Mark 10:31 (DBY)

Passage

But many first shall be last, and the last first.

Nearby Context

Mark 10:29 Jesus answering said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, [or wife], or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,

Mark 10:30 that shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the coming age life eternal.

Mark 10:31 But many first shall be last, and the last first.

Mark 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going on before them; and they were amazed, and were afraid as they followed. And taking the twelve again to [him], he began to tell them what was going to happen to him:

Mark 10:33 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him up to the nations:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "first", "shall", and "last". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "first" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "that shall not receive a hundredfold now..." into verse 32's "And they were in the way going...", so "first" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "first" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.