NOTES for Mar 10:17-27
When the rich man asked Christ what he must do to inherit eternal life, he expressed the timeless question of all who come to Christ. In fact, nearly everyone we read about in the Gospel seeks from the Lord an answer to this very question. In reply, the Lord speaks of keeping the commandments and then proposes that the man give away everything he has. "Come, follow Me," says the Lord, inviting the rich man to become His disciple. Later versions of the text add "taking up the cross," and this insertion does not disturb the meaning of Christ's words at all. What He offers the man is precisely the path of cruciform love. When we try to apply Christ's words to ourselves as fully as He calls each of us to do, we understand that this path is very difficult. Yet what matters much more is not that it is difficult, but that it is a path. With God's help—and only with it—we can walk this path and place our hope not in riches but in God.