And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again, and said unto them,
Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
All Commentaries on Mark 10:24 Go To Mark 10
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Little children (Vulg.); the Syriac, My sons. By His bland address He softens the hardness of the matter. He is like one who loves his children most dearly; and as such He would tell them the truth in sincerity, and persuade them to renounce riches as a bar to salvation.
That trust in riches. For rich men trust in their riches rather than in God, according to the saying in Proverbs ( Proverbs 10:15), "The substance of a rich man is the city of his strength" (Vulg.). With difficulty, therefore, are they saved, because salvation cometh only from God. Wherefore those who wish to be saved must put their trust in God, and must ask and wait for salvation from Him, as the poor do. For inasmuch as they have no riches in which to trust, they are obliged to place all their hopes in God, according to the words ( Psalm 14:6), "Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his hope." Therefore if rich men wish to be saved, let them turn their hope, their heart, their love from riches, and fix them upon God.
