Mark 10:31 (DRB)

Passage

But many that are first shall be last: and the last, first.

Nearby Context

Mark 10:29 Jesus answering said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,

Mark 10:30 Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting.

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

Mark 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem: and Jesus went before them. And they were astonished and following were afraid. And taking again the twelve, he began to tell them the things that should befall him.

Mark 10:33 Saying: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes and ancients. And they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles.

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 "Who shall not receive an hundred times..." 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.