GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:26
Amazing
Someone asked recently, “What is Bitcoin?” I’m not a financial wizard, but I tried to explain to the best of my limited understanding that Bitcoin is digital money that exists only on computers and the internet. There’s nothing tangible to back it up—no physical coins or bills. It’s like email money—decentralized and valued only by what individuals are willing to pay. A massive computer network, called the “blockchain,” keeps track of every transaction. One can exchange physical money—dollars—for a piece of computer data at digital services. Under the right conditions, you can exchange digital money for physical goods. However, Bitcoin is far more volatile than traditional currency, whose value is regulated by central banking systems such as the Federal Reserve. There is currently no regulatory system governing the value of Bitcoin. A single Bitcoin may be worth $1,000 now and only $500 an hour later. Amazed, the other person simply said, “What?”
Their amazement may have come from my poor explanation—or from the concept of digital money itself; I’m not sure which. But the incident reminded me of the disciples who saw a young man come to Jesus and ask what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He said that he had been a good person, keeping all the moral laws. Jesus then told him there was one thing standing between him and eternal life, his dependence on good works and relying on wealth for security. Therefore, he needed to divest himself of whatever kept him anchored to his earthly condition in order to receive eternal life. Astonished, the wealthy young man walked away. Jesus observed that it is harder to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for someone who trusts in wealth of any kind to inherit eternal life—an impossibility. The disciples witnessed this exchange. “But they were exceedingly amazed, saying to one another, ‘Then who is able to be saved?’” (Mark 10:26) The Greek word “amazed” (ἐκπλήσσω, ekplēssō) means “to strike with astonishment,” and Mark intensifies it with the comparative adverb meaning “exceedingly” or “superabundantly.”
One commentator called the disciples’ question the most important one in the entire Bible. The young man asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” On the other hand, the disciples asked, “Who can be saved?” At this point, it seems the disciples had not yet fully grasped Jesus’ message: eternal life lies not in what a person possesses, but in who possesses the person. Jesus told the young man that eternal life comes through following Him—in complete surrender to the Father. Amazing.
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