Mark 10

From McGarvey and Pendleton Fourfold Gospel

Mark 10


Divorce

¹Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

[Jesus was returning from his journey to the north...heading back toward Jerusalem. Here he was going to the area beyond the Jordan, Perea, northeast of the Salt Sea. These crowds of people may have been from people who were also heading down to Jerusalem for the Passover. You remember that Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper during the Passover. So, for the Passover, Jerusalem was the place to be and there were probably a lot of Jewish people heading down there.]

²Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" ³"What did Moses command you?" he replied.
⁴They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

[Why are they doing this? With many of their questions, they are trying to trick Jesus, so what's the deception here? Well, the Pharisees knew that Jesus was changing the law of Moses...or at least their understanding of it. Moses had given an allowance for divorce. If Jesus taught the law of Moses in this case, they would accuse him of being inconsistent with what he had already taught about divorce in Matthew 5:32. If Jesus did not uphold the law of Moses, they could easily complain about that, saying he hated the law of Moses. But he was actually clarifying God's law.]

⁵"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. ⁶"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'^{[1] 7}'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^{[2] 8}and the two will become one flesh.'^[3] So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
¹⁰When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹²And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

[Back in verse 3, Jesus asked what Moses commanded, not permitted. But they quote Moses on something he permitted. Jesus clarifies that God had marriage in mind from the beginning of creation. Perhaps he allowed Moses to make this concession because of the evil of men. Perhaps if they had felt they were locked into marriage, they might have refused to marry at all or even gone so far as to murder their wives to escape the marriage. Jesus was ending that concession and clarifying God's view of marriage. God made people male and female for the purpose of marriage. God even sees the marriage relationship as being above the relationship with the parents. (He shall leave his father and mother.) No matter what you might do, can you stop being related to your parents? No. You are their child no matter what. Similarly, since God joins man and woman together, marriage is also inseparable by anything man can do. We don't have to look very hard to see what has happened as people have ignored God's view of marriage even after Jesus clarified it. People have continued to interfere with the definition of marriage until it seems pointless to the average person on the street. “Why get married at all? Why not just live together?” And the only people lining up to marry are those who shouldn't. Of course, a larger problem is that people have usually ignored God's views in general.]

The Little Children and Jesus

¹³People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." ¹⁶And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

[People were apparently bringing their kids to have the Messiah touch them. What a blessing that would be! Better than any autograph. To have the son of God touch your child on the head. I'm sure all of us would probably be lined up if we had the chance. Touching someone on the head while praying for them was something we see elsewhere. In Genesis 48, Israel put his hands on Ephraim's and Manasseh's heads as he blessed them. In Acts 6:6, the apostles prayed and placed their hands on the new apostles. Jesus is happy to bless these children, but the disciples set themselves up as something of a bureaucracy. Jesus is not happy about this. These children remind him of the reason he is doing all that he's doing. Only those who come to him with the open ears of a child will see the reward of heaven.]

The Rich Young Man

¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
¹⁸"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.

[Apparently, it was the custom to call someone like a rabbi or religious leader “good”. This man was merely following the custom. Jesus rebukes him for doing this without thinking. It can be a lesson to us not to say things without thinking, such as following memorized prayers without studying the bible or to sing songs without examining the words, lest we should say something we don't really mean. Jesus says that only God is good. He's sort of implying that this man is saying he is one with God. “No one is good—except God alone. Is he admitting that Jesus is one with God without thinking about it? He should think about what that would mean before he asks for a test he cannot pass.]

¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'^[4] "
²⁰"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

[So far, so good. This rich young ruler (as we read in other gospels) has followed these commandments. He's enthusiastic, maybe feeling almost spiritually invincible and wants a real challenge. Notice he asks “what must I do” as though he could do one really good thing and inherit eternal life. Little does he know, he'll get exactly what he's asking for. Something that goes right to his weakness. The man seems to forget that God knows all his weaknesses as he asks for a challenge. God knows our weaknesses as well. He knows where we are prone to stumble. This is why we must go to him and his word for strength. We must also realize that we have weaknesses. We should always seek to improve and to do the work that's needed. But with our weaknesses in mind, we should not invite sin into our lives by putting ourselves in the middle of temptation as we may do.]

