Mark 10:27

27. [2262][2263][2264][2265] omit δέ after ἐμβλέψας.

[2262] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2263] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2264] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mark 1:17 to Mark 6:31; Mark 8:5 to Mark 12:29; Mark 13:19 to Mark 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2265] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

27. ἐμβλέψας. As in Mark 10:21. Christ neither explains nor softens the strong Saying in Mark 10:25, but He shows where the solution of the difficulty is to be found. God has many counter-charms with which to conquer the baleful charm of riches. The disciples had seen this conquest once (Mark 2:14), and they would soon see it done again (Luke 19:1-10). But those who would be freed from the spell must work with Him, otherwise the ἀδύνατον stands (Mark 14:10-11).

πάντα γὰρ δυνατά. The πάντα is not absolute. God’s own character places some limits, and there are others which seem to us to exist; but all things that are necessary for the salvation of mankind—and this is the point here—are possible with God. See Mark 14:36 and cf. Mark 9:23; Luke 1:37; Genesis 18:14; Zechariah 8:6. It is an attractive conjecture that the rich man was still within hearing, and that these words were meant to reach him. They touch what seems to hare been his chief fault; see on Mark 10:18.