When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” No one dared ask him any question after that.
Parallel translations
- KJV And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
- BSB When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.
- ESV And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
- NKJV Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
- NASB When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.
- NLT Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus commends the scribe's wise answer, saying he is near God's Kingdom. After this no one dared question Jesus further.
Overview
The man grasped that love fulfills the law, so Jesus tells him he is 'not far' from the Kingdom — close, yet still needing to enter through faith in Jesus himself. The silencing of his opponents marks the climax of the temple debates in Mark 11-12, where Jesus has answered every challenge. True nearness to the Kingdom comes not by clever insight alone but by trusting and following the King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Col 4:6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
- Luke 20:40They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.
- Matt 22:46No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
- Rom 3:19–20Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
- Rom 7:9I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- Titus 1:9–11holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.
- Gal 2:19For I, through the law, died to the law, that I might live to God.
- Job 32:15–16“They are amazed. They answer no more. They don’t have a word to say.
- Matt 12:20He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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