Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 10:26

"And they were astonished exceedingly, saying unto him, Then who can be saved?" — Mark 10:26 (ASV)

The failure of the rich man to respond to the challenge led to one of Jesus’ most striking pronouncements. He addressed it to the disciples, and it underscores the difficulty of a rich person’s entering the kingdom of God.

The amazement of the disciples at Jesus’ words reflects their Jewish background, which placed great emphasis on the privileged position of the rich. To be wealthy was believed to be sure evidence of having the blessing of God. But with his penetrating spiritual insight, Jesus saw how wealth could hinder one from putting his trust and dependence in God.

The second half of v.24 may begin a new section, the last section ending with the amazement of the disciples. NIV considers it (along with vv.25–27) a part of the incident that begins with v.23. The fact that Jesus’ disciples “were even more amazed” (v.26) looks back to their initial amazement in v.24 and supports the translators’ decision.

Jesus supports his statement in v.23 by the proverb about the camel and needle that created even greater amazement on the part of the disciples. For the rich to enter the kingdom of God simply because of their wealth is indeed impossible. The proverb was not lost on the disciples. As their question “Who then can be saved?” shows, they completely understood it.