Mark 10:21

Mark 10:21
(KJV) Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

(1611 KJV) Then Iesus beholding him, loued him, and said vnto him, One thing thou lackest; Goe thy way, sell whatsoeuer thou hast, and giue to the poore, and thou shalt haue treasure in heauen, and come, take vp the crosse & folow me.

(NIV) Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
(NASV) Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
(THE MESSAGE) Jesus looked him hard in the eye--and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."
(NLT) Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. "You lack only one thing," he told him. "Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
(ESV) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
(1901 ASV) And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
(NLV) Jesus looked at him with love and said, "There is one thing for you to do yet. Go and sell everything you have and give the money to poor people. You will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow Me."
(HCSB) Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, "You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me."
(RSV) And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
(NAB-Roman Catholic) Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) Jesus looked upon him and felt love for him and said to him: “One thing is missing about you: Go, sell what things you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.”

Textus Receptus
o de ihsouV embleyaV autw hgaphsen auton kai eipen autw en soi usterei upage osa eceiV pwlhson kai doV toiV ptwcoiV kai exeiV qhsauron en ouranw kai deuro akolouqei moi araV ton stauron

Hort Westcott
o de ihsouV embleyaV autw hgaphsen auton kai eipen autw en se usterei upage osa eceiV pwlhson kai doV [toiV] ptwcoiV kai exeiV qhsauron en ouranw kai deuro akolouqei moi

Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Fourth century
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century

Affected Teachings
One of the most important distinctive principles in being a true disciple of Christ is the fact that one must take up their cross. The taking up of the cross means that the true believer is to give their life totally to the service of the Lord. It means that we are to deny ourselves and give unceasingly of ourselves unto the Lord. The cross was an instrument of execution but it also symbolizes the follower of Christ being dead to themselves and alive unto God. In other words, our lives are to be walking gospels here on earth.

By removing the phrase “take up the cross” the verse is reduced to just writing a check and that is the extent of our commitment plus it states that if you give to the poor, then automatically you are saved. You cannot follow Christ by giving only of your worldly goods. The following of Christ demands a total commitment which is not only our earthly goods but also our very lives. When the verse teaches that we are to sell whatever we have and give to the poor, it does not mean that we are to sell everything we own and walk around in poverty and rags. It means that we are to use all our earthly goods for the advancement of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I was a millionaire and gave all my money and possessions to feed the poor, what would that accomplish? It would accomplish nothing for the Kingdom of God but if I took that money and began to give to missions, supply tracts and Bibles, help other Christians in their ministries, then I would be selling all I have and giving to the poor, that is, the spiritually poor, to reach the world with the Gospel.

There are many today who believe they are following Christ simply because they write a check to some organization or if they are in a religious establishment. To follow Christ we must follow the principle found in Colossians 3:4:

(Col 3:4 KJV) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Christ “is our life” not a part of it. The essence of true discipleship is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ right to the end. Those who removed the part of the verse which speaks of taking up their cross have created an easy discipleship program. All you have to do is give something to the poor and then you are following Christ, and will have treasures in heaven. There is no such thing as an easy life following Christ. We are constantly facing persecution and prejudice every day and a life of service is not an easy thing. One only needs to look at the martyrs who followed Christ. They suffered all kinds of cruelties and tortures because they took up the cross and followed Christ. The modern versions do not believe in earnest discipleship as they reduce the reality of Christianity to the mere giving of a few dollars to the poor. Is it wrong to give to the poor, to help someone out? No it isn’t, but if your ministry is only centered around the things of the earth such as food and clothing, then you do not have a ministry worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The true ministry concerns itself with the salvation of souls and the spiritual growth of the Christian. Don’t be taken in by the easy and false belief systems that the modern versions proclaim because they are part of the system of the beast. (Rev 13:11 KJV) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. The second beast is the false prophet who deceives the world with false religions which means that false bibles are also part of his plan. Notice that the beast has two horns like a lamb. This beast tries to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true Lamb of God. The beast comes as one that offers a salvation plan which looks like the real thing but is not. As we saw in the false versions, giving to the poor constitutes works and no one gets to Heaven by works. This is a grave deception by the beast which, unfortunately, is accepted by many in the Christian community.

 

Back