²¹Jesus 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."
²²At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

[loved – agapan – an affection resulting from moral choice. Jesus looks at him and sees straight into his heart. He sees the self-deception. He sees the man's ignorance of his own weakness. Perhaps the man was just looking for some acknowledgment from Jesus that he had good character. He may have been a bit proud from his position of leadership. Jesus gives tells him something special about his greatest problem and the man can't take it. It says that he went away sad...it wasn't haphazardly that he left Jesus. He seems to regard Christ and wealth at about the same level, but chooses wealth in the end. Contrast this with Paul who certainly thought he was a great man doing great things as he persecuted the Christians. He happily and humbly considered his previous efforts and his good life and status as rubbish as he became a prisoner of Christ.]

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is [KJV - for them that trust in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
²⁶The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

[The disciples were amazed that wealth isn't exactly part of being in the kingdom. In the Jewish history, those God favored had often been blessed with wealth. Solomon, for example, was blessed with amazing wealth. The apostles may have been expecting that this man had been blessed by God specifically because he was rich. What a surprise that his riches meant nothing as far as his value to God.

Now as far as the spiritual difficulties for the rich, God can work in anyone's heart to make them a worker in his kingdom. There is work that those without any money can do. Those with money can use it for God's work. There is no hopeless situation, though some situations are much more difficult than others and present more temptation.]

²⁸Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"

[Well, what about us? What is our reward for following you?]

²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

[That's an interesting promise. We will have all these things and be provided for...and yet it comes with persecution. The world hates those who uphold God's standards. Any reward in this life isn't perfect. Only the reward that comes in heaven will be perfect.]

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
[In Matthew, after this, Jesus gives the parable of the vineyard where those who came to work last got the same wage as those who came first.]

More on wealth in

1 Tim 6

^[6But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

...

¹⁷Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.]

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

³²They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ³³"We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

[Why were the disciples astonished in verse 32? Jesus was walking right into the place he was in the most danger. They had seen how the Pharisees had hounded him so many times on his journey. Also, we see that Jesus took the twelve aside from the rest of the crowds following him to tell them separately what would happen to him. It might have been that he was afraid they would riot and fight against those who were coming for him. But Jesus tells the inner circle of disciples what is going to happen to him in pretty exact detail.]

The Request of James and John

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

[You can just feel the discomfort in this situation. I wonder if they realized their mistake as soon as they uttered the words. How can they ask this in the midst of heading right back to Jerusalem?]
³⁶"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
³⁷They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
³⁸"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
³⁹"We can," they answered.

[Again, a pretty presumptious thing to say. I don't know if they really understood what he was saying, but he asks them if they are prepared to share in his suffering for him. Eventually they would face suffering for his cause...both internal spiritual suffering like drinking from a cup and external persecution like the immersion of baptism.]

Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."

[Even for all their bravado, Jesus is very gentle in his reply. He knows they are going to be going through some very difficult times. Later, Acts 2:12 mentions that James, the brother of John is put to death with the sword. In Rev 1:9, John speaks of himself as "your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus.]

⁴¹When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴²Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

[It is so important that they learn this and get this right. For them to argue over position and priviledge later would be destructive to Christ's church. They have to learn that, while on earth, honor and authority are indicators of your status, to gain status in authority, it's just the opposite. Humility and servitude are what's needed. Jesus compares them to the Gentiles which they would have found pretty offensive. Jesus says that he, himself, came not to be served, but to serve.]

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
⁴⁸Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." ⁵⁰Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
⁵¹"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
⁵²"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

[Jesus was descended from the line of David. It was foretold that the Messiah would be from the line of David. So for Bartimaeus to call Jesus the Son of David was an admission of faith. Somewhat like the children Jesus had blessed earlier, people try to silence this bothersome man as though he was too far beneath Jesus to approach him. But Jesus was going to die for everyone from kings to this poor blind man.]