σωθῆναι;` (Kai tis dynatai sōthēnai?) reveals the core of their bewilderment.
  • `τίς` (tis): "who" – This question emphasizes their realization of the universality of the problem if even the apparently "blessed" rich are excluded. It underscores a sense of despair for all.
  • `δύναται` (dynatai): "is able" or "can" – This verb focuses on the capacity or possibility of achieving salvation, indicating they believed it was something human beings had to "do" or be "capable of."
  • `σωθῆναι` (sōthēnai): "to be saved" – This is the aorist passive infinitive of `sōzō`, meaning "to be rescued," "to be delivered," or "to be preserved." In this context, it pertains to entering the Kingdom of God, inheriting eternal life, or being delivered from divine judgment. The passive voice suggests that salvation is something done to them rather than something they do. However, the disciples are wrestling with the human possibility of this passive event. Their question, "Who can be saved?", reflects a theological crisis. If those who seemed to possess every advantage according to their conventional understanding of God's blessing were hindered, then the entire human race seemed hopelessly lost in its attempts to achieve God's favor and attain eternal life.
• "exceedingly astonished... saying among themselves, 'Then who can be saved?'": This phrase encapsulates the dramatic spiritual crisis of the disciples. Their deep astonishment reveals the complete dismantling of their existing framework for understanding salvation, which was likely predicated on human merit and adherence to law. If the most "righteous" or "blessed" were excluded due to wealth (a seemingly good thing in their culture), then the natural, despairing conclusion for human effort was that no one could possibly measure up. This passage acts as a critical setup, bringing the disciples to the edge of human impossibility so that Jesus can introduce the profound truth of divine possibility in the following verse. The question is born from a recognition that if salvation requires letting go of ultimate idols, humanity (in its natural state of attachment to self and world) is truly incapable.

Mark 10 26 Bonus section

• The disciples' "exceeding astonishment" serves as a crucial moment in the Gospel of Mark, frequently highlighting instances where Jesus' teachings radically break with traditional or conventional expectations, forcing His audience to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and God's ways.
• This interaction illustrates a core human theological error: presuming that salvation is primarily a matter of human effort, attainment, or merit. The disciples' question reflects a reliance on what people do or have, rather than an understanding of what God does.
• The cultural bias towards correlating wealth with divine favor persists in many forms even today, often manifesting in the prosperity gospel or subtle assumptions about blessedness. Mark 10:26 challenges any such equation, asserting that true salvation is not contingent on earthly status or possessions.

Mark 10 26 Commentary

Mark 10:26 vividly captures the disciples' complete upheaval as Jesus’ teaching fundamentally challenged their deep-seated beliefs. Their extreme astonishment reveals the immense difficulty they had in comprehending a pathway to God's Kingdom that seemed to contradict societal and religious wisdom, where wealth was often considered a blessing and a mark of piety. The disciples, expecting righteous people—especially those seemingly blessed with riches—to effortlessly enter heaven, found themselves utterly bewildered. Their despairing question, "Then who can be saved?", is the culmination of this bewilderment. It implies that if the 'best' among humanity (the rich, who presumably adhered to the Law and were visibly blessed by God) cannot enter the Kingdom, then surely no one can, as humanity's efforts fall woefully short. This verse thus functions as a critical turning point, pushing the disciples (and the reader) to the very edge of human capability. It underscores the biblical truth that salvation cannot be achieved through human effort, social standing, material possessions, or adherence to an external moral code as a means to earn favor. Instead, it powerfully sets the stage for Jesus to reveal the foundational truth of salvation as a divine work, impossible for humanity on its own, but entirely possible through God's power and grace.